Art Links

-Etruscan treasures in Dallas are on view at the Southern Methodist University Meadows Museum, and is supposedly the largest exhibition of Etruscan artifacts in the United States.

-The St. Louis Museum has Power and Glory: The Court Arts of China's Ming Dynasty on view through May 17th. Interestingly, the show is organized chronologically instead of thematically, which I think is a great way to view the arts of an entire dynasty.

-In case you were wondering, the stats on the most visited museums last year are out.

-A group of 13 paintings with questionable authenticity, supposedly by Adolf Hitler are scheduled to be auctioned at a British sale in April.

-And finally, is journalism (or more specifically, is photojournalism) art? Mannie Garcia's photo of President Obama, on which Shepard Fairey's iconic "Hope" poster is based, is on sale in a limited edition of 200 at a Chelsea gallery. J-art?

Art Links

-Shamed Upper East Side art dealer, Larry Salander, has been indicted on charges including grand larceny and falsifying business records. His gallery, Salander-O’Reilly, was known for both American contemporary art and Old Masters.

-A group of late Picasso works are on sale at the Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea. I suppose it's to be expected from Picasso's biographer, John Richardson, but he psychoanalyzes the works in a way I'm not entirely, art historically comfortable with.

-Yale University filed a suit this week to assert its ownership of van Gogh's The Night Cafe, after the descendent of the previous owner decided that it was rightfully his.

Bata Shoe Museum brings shoe history to the internet masses

I just stumbled across the Bata Shoe Museum's website devoted completely to online exhibitions. The special section, called All About Shoes, is broken down into several topics, all featuring a close look at a certain section of shoe history.

A number of the online shows trace the history of shoes within specific cultural contexts, like American Indian, Japanese, and Alaskan Coastal cultures. Other shows trace thematic issues, like shoes in wedding traditions from around the world, and my personal favorite Heights of Fashion: History of the Elevated Foot takes a look at the history of stilettos, from the very first platform shoes.

Each exhibit features fantastic digital examples of each shoe type that you can zoom in on, as well as a wealth of information...possibly more than you could ever want to know about shoes in history. My only criticism is that they included Blahnik, but left out Louboutin. In any case, the Bata Shoe Museum gets my applause for their efforts in adapting their material for the internet audience.

Art Links

-The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine here in New York recently put two of their twelve Barberini tapestries on display for Easter. Tapestries depicting "The Crucifixion" and "Agony in the Garden" are being used during Easter season "as this art is intended," to help teach and visualize liturgical events to the congregation.

The article in the NYT has a great slide show and some tidbits about how the tapestry collection at St. John's is preserved.

-On the other end of the art spectrum, the WSJ has a review of Synthetic, a new show open at the Whitney that explores the use of synthetic art materials during the 1960s. As the critic, James Gardner, points out, the show is composed of only 18 works, but attempts to answer large questions of criticism and art history. The works analyze the question "Did synthetic materials lead to the rise of synthetic art?"

Being the medievalist I am, I can't answer that question, though this review sort of makes me want to go see the show and find out. Synthetic is open until April 19th.

Fisherman Catches Ancient Bronze Statue

A feel-good story on a Monday afternoon:

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- A Greek fisherman must have been expecting a monster of a catch when he brought up his nets in the Aegean Sea last week.

Instead, Greek authorities say his haul was a section of a 2,200-year-old bronze statue of a horseman.

A Culture Ministry announcement said Monday the accidental find was made in waters between the eastern islands of Kos and Kalymnos. The fisherman handed over the corroded metal figure to authorities, who have started the cleaning process.

Dating to the late 2nd century B.C., the statue represented a male rider wearing ornate breast armor over a short tunic and armed with a sheathed sword. The trunk of the horseman and his raised right arm have survived.

Corny fishing metaphors aside, this is pretty cool.

Art Links

-A new exhibition at the Met, Art of the Korean Renaissance, 1400-1600, is a synthesis of beauty, unfamiliarity, and intimacy in what Holland Cotter says "could be the new norm" for the Met's exhibitions in the coming months/years.

The Asian art wing at the Met is consistently one of the least-crowded in the entire museum, so I'm glad there's an interesting exhibition to draw some attention to it.

-Dirt on Delight: Impulses that Form Clay is on at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The show argues for ceramics as a serious art form that combines elements of sculpture and painting, and questions the so-called "art-craft" divide.

-Old master paintings are still a better investment than buying contemporary art. "Old Masters are better than buying gold nuggets if you’re looking for something that will retain value,” where contemporary prices have fluctuated wildly in the last few months.

Fall Fashion 2009: "Tudormania"

I love when fashion looks to history for inspiration, and the Fall 2009 collections were full of references to 16th century Tudor England. Dolce & Gabbana, who always show unique, often irreverent and slightly costume-y pieces, was the leader in the Tudor-style trend in their D&G line this year.

Gianfranco Ferré and even Chanel got in on the Tudor action, with high-necked, ruffle-collar shirts, and fabrics like rich silks and brocades. Lacroix showed major jewels, with long gold necklaces piled over high-necked black dresses.

Interesting though, this revival of Henry VIII as a handsome, badass, savvy king with great style.

Art Links

-Retrace the footsteps of the thieves involved in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist.

-...and what lingering effects the theft had on the museum.

-The Maastricht art fair, going on now in the Netherlands, one of the biggest shows in the world, seems to be doing respectably, despite the scary, scary recession.

