Should the Royal Academy sell the “Taddei Tondo,” nickname for Michelangelo’s The Virgin and Child with the Infant St John? “The 515-year-old sculpture had been given to the London gallery in 1829 following the death of its owner, Lady Margaret Beaumont, as an inspiration to students in the academy’s schools.” The debate is contentious. – The Observer (UK)
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Anne Stevenson, Poet And Biographer Of Sylvia Plath, 87
The poet completed 16 poetry collections and won prestigious prizes, including from the Lannan Foundation for lifetime achievement. But she’s most well-known for a biography of Sylvia Plath, which veered from the accepted narrative of Plath’s husband, poet Ted Hughes, “portraying Ms. Plath as ‘a wall of unrelenting rage’ prone to outrageous behavior, while depicting Mr. Hughes as generous and caring.” – The New York Times
Can You Spot A Social Media Troll?
It’s getting harder and harder. “As the tools for online media evolve faster than the public’s visual and media literacy, this was bound to happen.” – Hyperallergic
RBG’s Filmmakers Reflect On Their Access To Her Extraordinary Life
Julie Cohen and Betsy West spent years making the documentary RBG. Cohen learned a lot: “When you think of power and toughness, you expect that you’re talking about a big, loud, forceful man and Justice Ginsburg was none of those things. … She was tiny, she had a soft voice, she was an introvert. And yet there was just no question that she had power and that power came both from the wattage that was her brain but also from her level of determination.” – Los Angeles Times
A Treasure Trove Of Rare Stolen Books Has Been Found Under A House In Rural Romania
The $3.2 million cache came from a 2017 heist at a London warehouse, one of books so rare and with such niche interest that “one source, in Smithsonian, said that ‘a wealthy collector known as ‘The Astronomer’ may have hired the thieves to steal the books for him.'” Turns out it was an organized crime group in Romania. – LitHub
The Struggling Pacific Northwest College Of Art Gets A Merger Bailout
After a $34 million remodel of a new (to the college) building attracted no additional students, the Portland arts school was struggling. Luckily, PNCA had been in talks about a merger with Willamette University, based in Salem and about 50 miles away, for years. – The Oregonian
A Rare Edition Of Shakespeare’s Final Play Is Found In A Scottish College In Spain
It’s a 1634 volume that a researcher into Adam Smith found in the archives of the Real Colegio de Escoceses, which in the 17th century was a seminary and “an important source of English literature for Spanish intellectuals.” – BBC
The Carpenters Of Notre Dame’s Rebuild Display Some Expert Medieval Techniques
“With precision and boundless energy, a team of carpenters used medieval techniques to raise up — by hand — a three-ton oak truss Saturday in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, a replica of the wooden structures that were consumed in the landmark’s devastating April 2019 fire that also toppled its spire.” The feat was intended to show that officials made the correct decision to rebuild the cathedral using the same methods as builders did 800 years ago. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch (AP)
The Fading Upright Pre-WWI Pianos Of Australia
In Darwin, people are leaving them on the curb as they clean out their houses before “cyclone season,” but in Hobart, the older ones are more common, and perhaps slightly more tunable. A piano tuner says, “Unless it’s a Steinway it’s not worth fixing.” – ABC (Australia)
Doubt Is Horrifying, And It Also Leads To Clearer Thinking
At least, that’s what Kirkegaard believed. “In order to philosophize, you must have doubted everything.” – Aeon