According to Domino’s a lot! Loving this new “MasterPizzas” commercial.
How Many Masters Does it Take to Sell a Pizza?
21 Monday Nov 2016
Posted in Art Appreciation, Artist, Fine Art, Impressionism, Social Media, Van Gogh
Monthly Archives: November 2016
Trump’s Renoir
18 Friday Nov 2016
Posted in Art Appreciation, Artist, Fine Art, Impressionism, NYC, Renoir
The Daily Mail photos of Trump’s New York apartment reveals that his wife, Melania, has in her office a copy of Renoir’s La Loge (the original is in the Courtauld). At least she has good taste in paintings.
The Sketchbook
17 Thursday Nov 2016
Posted in Art Appreciation, Artist, Books, Fine Art, Impressionism, Van Gogh
A new book of a supposedly lost Van Gogh’s sketchbook was released yesterday and it is already creating controversy among Van Gogh’s experts. The experts at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is not convinced that the drawings are indeed Van Gogh’s. And looking at this cover I can see where there are coming from, there are some serious issue with its physical structure, proportions and shading. I’m also not convinced nor impressed. More information: Van Gogh Experts Go Head to Head Over Long-Lost Sketchbook Claim
Monet’s Record
17 Thursday Nov 2016
Posted in Art Appreciation, Artist, Fine Art, Impressionism, NYC, Van Gogh
Last night was a busy one for NY Christie’s, breaking the world auction record for Claude Monet at $81.4 million, just over $1 million more than the previous record, which was set at Christie’s London in 2008. This was the highest result for an Impressionist & Modern Art sale at Christie’s since May 2014. This confirms that the Impressionist’s market is alive and well folks, and I’m loving it! Christie’s Sells Monet Painting for $81.4 Million
Turner and the Hero Ship
11 Friday Nov 2016
Posted in Art Appreciation, Artist, Fine Art, France, Museum
Yesterday there was an excellent discussion about the Fighting Temeraire on BBC Radio 4’s ‘In Our Time‘. And they mentioned that Turner might not had actually seen the Temeraire being towed, which I believe it is true since Turner was reported to be in South France at that time. However, this fact does not influence in anything of the powerful and heroic message this painting (National Gallery in London) has to offer.
The ghost ship you see here is the Temeraire, it is being towed by this dark tugboat after the Battle of Trafalgar, a huge naval battle between the British and the French which the British navy won. The Temeraire was a British ship and it was the key element for such victory. However, after the battle the Temeraire had never seen action again, it was turned into a supply ship, until it was sold for scrap. So, this is a painting of the last moments of a hero ship after a glorious journey.
Van Gogh’s not a Van Gogh’s?
10 Thursday Nov 2016
Mr. James Grundvi, a construction manager who spent 3 years studying a Van Gogh’s book (not sure which one), published a book called ‘Breaking Van Gogh‘ where he claims that one of Van Gogh’s most famous pictures, ‘Wheat Field with Cypresses‘ (Metropolitan Museum) is a fake. Full article: New York Post
The Met has gamely played along and pointed out all the evidence in favour of the picture, including the fact that it is painted on the same bolt of canvas as many of his other pictures.
I still bought the book and will read it, just for the sake of it.
An Old Painting
07 Monday Nov 2016
Posted in Art Appreciation, Artist
The Daily Telegraph has announced the news that an old painting has been proved to be… old. And because it’s old, it might be by Raphael:
In a study published this week, [scientists] confirmed that the pigments – cinnabar, haematite red lead, lead white, goethite, verdigris green and azurite – were all commonly used in a Renaissance palette making it likely that it dates from the early 16th century.On Christ’s right foot, he has six toes, which was a familiar device used by Renaissance artists, and in particular Raphael. […]
The figure of Christ also appears to share the same hairline and nose as the male figures in Raphael’s Madonna with the Christ Child, which dates from 1502.
How exciting would it be if it turns out to be indeed a genuine Raphael!
