In 1792, King Carlos IV of Spain ordered the building of a royal chapel in central Madrid for Saint Anthony of de La Florida. He then commissioned his favorite painter, Goya, to paint the frescos within the chapter depicting the miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua. It took Goya only four months to complete the frescos, despite suffering ... Read More »
A new study from the University of Freiburg, Germany has revealed that people suffering from clinical depression don’t just feel gray but are seeing gray as well. Studies have shown that the deeper depressed a person is, the less their retina can respond to light, thus graying their vision. The scientists in the study have related this “graying” effect ... Read More »
The fight to save the hill depicted in Francisco de Goya’s painting La Pradera de San Isidro is on in Madrid. The hill known as San Francisco cornisa is a green ridge from which Goya painted the Madrid skyline, depicted in the painting, as seen in 1788. Last year, Madrid’s city hall granted the Catholic Church permission to build ... Read More »
It has been 18 long months since one of the crowning jewels of the National Gallery, London has seen the light of day but last week, Leonardo DaVinci’s masterpiece The Virgin of the Rocks finally returned to its place in the museum’s Sainsbury wing. Read More »
Prix Pictet, the prestigious photography award, launched today at the world’s foremost photography festival Les Rencontres d’Arles. The announcement for this year’s theme, Growth, will be held tonight in Arles at the Théâtre Antique. Since its launch in 2008 by the Geneva-based private bank Pictet & Cie, the Prix Pictet has become the world’s leading prize in photography and sustainability. ... Read More »
In a daring chain of events reminiscent of a scene from Oceans Eleven, a Caravaggio painting stolen two years ago from the Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art has been recovered in Berlin by German and Ukrainian police. The painting, called “The taking of Christ” or “The kiss of Judas” by scholars, is considered the most valuable painting ... Read More »
Often in Italy, the stories of its cities are the stories of its artists. In Siena, the story of its most famous artist shines a light on a city whose history has been plagued by the shadow of its more prosperous neighbor, and rival, to the north, Florence. The origin of Duccio di Buoninsegna is a mystery but what ... Read More »
The British Council Arts initiative entitled, New Silk Road, “aims to use the arts traditions of the region to make these places seem vivid again, and to address negative stereotypes with a creative energy that is independent of politics.” A worthy goal. Set to help the BCA accomplish this are textile designers Bruno Basso and Christopher Brooke who “travelled to ... Read More »
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