Sunday, February 27, 2011

Stolen $50 million Vincent van Gogh painting recovered in Cairo airport, stolen by two Italians




The painting, "Poppy Flowers" and "Vase with Flowers,"
will probably be worth $50 million. It has been stolen twice.
The sole position the Van Gogh will be going has returned to the museum.
A stolen painting
through the famed artist worth $50 million has been recovered from the cops at an airport in Cairo, based on Egypt’s cultural minister.
Airport security confiscated the painting from two Italian bandits trying to flee the nation on Saturday evening, said minister Farouk Hosni.
The painting,
which matches by two titles “Poppy Flowers” and “Vase with Flowers,” was stolen early Saturday in the Mahmoud Khalil Museum in Cairo.
The job is 1-foot-by-1-foot and illustrates yellow and red painting colors. It really is thought to have been painted by Van Gogh in 1887, three years before he committed suicide.
It’s the next time the painting through the Dutch-born postimpressionist has been nabbed from your capital’s museum. It absolutely was stolen the very first time in 1977 but recovered 10 years later.
The important points with the first robbery were never fully disclosed. If the painting techniques was finally recovered, an old Egyptian interior minister said three of the country’s residents have been arrested. Authorities never divulged in the event the bandits were tried or charged.

Picasso painting may be sold at Christie’s


A judge ruled Tuesday that a Picasso painting could be sold at auction, despite an incident that its former owner was forced by the Nazis to market it within the 1930s because his family descended from Jews. U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff issued an order four days after Julius H. Schoeps, an heir to Berlin banker Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan to stop the sale.

A Christie's employee
looks at a painting entitled 'Portrait de Angel Fernandez de Soto' (The Absinthe Drinker) by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso at Christie's auction house working in London the judge had temporarily blocked the auction of “Portrait de Angel Fernandez de Soto”. The painting techniques, expected to fetch as much as $60 million, was scheduled to become sold at Christie’s “Portrait de Angel Fernandez de Soto” on Wednesday. The painting of de Soto, who shared a studio with Pablo Picasso, can be bought by the Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation, a London-based charity.
Within the lawsuit, Schoeps sought being declared the lawful owner. A lawyer for Schoeps said outside court Tuesday he would refile the truth in state court on Wednesday.
The oil-on-canvas painting, signed and dated 1903, was described in a Christie’s catalog as capturing de Soto’s haunting face: “The elegantly dressed sitter appears to scrutinize the viewer with an intense gaze, his inner agitation suggested from the forceful brushstrokes and also the cloud of smoke hovering above him.”
In the statement Tuesday, the inspiration dismissed Schoeps’ lawsuit as “utterly spurious without legal or factual substance.” It said the painting realistic was purchased at a Sotheby’s auction in 1995 and exhibited on many occasions since. The foundation said the painting’s provenance was never questioned during that 11-year period until now.
Christie’s said the painting
had been sold through the foundation for income to be allocated to a number of charitable purposes.
The lawsuit said Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was afflicted by Nazi intimidation that forced him to flee his mansion and start selling prized paintings inside a depressed art market. He placed five Picassos, like the de Soto painting, on consignment with Berlin art dealer Justin K. Thannhauser in 1934, the lawsuit said. According for the lawsuit, Thannhauser sold the painting in 1936 to M. Knoedler & Co. in New York. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy died in 1935. The family included composer Felix Mendelssohn.

Painting not really a Caravaggio: Vatican


Rosella Vodret of Rome's Museums Authority speaks concerning the "Martyrdom of St. Lawrence" in Rome
The Vatican’s top art historian has shot down
a written report in its own newspaper that suggested a recently discovered painting would be a Caravaggio.
The pinnacle of the Vatican Museums, Antonio Paolucci, wrote in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano that the work was probably a duplicate of the original by way of a Caravaggio-influenced artist.
L’Osservatore set the art world aflutter
a week ago having a front-page article headlined A New Caravaggio detailing the artistry behind the Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, which in fact had been discovered within the sacristy of the Jesuit church in Rome.
Mcdougal want to know,, art historian Lydia Salviucci Insolera, had made clear that she had not been coming to a conclusions concerning the authenticity with the work understanding that more tests were required.
But the impression provided by the newspaper was that the painting was indeed a never-before-seen Caravaggio: The definitive-sounding headline appeared alongside a colour photograph from the dramatic painting - about the 400th anniversary to the day of the master’s death.
The initial Caravaggio article published on June 18 pointed out that the The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence presented features usual for the artist’s painting techniques, such as the utilization of chiaroscuro for dramatic effect as well as the unique perspective where the subject is seen. The report also highlighted similarities along with other Caravaggio’s paintings, for example within the saint’s hand and body movement.
But on Monday Paolucci wrote
how the work had not been of Caravaggio’s quality and termed it “modest” at best, mentioning in particular the hands were completely from perspective.
The painting depicts a semi-naked
child, his mouth open in desperation, one arm extended while he leans over amid flames. St. Lawrence was burned to death in 258.
Paolucci
said that as the notion of putting St. Lawrence around the grill where he became a martyr was dramatically beautiful, and also the thugs perpetrating his martyrdom are suggestive of Caravaggio’s themes, a close look reveals stylistic shortcomings.
He explained that the hands are “wrong inside their perspective” as well as the subjects’ anatomies were “awkward”. He also noted the painting technique was “inadequate”.
“The quality isn’t there, whereas
inside a Caravaggio it always is, and it’s high even whenhe uses maximum carelessness and a the least his expressive resources,” Paolucci wrote.
He stressed
which he wasn’t criticizing Insolera and noted that she had correctly made clear that further analysis and documentation would be needed to provide definitive answers whether or not the work would be a Caravaggio.
The art painting techniques
are to be unveiled towards the public on Tuesday by Italy’s Culture Ministry.
Caravaggio died
in the Tuscan coast capital of scotland - Porto Ercole in 1610 at age 39 under mysterious circumstances. He had been hugely influential and famous, but had also led a dissolute lifetime of street brawls and alcohol.
Recently, a team of Italian researchers said
they had identified Caravaggio’s remains after a year of digging up bones in Porto Ercole and conducting carbon dating, Paternity testing along with other analysis.
Italy
may be marking the anniversary with a number of events, plus an exhibit in Rome earlier this year drew more than half one million visitors.

