“No artworks with the cachet of a Leonardo, Michelangelo or Giotto are among those lost in the quake. But art historians stress that local art of whatever pedigree helps to explain the cultural and artistic contexts that inspired the great masters. And just as importantly, local pride over this artistic heritage in churches or piazzas binds these centuries-old towns to their past.”
Category: visual
Have We Lost Interest In Old Masters Art?
“At a time when contemporary art is all the rage among collectors, viewers and donors, many experts are questioning whether old master artwork — once the most coveted — can stay relevant at auction houses, galleries and museums. Having struggled with shrinking inventory and elusive profits, auction houses appear to be devoting most of their attention and resources to contemporary art, the most popular area of their business.”
Hard Lessons About How The Art-Buying World Works, Courtesy Knoedler Fakes Scandal
“For collectors seeking information on the authenticity of specific works of art, there is no repository of authenticators’ reports, and experts doubt the value of a database that buyers could consult the way they check for stolen art (for example, through the Art Loss Register or Art Recovery Group). For one thing, not all reports are reliable.”
Earthquake Exposes Fragility Of Italy’s Architectural Treasures
“Many experts maintain that Italy has among the world’s best anti-seismic standards already — at least on paper. But the problems in executing them are legion: money, corruption, tangled bureaucracy, shoddy construction and a lack of enforcement of national regulations at the local level.”
London Can Only Control Its Height-Obsessed Developers One Way
“The clusters that will dominate the Thames at Vauxhall and Blackfriars are not by any reasonable definition in the right place. The meretricious junk appearing in outer suburbs is not well-designed. Nor have towers so far done much to address the most pressing housing needs.”
What Is The Public Art In City Hall Park Saying?
“The Language of Things is a bit cerebral for a public art exhibition (the description does begin with a Walter Benjamin quote, which inspired the title); like the four speakers pointing inward in Watson’s sound installation, it can feel somewhat insular, even for art about codes.”
On Sunday, Italian Museums Donated All Of Their Profits To Earthquake Victims
“As rescue efforts continue in the town of Amatrice and the surrounding area, where the death toll has risen to 247, the culture minister Dario Franceschini urged Italians to ‘go to museums in a sign of solidarity with the populations involved in [the] earthquake.'”
When Works Of Art Come Apart (Or Get Knocked Down, In Banksy’s Case)
“Often, the issues can be traced back to the artists themselves. While painting’“The Last Supper’ in Milan in the 1490s, Leonardo da Vinci tried a number of oil-paint experiments, hoping to achieve better effects by painting on dry wall rather than on wet plaster. Within 20 years, the masterpiece was flaking off the wall, creating an ongoing headache as experts argued over which parts were authentic and which had been added by overzealous restorers.”
In England, A Famous Zaha Hadid Piece Goes Back Up (For Sale)
“It is very poignant. … But all the more marvellous that this master work should be presented to remind us what an extraordinary contribution she made.”
Taking Art World Sexism And Making It Into Art
“Language started creeping into her work after this episode, with ‘Censored’ drawings, explicit images over which Tompkins laid a grid, stamping ‘censored’ on the offending areas. ‘I censored my own pieces. I felt I could do it better than anyone,’ Tompkins told me. ‘It was in reality a way to stay sane. Being censored is a really nasty business.'”