On 6 Jul, 2010 With
Hitler sketches that failed to secure his place at art academy to be auctioned Drawings believed to be those that Adolf Hitler submitted in a failed attempt to gain entry into the Vienna Academy of Art are to be auctioned. And a distinguished emeritus dean of art has studied them and said that today they would be considered only up to “moderate GCSE standard.” Some have speculated that Hitler’s rejection from art college helped shape his character in later years. He believed that it was a Jewish professor who had rejected his application to study at the academy. The works consist of nudes, human figures, various objects and landscapes including buildings. Most are dated 1908 – the year he was…
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On 2 Jul, 2010 With
Socially ambitious but aloof Vanderbilt heiress, Florence Adele Vanderbilt Spource: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-henry-adams/thomas-hoving-wendy-burde_b_533089.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-henry-adams/reading-amanda-one-black_b_202819.html
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On 1 Jul, 2010 With
When Madame X was shown at the Salon of 1884 it became instantly a salacious painting and a scandal in French society as a result of its sexual suggestiveness of her pose and the pail pasty color of her skin. The “X” ofMadame X was actually Madame Gautreau (1859-1915) who’s reputation was apparently destroyed and John left France shortly to never truly regain his former standing as the darling of Paris. The size of the painting is enormous, measuring 82 inches by 43 inches or nearly seven feet tall (2 meters) — and with the underlying sensuality of the painting, in the time that it was done (if it isn’t still to some degree today), almost threatening to the viewer. When I…
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On 22 Jun, 2010 With
Maybe it’s been a persistent hum for the past 9 years, or maybe it’s something that has grown louder exponentially over those same 9 years, but recently I’ve noticed more and more complaints from deviants about nude artwork on deviantART. Some say they’re sick of seeing it all the time, some say it’s inappropriate and tasteless, and others liken the nude body to outright pornography. In addition to all of these complaints, there is a secondary stream of upheaval surrounding male nudes, where the complainer is perfectly okay with female nudity but completely appalled by male nudity. As you know (or should know), I went through a rather rigorous education involving art history. I wasn’t unique in my education, mind…
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On 18 Jun, 2010 With
Bristol City Council asked local residents to decide whether they wanted this piece removed in June 2006. Following a positive response, the graffiti was allowed to remain. Source: virginmedia.com
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On 17 Jun, 2010 With
Picasso signed his first contract in Paris with art dealer Pere Menach, who agreed to pay him 150 francs per month (about US$750 today).
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On 13 Jun, 2010 With
A “copy” of one of the greatest African sculptures may be genuine, researchers believe By Martin Bailey The Olokun Head, exhibited as a copy of one of the greatest and most mysterious African works of art, is to be investigated at the British Museum after the closure of its current Ife show. Scholars consider that Nigerian Ife bronzes are only exceeded in quality by works made later in neighbouring Benin. The original of the Olokun Head has been assumed to be lost since 1948; the modern replica is currently on display in London until 6 June. “Kingdom of Ife” and the head will tour later in the year to the US (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in September; the Virginia…
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On 12 Jun, 2010 With
By Jennifer Rosenberg, About.com On August 21, 1911, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, one of the most famous paintings in the world, was stolen right off the wall of the Louvre (famous museum in Paris, France). It was such an inconceivable crime, that the Mona Lisa wasn’t even noticed missing until the following day. Who would steal such a famous painting? Why did they do it? Was the Mona Lisa lost forever? The Discovery Everyone had been talking about the glass panes that museum officials at the Louvre had put in front of several of their most important paintings. Museum officials stated it was to help protect the paintings, especially because of recent acts of vandalism. The public and the press thought the glass…
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On 8 Jun, 2010 With
In 1909, Picasso and French artist Georges Braque co-founded an art movement known as cubism. Actually, it was a French art critic Louis Vauxcelles who first called it “bizarre cubiques” or cubism, after noting that Picasso and Braque’s paintings are “full of little cubes.”
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On 3 Jun, 2010 With
Two of the world’s top art-theft sleuths discuss the heist from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris by Milton Esterow What are the theories of two of the world’s top art-theft sleuths about the heist early Thursday morning of paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Modigliani, and Léger worth at least $120 million from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris? “To get out of jail free, crooks use stolen paintings as negotiating cards,” said Robert Wittman, who created the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s art-crime team and is now a private art-recovery specialist. “When they get arrested for other criminal activity, they make a deal by providing information that leads to the recovery of stolen paintings,” he said. “The thief…
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