The new Sutton-Hoo?

Cool early medieval news: An amateur treasure-hunter with a metal detector found a cache of Anglo-Saxon objects in England about two months ago. Consisting of about 1,500 objects from the 7th century, the hoard is being billed as the largest such treasure to ever be discovered. I'm most interested in the Christian objects, and it will be interesting to see what scholarship comes out of this (also, I can't believe anyone still uses the phrase "the Dark Ages" seriously).


Depressing art news: A Renee Magritte painting, Olympia, was recently stolen from a museum in Brussels.

A hilariously cliche-laden write-up about a discovery in a 17th century canvas by Poussin.

A telling interview with Thomas Campbell about his leadership style and what it means for the Met's exhibition schedule.

Met tidbits

This made the front page of the NYT online edition this morning: The Metropolitan Museum's "Portrait of a Man" that had been displayed as by the workshop of Velazquez has been reattributed to the master himself, after a recent conservation.

Keith Christiansen, chairman of European paintings and the country's leading Velazquez scholar, Jonathan Brown, are in agreement about the attribution, which basically comes down to a few individual brushstrokes on the man's collar (art history at it's finest!). Debate continues over whether or not this work may be a self-portrait.

In other Met news, the museum announced that it will show fewer exhibitions of major loans, and will instead focus on changing the presentation of the permanent collection, which I think is what we're seeing now with these small, single-painting shows. I've got my money on a "Portrait of a Man" show in the upcoming months!

Art Links

Hello dear readers, I apologize for my long blogging hiatus. I was in Paris researching some manuscripts for my thesis, started a new job, and time got away from me!

Here are a few art links and updates to hold you over for the upcoming holiday weekend:

-In today's Times, an update/analysis on how galleries are faring in the continuing bad economic situation. 57th St. galleries seem to be relocating to Chelsea, where some two dozen have vacated their spaces.

-The much buzzed-about show at the Met which is centered around Vermeer's Milkmaid opens next week, on September 10th. It will also feature the Met's complete collection of (5) Vermeers, along with a selection of Dutch works (which reminds me a lot of the show they put up a few years ago which featured the entire collection of Dutch paintings). I'm interested in the Met's strategy here. Considering the Michelangelo's first painting exhibition, the Vermeer show, and the upcoming show which features a single sculpture (attributed to Michelangelo), the Met seems to be trafficking in small-scale (but big publicity) Frick Collection-style shows. Low cost and high traffic, an interesting move for the Met. MoMA is doing something similar with their exhibition on Monet's waterlilies (which I'm sure will be so packed, it will hardly be the oasis MoMA claims it will be).

-For all of you medieval art dorks who've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newly unbound Belles Heures of Jean de France at the Met, the show which was originally scheduled to open later this month has been pushed back to March. (Also opening in March is an interesting show on medieval tomb sculpture from Burgundy.)

-The Walters Art Museum has a neat-looking show on miniature books, which pulls from their permanent collection.

how do we "look" at art today?

I just had to blog this article when I saw it this morning in the Times. Mainly because I spend a lot of time in museums, and one of my favorite things to do is watch other people look at art. Since the completion of the new Greek and Roman galleries at the Met, one of my favorite spots is the marble courtyard arranged around a fountain with a spectacular arrangement of Greek sculpture. Reactions range from shock regarding the statues' state of general undress to some people who took a picture of each other in front of literally every piece in the room.

I've often been struck by the urge to "collect" pictures of pictures. As if taking a picture of the Mona Lisa or Starry Night means that you earn some amount of invisible art points for having been to the museum it resides in, pushed your way to the front of the crowd, and snapped a badly-lit, off-center digital photograph of it.

What do you think? How do you look at art?

Art Links

-First, the Louvre is launching an English version of their online database, Atlas, today. I think I'm probably going to spend the rest of the day just browsing the high-res images.

-The Courtauld Institute in London is considering some major cost-cutting strategies that will affect 3 of their image archives, almost cutting off access to them completely and ceasing to collect new items.

-The Hague's Gemeentemuseum is commencing their restoration plans for their collection of Mondrian paintings.

I just found my next degree program

There's an article in the Times today about an association called the Association for Research into Crimes against Art that offers an MA in Art Crime. Is this the coolest thing ever? Yes.

The 9-month long program covers all aspects of art crime, from forgery to art theft, and is geared toward post-graduate students from all fields--lawyers, security professionals, students of art history, criminology, and conservation. All this, and the schooling takes place in Amelia, Italy, in Umbria, as if it could get any better.

Check out the ARCA's website for more information. Who's in?

Contemporary art meets reality TV

I'm not sure if this is going to be great, or if Bravo's finally taken reality competition shows to the limit: Bravo is producing a new TV show that's basically the Project Runway of the contemporary art world. 13 finalists from all over the country will compete for a gallery show, a cash prize, and a national museum tour.

However, it is unclear exactly what format the show will take as far as challenges go. Will Bravo use a similar "quick-fire" challenge like on Top Chef? As Kennedy brilliantly asks: "Best postironic conceptual gambit in under a minute?" How will the show be received by "art world people"? So far, Simon de Pury of Phillips de Pury auction house has been revealed as a judge, and I'm really curious as to who else they're going to get. Will top galleries be represented? So many questions!

What do you guys think about the new art reality show?