Who owns a work of art that was looted or sold under duress during the Nazi era? This question has remained unresolved in many cases since the end of World War II. A new arbitration panel will now decide on ownership.
Tag: painting
While billionaire Jeff Bezos turns Venice into a vanity set, the Prado museum in Madrid is currently featuring a major exposition of legendary Venetian painter Paolo Veronese. What was true in the Renaissance is almost true today: Art, power and decadence intertwine in the city that learned to live from its own sinking.
The start of a historic trial, the fall of an empire, and a famous art heist.
In Nayagram, every resident is an artist earning a living by showcasing their talent through the traditional art form of Indian scroll painting called ‘Patachitra’.
Until the Enlightenment, smiling and showing teeth was not fashionable — or socially acceptable — in a Europe where dental health had not yet become widespread. But then the perception of smiles changed, shifting from a serious demeanor to an embrace of open expressions.
In his latest book, Spanish meteorologist and author José Miguel Viñas traces the history of painting, observing the skies of artists from different times and latitudes. Walking through a Madrid museum, he explains different types of clouds and historical climatological events.
Updated March 29, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. The Louvre pyramid was inaugurated on this day in 1989, after nearly four years of construction. Who designed the Louvre pyramid? The Louvre pyramid was designed by the Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei. The pyramid is made of glass and steel, and consists of 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 triangular […]
Updated Dec. 30 2023 at 12:00 p.m. The portrait of Winston Churchill was taken in 1941 by Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, as he was set to address the Canadian members of Parliament following action taken in World War II. Why is the Roaring Lion such an iconic photograph? The portrait shows […]
Even the art world is not immune to pranks.
Ai-Da is touted as the first bonafide robot artist. But should we consider her paintings and poetry original or creative? Is this even art at all?
PARIS — Growing up in Chicago, one of my favorite books was From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the story of a brother and sister who run away to live in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Even as a kid, I could sense what a rare treat it could be to […]
It’s now been a century since the brilliant, Italian-born artist passed away in Paris, France at just 36 years of age.
There’s nothing (and everything) left to chance in the world-famous image Life magazine photographer Philippe Halsman, shot in 1948, of the legendary surrealist painter Salvador Dalí.
Sexually-charged images of women (and occasionally men) being seized and abducted abound in ancient and present-day artwork alike.
Can’t afford original artwork? Never fear. For a small fee, people in Geneva can borrow a piece or two.
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Chic Chalk
Now that“s what I call street art…!
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Off-Peak Art
Boasting astounding collections of artists, both Spanish (Velázquez, Goya) and international, (Rubens, Rembrandt …) the Museo del Prado in Madrid is one of the most visited museums in the world. When I went there more than 50 years ago, there was no queue in sight.
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Painting Glass — Video Quote Of The Day
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The Painter’s Village
If Ornans looks picturesque enough on my photographs, it’s nothing compared to the way 19th-century painter Gustave Courbet — arguably the most celebrated artist from my neck of the woods — depicted the village in his masterpieces.
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Elegant Calligraphy — Video Quote Of The Day
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Picasso No More
In the second half of the 20th century, countless painters would set up their easels on the Place du Tertre, on top of Paris’s Montmartre hill. Some no doubt were trying to channel Picasso, who used to live nearby. By this point, the great Spanish master had set up shop in the quieter climes of […]
NANTERRE — He’s got Palmyra on his mind. Sitting as his desk in the judicial police office in Nanterre, near Paris, Ludovic Ehrhart is staring at his holiday pictures: four black-and-white snapshots of the ancient Syrian city. He put them up last summer, just after ISIS started to destroy it. He’s been to Palmyra twice, […]
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The Ladies Of Sigiriya
Of the hundreds of frescoes that once decorated the Sigiriya rock“s western surface, only 19 remain. The exquisitely delicate paintings, in vibrant colors, are said to depict ladies of the king’s harem.
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‘The Greek’
This is the church where El Greco was baptized. The Spanish Renaissance painter, whose real name was Doménikos Theotokópoulos, was actually born in Crete — hence his nickname, “The Greek.”
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Iconic Cyprus
The Stavrovouni Monastery in southern Cyprus is one of the few places that boasts a piece of the Holy Cross. It was particularly interesting to see how one of the oldest monasteries in the world manages to maintain the island’s tradition of Byzantine icon painting.
ABU DHABI — The indefatigable Jean Nouvel, 69, can be proud of his project. For that matter, he is. The star French architect shakes hands, hugs, takes in all the praise with a stoic pride. The construction site is massive in scale. In the sand, under the searing sun, 5,000 people are hard at work […]
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Before The Tourists
In the 1950s, the Costa Brava — northeastern Spain’s coastal region — was identified by the Spanish government and local entrepreneurs as suitable for substantial development as a holiday destination. In the 1960s, though, we were still able to catch a glimpse of how peaceful life was, before they basically covered everything in concrete.
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Moscow Masterpiece
I couldn’t necessarily see what this painter found so picturesque in that particular scene. But the light was nice, and it was considerably less crowded than the touristy Kremlin or Saint Basil’s Cathedral … As for my choice of when and what to shoot, I’ve always enjoyed taking photographs from both on and off the […]
Whether alcohol or absinthe, LSD or heroin, some of humanity’s creative geniuses produced their greatest work as mind-altering substances did theirs. A Paris exhibit connects the dots.
BERLIN – There are impressive museum collections – indeed entire museums – of works by Pablo Picasso: in Malaga and New York, Paris and Barcelona, Münster, Madrid, Basel and Cologne. The best one? Berlin – part of the legendary collection of art dealer Heinz Berggruen (1914-2007) housed since 1996 in a palazzo-style building across from […]
OSLO – Before we even begin, it’s not pronounced “munch,” “mench” or even “manch” – it’s “moonk!” It’s a question of politeness, and also the locals are more likely to understand us if we pronounce his name correctly. In Olso, the artist is everywhere, just like his iconic masterpiece. Just like a spoiled child, Skrik, […]
BEIJING – In the history of Eastern and Western art, the aesthetic standards for painting have been more or less the same. The most esteemed paintings were large scenes with people in them. They can be broken down into the two categories, of either historical or religious nature. The classic scene of Christ being taken […]
LE MONDE, FRANCE TV INFO (France), EL PAIS (Spain) Worldcrunch The 80-year-old Spanish woman responsible for what some are calling history’s worst restoration of a work of art spoke out in the media on Wednesday to defend her actions. “We’ve always fixed everything ourselves in this church. The priest asked me to do it, he […]
SAINT PETERSBURG – A well-known art collector buys a painting from a long-time acquaintance, who is also a publisher of books about Russian art. He displays it in an art exhibition, and an art expert happens to see it and recognize it as a fake that she had see before and identified as a forgery […]