Tag: 11.20.00

Washington’s National Gallery is returning a painting to the heir of a collector from whom the painting was stolen by the Nazis. “The painting, ‘Still Life with Fruit and Game’ by Flemish artist Frans Snyders, depicts a large basket of colorful fruit on a red tablecloth, surrounded by dead game, including birds and a small deer.” – New York Times

During the Second World War Hitler set up a private museum in Linz and had it stocked with treasures. The last surviving member of the team that acquired the art says that it was all obtained legally and none of it was stolen. – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

The attorneys representing the 100,000 plaintiffs who sued Sotheby’s and Christie’s for price fixing stand to make $27 million for their work after negotiating a $512 million settlement. – New York Times

Scholars are arguing about whether the bones found under the Duomo in Florence are those of Renaissance painter Giotto. Those who believe it’s the painter base their identification on “an analysis of the skeleton. Reconstructing the face, they came up with a strong likeness to what may or may not be a Giotto self-portrait in a fresco.” A planned reburial of the bones was put on hold while the identity got sorted out, but now it’s on again for Jan. 8, the anniversary of the painter’s death. – Nando Times

Swiss banks plan to distribute $1.25 billion in reparations to Holocaust survivors. “Until just recently, Swiss bankers were demanding impossible-to-produce death certificates and other documentation before they would pay out claims.” But many of the survivors or their heirs are contesting the settlement. – New Jersey Online

“As it yaws into view from the window of your incoming jet, the new Bilbao airport looks like a giant bird or plane that has made it to the ground shortly ahead of you. Perched on a virgin hillside site, untainted by the usual miasma of support buildings, Santiago Calatrava’s operatic design, known locally as la paloma (the dove), is as precious as it is special. It has been designed – unlike, say, Heathrow or Gatwick, which have grown as if organically – as a gateway to the Basque capital, which in recent years has become a showcase for show-off contemporary architecture.” – The Guardian

An artist claims to have created the first “serious” art on a Palm Pilot. But is it really art? “While such pioneering work is often interesting, the question is whether novelty alone is a useful criterion for art or merely a great excuse for talking about technology.” – Wired