-YSL portraits pulled from Andy Warhol show at the Grand Palais in Paris.

-A slide show of highlights from the Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese show at the MFA in Boston.

Plague Vampire Unearthed in Venice

I had to post about this story because it involves two of my favorite things--plague and vampires.

Italian researchers believe they have unearthed the remains of a female "vampire" in a 16th century Venetian plague mass grave. The woman was buried with a brick in her mouth, a technique believed to stop vampires from "feasting on plague victims" after their death. This is the first forensic evidence researchers have that supports the medieval belief that it was actually vampires that were behind the spread of illnesses like the plague.

Like a lot of medieval supernatural beliefs, the superstition has a perfectly natural explanation. Medieval people believed vampires were behind the spread of pestilence due to their lack of understanding of the decomposition process: they uncovered recently deceased corpses to discover their hair still growing and (stop eating anything you might have in your hand here) blood coming from their mouths, and assumed these were sure signs of plague-related vampirism.

A more detailed article, with some interesting trivia about the "shroud-eaters" of yore appeared in the Times as well.

More photos of the excavation here. Happy Friday everyone!

Art Links

-More bad news for the art industry: 2008 was the worst year for Sotheby's since 2003, budget cuts, pay cuts, and job cuts ensue.

-The Met cuts even more jobs, spanning all departments.

-Alexander McQueen's ab-so-lutely brilliant show at Paris Fashion Week. The slide show that accompanies this NYT article is especially good.

-It seems that the British Museum is in trouble again regarding illegally excavated artifacts. This time the subject is a bronze Chinese drum stand from 770-476 BC, now owned by the Shanghai Museum.

Intrigue and Art Theft

Paintings that were stolen in 1987 from the Noortman Gallery in Maastricht were recovered after the thieves tried to sell the works (including Renoir, van de Velde, Brueghel the Younger, and Pissarro) back to the insurance company that paid the original settlement. Many of the works were badly damaged from being folded. Where is the respect, people? Can you even imagine contemplating folding a Renoir?

I'm noticing a trend in art theft: they only get caught because they do something really dumb, like hang the stolen paintings in their apartment, or try to sell them back to the insurance company.

The St. John's Bible, continued

I posted recently about the St. John's Bible, a manuscript currently on view at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. It's in the process of being completed by a group of modern-day monks using medieval calligraphy methods, but with modern touches, like that it's completely in English instead of Latin. I sort of had no idea what to expect from it, image-wise, so I'd like to share a few pictures of it. It's a rather brilliant synthesis of medieval illumination traditions and modern aesthetics.

MoMA Website Redesign

I thought the old MoMA website was actually pretty good, all the information was there, it was [relatively] easy to find, so I was a little surprised to learn that they were totally re-doing it.

I've been clicking around it for a little while, and while the design is flashier, there are more animations, slide shows, and the overall look is smoother, I think they complicated it a little bit.

The first thing I noticed was on the navigation bar (at the bottom of the screen, even though there's another one at the top), you can pick "a perspective" and the box next to it will suggest the appropriate links, for example, if my perspective is "filmgoer" I get links to show times and what movies are playing, and if my perspective is "student" I get links to what resources are available at MoMA. Some other interesting additions are links to the MoMA Flickr group (though, surprisingly, the Met did it first), and if you register with the website, you can save a library of your favorite works from the collection.

Overall, the navigation is more complicated so the appearance of the site has an edgier look, but at the expense of actually finding the information you're looking for. There's a lot going on, and it could use a few organizational tweaks, but overall, bravo MoMA for making a real effort on the internet. Visit the new site and let me know what you think!

Art Reviews

A couple of links to reviews you might be interested in:

-First, a trip to the dark side of the moon with Cezanne and Beyond, which is also on my to-see list.

-The Armory Show in New York is on now, and is being watched as the traditional barometer of the art market.

Art Links

-The controversial issue of the two Chinese bronze sculptures in the YSL sale has been further complicated by the Chinese buyer, Cai Mingchao, who won the two lots, but is now refusing to pay for them, insisting that they should be returned to China without charge.

-The Metropolitan Opera has put its Chagall murals up as part of the collateral on an existing loan, despite the large murals being "New York treasures."

-Evolutionary science, naturalism, and art are the focus of a new exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art. Just one example of the great niche shows that university art museums are so good at. Endless Forms is on through May 3rd.

-The Museum of Modern Art will unveil a total reconstruction of their official website on Friday. It sounds pretty cool, check back here Friday for my official review.

-Jeff Koons has been commissioned by LACMA to create a 25-million dollar sculpture of a life-size train dangling from a crane. I will withhold my judgment.

-Royalty checks become the focus for some art detective work.

Exhibition Round-Up

A quick list of everything I want to see that's on right now:

-At the Met, Cast in Bronze: French Sculpture from Renaissance to Revolution, even though French bronzes aren't exactly the most show-stopping of artworks.

-This looks awesome: Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice at the MFA in Boston. Who doesn't love a good Renaissance rivalry?

-The slightly space-age sounding Cezanne and Beyond as well as Henri Matisse and Modern Art on the French Riviera at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

-The early works of Guercino at the Istituto Italiana di Cultura right here on the Upper East Side.

-At the Frick Collection, Masterpieces of European Painting from the Norton Simon Museum.

-At the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Wall Stories: Children's Wallpaper and Books.

-And finally, at the Museum of the City of New York, Valentina: American Couture and the Cult of Celebrity.