Category: visual

The BBC was given rare access to the preparations and spoke to three experts involved. – BBC

The scientific analysis “showed brushwork, and a liveliness to that brushwork, that is quite consistent with other works by Rembrandt,” said Shan Kuang, a conservator at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts who restored “Portrait of a Young Woman.” – Toronto Star (AP)

“That’s the message embedded within a clause recently added to the E.U.’s negotiating mandate, which says the British government should ‘address issues relating to the return or restitution of unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin.'” – ARTnews

The effects Crystal Bridges has had on the region are more than clear. And later this month, the museum is going one step further. It’s opening a satellite contemporary art center, the Momentary, which, by all accounts, is expected to further solidify the impact art has had on this town that once counted the Walmart Museum as one of its biggest cultural attractions. – Artnet

It’s the second Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation award and comes with a $50,000 prize. Knight has been an art critic at The Times since 1989, where he continues to chronicle the growth of Southern California’s visual art scene. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism in 1991, 2001 and 2007, and he received the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for art and design criticism last year. – Los Angeles Times

Perhaps the forger’s best tool is the desire of buyers to want something to be real. No matter how improbable. – The Daily Beast

Founded in 1992, the Kunsthalle Wien is a large exhibition space with no permanent collection. How does a triumvirate lead such a venue in practice? Surely much more time is spent on meetings and co-ordination? To whom do the 35 staff report? WHW say: “We don’t have specific tasks, so no one is in charge of something. Decision-making is at the level of the collective. We have a single email address for staff [to contact us].” – The Art Newspaper

“Experts have discovered a cave full of prehistoric carvings in northern Spain. Among the hundreds of rock carvings, some believed to be 15,000 years old, are vivid depictions of horses, deer, and bulls, as well as a wealth of mysterious and abstract symbols. Unlike the famous prehistoric paintings at Altamira in northern Spain, the recently discovered cave art in Catalonia is carved directly into the soft surface of the rock.” – Artnet

“All 12 tapestries designed by Raphael have been hung on the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel as part of celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death. … All 12, made with silk, wool and gold and silver thread, have been painstakingly restored by Vatican Museum conservationists in the last 10 years.” – Reuters

Caroline Baumann was forced to resign on Feb. 7 after an investigation by the Smithsonian’s inspector general into how Ms. Baumann procured her dress and the venue for the ceremony. It was unclear whether there were additional allegations.According to two people familiar with the Smithsonian’s decision-making, the inspector general found the appearance of a conflict of interest, but several board members said they believed the punishment was unwarranted. – The New York Times