New Online Archive Brings the Ancient Maya City of Chichen Itza to Scholars’ Desktops

EMERYVILLE, CA.- This week a new archaeological data archive and web-based collaborative learning tool launches to provide researchers, educators, filmmakers and digital heritage enthusiasts with the most complete data to date of any ancient Maya site. The archive centerpiece is a priceless 3D record of the ancient Maya city of Chichen Itza, recently voted one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World” by an eponymous Swiss-based foundation. Mark Eakle and Philippe Martinez scan in tandem at the Venus Platform. [...]

Rediscovered Painting by Dutch Artist Rembrandt on Loan at the Toledo Museum of Art

TOLEDO, OH.- A rediscovered painting by Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606–1669), on loan at the The Toledo Museum of Art, will be displayed for several months beginning January 28 in Gallery 24. The artist painted the small oil-on-copper self portrait, Rembrandt Laughing, in his native city of Leiden when he was just 21 or 22 years old. “This is one of the most exciting artistic rediscoveries in recent years,” said Museum Director Brian Kennedy. “Rembrandt Laughing is one of [...]

Fernando Marías disputes the authorship of the sculpture attributed to El Greco.

Toledo (Spain) – The professor of Art History at the Autonomous says that carving  is unconnected a the world of El Greco and the gallery stands in the lower back bears a signature little-known painter. The Spanish art historian specializing in El Greco Fernando Marías has disputed the authorship of the sculpture Ecce Homo, which has been attributed to the Spanish painter and will go on sale for 6 million euros in the next edition of the Dutch fair TEFAF. [...]

Italian Researcher Silvano Vinceti Claims He has Found Symbols in ‘Mona Lisa’

ROME (AP).- Forget her smile. An Italian researcher says the key to solving the enigmas of “Mona Lisa’” lies in her eyes. Silvano Vinceti claims he has found the letter “S” in the woman’s left eye, the letter “L” in her right eye, and the number “72″ under the arched bridge in the backdrop of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting. According to the researcher, the symbols open up new leads to identifying the model, dating the painting, and attesting to [...]

Research by Italians Confirms that Raphael’s ‘Madonna dell Granduca’ was Amended

FLORENCE.- An X-ray analysis has shown that the dark background that appears in one of the most famous paintings by Raphael, the Madonna dell Granduca, is not original, but was added by a painter, who is still unknown. It was until the seventeenth century, that the painting, which is housed at the Pitti Palace in Florence, that in the background of the painting architectural structures and a landscape were seen, according to research done by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure [...]

Courtauld Conservation Experts Undertake New Research of Wall Paintings in Bhutan

LONDON.- The small and stunningly beautiful Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has for many years intrigued the West, not least on account of its geographic isolation, its hermetic reputation, and its distinct and perfectly preserved culture. The core of Bhutan’s identity is its Tibetan Buddhist heritage which, uniquely in the modern world, remains as rich and vital as it ever has been. In over two thousand thriving temples and monasteries scattered across its rugged terrain, spectacular wall paintings testify to the [...]

A Hedonist’s Guide to Art Reveals the Secrets of the World of Art through a Collection of Essays

LONDON.- Hg2 Art is a handbook that gives readers an insight into both the darker reaches of the art world and some of its more enchanting pockets. Revealing insider secrets, it answers the questions every would-be art collector wants to know. Hg2 Art is a seminal collection of essays that will not only inspire any burgeoning collector, but anyone wishing to tap into the esoteric fortress of strange that is the art world. Gilbert & George, Sarah Lucas, Will Self, [...]

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Determines Painting by Velázquez is Authentic

NEW YORK (REUTERS).- Experts at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art have determined that a 1624 portrait previously attributed to a follower of the Spanish painter Velazquez was done by the master himself. The museum said the portrait of King Philip IV, which went on display on Tuesday, is authentic, reversing a 1973 finding that it had been done by an assistant to Velazquez. The experts reached their conclusion after removing paint and varnish that had had been added to the [...]

Art Historian Michael Peppiatt Writes About Giacometti’s Studio in New Book

NEW YORK, NY.- Eykyn Maclean announced the publication of art historian Michael Peppiatt’s ‘In Giacometti’s Studio’. The book coincides with their inaugural exhibition “Inside Giacometti’s Studio – An Intimate Portrait”, which has been curated by Peppiatt, author of the critically acclaimed ‘Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma’.  The book focuses on the creative chaos of the tiny, cluttered studio behind Montparnasse, where Giacometti spent nearly all of the last four decades of his life (1926-66). Peppiatt prefaces his story with a [...]

Photographer Mick Rock’s Images that Defined Rock n’ Roll on View at Idea Generation Gallery

LONDON.- Celebrated as ‘The Man Who Shot the 70s’, Mick Rock’s images define rock n’ roll. Rock launched his career in 1972 with his portrait of an unknown David Bowie and spent the next four decades capturing the most fascinating and exciting characters in rock music. This outstanding exhibition will coincide with the publication of Rock’s new book Exposed: the Faces of Rock n’ Roll, which includes previously unseen and unpublished images, as well as rare and unexpected portraits. Mick [...]

New Book Says Painting Stored Behind a Couch for 25 Years may Be a Michelangelo

TONAWANDA (AP).- Could a painting of Mary holding the body of Jesus that hung for years in an upstate New York family’s home really be a 16th century Michelangelo? An Italian art historian thinks so after undertaking years of research, which he documents in a new book, “The Lost Pieta.” Now the painting’s owner, Martin Kober, is encouraging the rest of the art world to take a close look with the hope the work will be universally accepted as a [...]

Italian Masterpieces from Uffizi Gallery in Florence Go Online

ROME (AP).- Imagine being so close to Botticelli’s Venus that you can see the strands of her blond hair, the shades of pink in her cheeks, the cracks in the centuries-old paint. That sensation is now just a click away. This week, an Italian company put online high-resolution images of “The Birth of Venus” and five other masterpieces from the Uffizi gallery in Florence, including works by Caravaggio and Leonardo da Vinci. Enlarged details of Botticelli’s ‘The Birth of Venus’. [...]

Case closed on ‘da Vinci’ art mystery?

A Santa Fe art historian says he has solved an international art mystery by identifying the actual artist whose drawing has been falsely attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. La Bella Principessa (The Pretty Princess), a 13- by 9.5-inch ink-and-colored-chalk-on-vellum drawing, depicts a young woman in profile, her reddish-blond hair braided and bound behind her. Santa Fe art historian Fred Kline believes the same model who posed for Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld’s Half-Nude Female is the model for La Bella Principessa [...]

Museo del Prado Identifies an Unknown Work by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

MADRID.- The Wine of Saint Martin’s Day (glue-size tempera on linen, 148 x 270.5cm, ca.1565-1568) is a previously unknown work by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the key figure within 16th-century Flemish painting. It has been attributed to the artist by the Museo del Prado following several months of study and the restoration of the painting at the Museum. The Museum now has an advantageous option to purchase the painting and benefits from the support provided by the favourable reports issued [...]

Gallery’s Detective Work Shows Two Portraits Painted at the Same Time

LONDON.- New scientific detective work has revealed that two renowned 16th century portraits of Queen Elizabeth I belonging to two different galleries were painted on wood panels from the same tree. The portraits were first associated with Hilliard in 1933, and the new findings support the attribution as it is now known that both portraits were painted in the same studio. The paintings of Elizabeth I, known as the ‘Phoenix’ portrait and the ‘Pelican’ portrait, will be shown together for [...]