NEW! Oil Painting Manner of ODD NERDRUM


Odd Nerdrum

Preparation (his student demoed it in class):
size the canvas with rabbit skin glue. (PVA glue can be used as a substitute).
Priming the canvas:
Materials
-Framer’s Whiting (ground chalk)
-Linseed Oil?-Galkyd (
a little bit, to speed up drying time)
-Turpentine (
a bit; and don't use OMS) mix using a thick long palette knife before mix will be the consistency of toothpaste. (It absolutely was similar to pancake batter) add white and English Red (or transparent oxide red) so that the final mix is a pinkish brick painting colors. Make sure the canvas is clean (can clean with acetone) before applying the floor on the canvas. Apply in thin layers, and try to enter the holes. If applying 2 coats, allow the first layer tack up first.
The canvas should be available in the week.
It is possible to apply this ground to acrylic gessoes canvas. But Nerdrum asserted when using home prepared canvas, it’s already beautiful before you begin. You don’t need to fight the ugly flatness of commercially prepared canvas.

***
BRUSHES and PAINT APPLICATION:
Uncertain what sort of hair of brush he used, but he used only modest amounts (a maximum of #4) about this portrait.
The brushes he
applied to the shadows appeared as if round or filbert.
On larger areas,
however make use of a rag. In reality, he used a rag (and his awesome fingers) a whole lot.
On light areas and highlights, he mainly used bights, applied
a small and decisive stroke with thicker paint and not dragged it around so much. He then blended out having a rag or finger at the appropriate time.
For final touches,
specifically in the sunshine areas, he would work with a fan brush to lightly layer (the motion is a lot more like gliding) the paint in broad strokes along with previous layers and allow brush stroke show through.
Occasionally, he'd also use a rag or sandpaper to adopt off paint and allow the red imprimatura surface inside the shadows.
***
MEDIUM:
From what I saw, he didn’t use medium much. However the medium he used was 50% “cooked” linseed oil painting techniques (not sure if that means stand oil), 50% turpentine.
***
OTHER TOOLS
-Smoked glass filter (to determine value/contrast)
-color gels (
to determine how much of an area would appear to be with more yellow, more green, etc.)
-mirror (
to test accuracy)

Art Movements: Neo-conceptual art

Neo-conceptual art

Neo-conceptual art describes painting techniques  to the 1980s and particularly 1990s up to now that result of the conceptual art movement from the 1960s and 1970s. These subsequent initiatives have included the Moscow Conceptualists, United states of America neo-conceptualists such as Cindy Sherman and the Young British Artists, notably Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin in the uk, where there is also a Stuckism counter-movement and criticism in the 1970s conceptual art group Art and Language.
History
Many of the concerns with the “conceptual art” movement proper happen to be adopted by many contemporary artists because the initial wave of conceptual artists. Even though many of the artists might not term themselves “conceptual artists”, ideas for example anti-commodification, social and/or political critique, digital art, and ideas/information as medium continue to be facets of contemporary art, especially among artists working together with computer art, installation art, and gratification art, net. art and electronic art painting techniques. Many critics and artists may discuss about it conceptual aspects of certain artist or art work, reflecting the enduring influence that many of the original conceptual artists experienced around the art world.
The Moscow Conceptualists, in the 1970s and 80s, attempted to subvert socialist ideology using the tricks of conceptual art and appropriation art. The central figures were Ilya Kabakov and Komar and Melamid. The group also included Eric Bulatov and Viktor Pivovarov.
Notable U.S neo-conceptual artists
with the 1980s include Sherrie Levine, Jenny Holzer, Richard Prince, Louise Lawler, Cindy Sherman, Mark Lombardi, Barbara Kruger, and expatriate Briton, John LeKay who exhibited with Damien Hirst.
The Young British Artists (YBAs), led by Damien Hirst, stumbled on prominence within the 1990s and their work was described at that time as neo-conceptual, although it relies very heavily around the art object to make its impact. The term can be used with regards to them on the basis that the object isn't the artwork, or perhaps is often a found object, that has unnecessary artistic skill in its production. Tracey Emin can be regarded as a respected YBA along with a neo-conceptualist, despite the fact that she's got denied that she is and contains emphasised personal emotional expression. Charles Harrison, a member of the conceptual art group Art and Language in the 1970s, criticizes the neo-conceptual art from the 1990s as conceptual art “without threat or awkwardness” and a “vacant” prospect.
Other notable artists
connected with neo-conceptualism in the United Kingdom include Martin Creed, Liam Gillick, Bethan Huws, Simon Patterson, Simon Starling and Douglas Gordon.