A researcher has “identified her as Lisa Gherardini, a member of a minor noble family of rural origins. She later married a wealthy Florentine silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. Giuseppe Pallanti’s 25-year investigation supports a claim first made in 1550 by Giorgio Vasari. In his work, “Lives of the Artists,” the 16th-century painter and art historian named Lisa Gherardini Del Giocondo as the subject of the portrait.”
Tag: 05.05.07
Can Culture Change What We See?
“Researchers have found that the brains of older East Asian people respond less strongly to changes in the foreground of images than those of their Western counterparts. They suggest this difference is due to an increased emphasis on the background, or context, of images in some Asian cultures.”
Blood Apparently Not Thicker Than Cash
“A furious bidding war has broken out for a chain of theaters around the country, pitting some of Broadway’s richest and most powerful players against one another – including two branches of the fabled showbiz family, The Nederlanders… Sources say the chain could fetch as much as $200 million.”
A Whole New Frontier For Art In Education
Let’s say you run a nondescript, inner-city primary school in London. And let’s say that, among your student body, you count no fewer than twelve students whose parents are internationally renowned BritArt superstars. Suppose you might be able to rustle up a fundraiser slightly more productive than your average bake sale?
Why Do Shepherds Always Know Where Things Are?
“A shepherd in a remote region of Nepal bordering Tibet has been instrumental in the discovery of an extraordinary art treasure that lay hidden for centuries: a collection of 55 exquisite cave paintings depicting the life of the Buddha.”
LA History Museum To Raise $115m For Renovation
“The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History quietly has begun a $115-million fundraising campaign and five-year renovation project to update the oldest segment in its string of connected structures in Exposition Park. The renovations, already underway, include restoring the museum’s original 1913 rotunda, letting in a lot more light and girding it with modern earthquake protection. Existing exhibition spaces in the rotunda building and adjoining 1920s-vintage areas will be reconfigured to create six new galleries.”
Does This Mean Fewer Godawful Andre Rieu Shows?
At a time when many public television stations are cutting back on local programming, LA’s KCET is taking the daring approach of dramatically expanding its local reach in an effort to draw in new audiences. “KCET’s proposal is just the sort of programming public broadcasting needs to keep government funds, a small but significant portion of its budget, from shriveling.”
Consistency vs. Turnover
Singing a lead role in a Metropolitan Opera production is a tough job. Replacing a popular lead in the same Met production is flatly terrifying. “How is it possible to maintain integrity in the staging when major roles in the cast change, especially when the changes occur weeks and even months apart?” It’s a delicate balancing act.
PBS Standing Firm Behind Burns
PBS says that Ken Burns has earned the right to tell the story of World War II as he sees fit, without interference from the Hispanic interest groups which have been demanding changes to the documentarian’s latest work. As the Congressional Hispanic Caucus gets into the act, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting “reminded Congress of the editorial independence that was guaranteed in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.”
Man vs. Machine: But Which Is Which?
Musicians have been decrying the use of “electronic orchestras” in opera and Broadway pits for years. But can even expert listeners really tell the difference between the digitally generated orchestra and the real thing? Can you?