Rubens Art - 60 In Doubt

The authenticity of up to 60 paintings attributed to Rubens has been called into doubt after the expertise of the art historian responsible for authenticating them was questioned. Ludwig Burchard was one of the most respected scholars of the 20th century, revered for his knowledge of Rubens. But almost 50 years after his death, research suggests that he misattributed scores of paintings to the 17th-century master. On more than one occasion he may have given out certificates of authenticity for commercial gain. Paintings to which he gave his blessing, and which made their way to collections worldwide, have since been demoted to lesser hands by the Corpus Rubenianum, the definitive study of Rubens by the Centre for Flemish Art in Antwerp. Long-held doubts about the authenticity of Rubens’s Samson and Delilah are certain to be raised once more.
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Irish Art

Bonnard Art In Paris

This spring, Paris is offering a wonderful opportunity to refresh old memory files. Twenty-two years after the last major Bonnard retrospective, the Paris Museum of Modern Art - until May 7 - opens a sumptuous Bonnard exhibition, with 90 of his paintings, drawings and photographs, agendas, and sketchbooks, spanning more than 50 years. Deeply influenced by Gauguin, as a young painter Bonnard took time to decide which path to take. The way he chose was to follow his own set of rules. In his own lifetime, critics and art buyers didn't know how to define his art, especially when cubism started ruling the Paris artistic scene.I n the paintings exhibited in Paris, lent by major world museums and collectors, you discover with a gourmet's delight what appear at first glance to be homey scenes of everyday French life.

The terrace of his house. The lush garden as seen from the window. A table set for lunch. A cafe on the Place de Clichy. His wife seated behind a kitchen table. And lots of female nudes bathing (his wife Marthe most of the time). Now, look again. Perspectives and proportions are forgotten. Daylight streaming from the window blends seamlessly with indoor lighting. Colors, colors, colors rule everywhere. As the exhibition notice sums it up nicely, "[Bonnard's] perception distills memory and dream so as to 'bring paint to life' rather than simply "paint life." Cezanne liked Bonnard's work. You can feel their kinship in Bonnard's landscapes of the south of France, where they both lived and painted for long periods.
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Irish Art

The Art of Positive Thinking

The 17th-century Qing dynasty vases had rested blamelessly on a staircase window sill for about 50 years until Nick Flynn had his now infamous "Norman Wisdom moment" - tripping on his shoelace, he fell into the vases and sprayed about 400 shards of porcelain over 30 steps before looking up to see snaps being taken on a mobile phone. As if that were not bad enough, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge was then placed under the media spotlight for not shielding the vases or, at the very least, insuring them. But it was far from a disaster, according to restorer Penny Bendall. "This is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate how ceramic conservation techniques have improved in recent years," she said at an upbeat press conference yesterday. "I can foresee no major problems and I'm looking forward enormously to working on the vases." Once finished, the three vases - worth about £500,000 - will go back on display restored, but with cracks. "It is standard practice to allow the cracks to be seen to demonstrate the authenticity of the vase," Ms Bendall said.

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Irish Art

Microsoft Art On Show

For the first time, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has opened up his private art collection. Twenty-eight works, some not seen in public for more than 50 years, will be on display under the same metallic roof that holds some of the other cool stuff that Allen has collected. Down the hall from Renoir, Seurat and Picasso is Jimi's guitar, Darth Vader's helmet and Michael Jackson's jeweled glove. A lush Renoir portrait of a young woman next to a giant Roy Lichtenstein cartoonlike painting of a blonde bombshell. Fifteenth-century Flemish painter Jan Brueghel The Younger is grouped with Georges Seurat, the 19th-century pointillist, and Pablo Picasso, the famous cubist. A tranquil Monet water lily painting hangs next to a fiery, angry painting by American abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning. Museum officials expect about 100,000 people to view the exhibit in the six months it will be in Seattle. Based on its success here, the show may go on the road to other museums. Allen, one of the richest men in the world, is famous for his acquisitiveness. Besides artwork and rock and sci-fi artifacts, his worldly goods include antique aircraft, books, downtown Seattle real estate, software company startups, mega-yachts and pro sports teams.
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Irish Art

British Museum's lost 2,000

The British Museum says that more than 2000 items are missing from its collection and that 28 items have been stolen in recent years. "While the thefts represent a tiny fraction of the 150 million items in the library's possession, the stolen items are valued at £100,000, with a number of rare maps and illustrated plates ripped from antique books by international thieves. A single plate cut from a 1522 volume on Pompeii is worth £45,000. According to the library, the most serious thefts are the carefully targeted removal of antique maps and plates from rare books by professional thieves, who may use a hidden razor blade to slice out the page. Map thief Peter Bellwood, who disguised himself as a bumbling academic to take thousands of rare maps, was jailed in 2004 for stealing 50 maps from the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. He was also jailed in 1996 for removing more than 1,000 plates, illustrations and prints from a dozen libraries, including the British Library.
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Irish Art

Britney's Nude Art Birth

A controversial new sculpture of Britney Spears on all fours pointing her rear end in the air is set to shock her teenage fans. With her heavily swollen breasts hanging down below her, Britney is provocatively clutching the ears of a dead bear's head. Artist Daniel Edwards claims the 24-year-old star will be flattered by his vision of her at the moment she gave birth. But whether Britney will feel the same remains to be seen. She has been invited to next month's opening of the work in New York but has not yet returned her RSVP.
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Irish Art

BBC's £4 Million Art

THE BBC came under fire last night after it emerged broadcasting chiefs have commissioned more than 40 pieces of art that will cost licence fee payers more than £4m. Well-known artists including Rachel Whiteread and Tracey Emin are among those who have been asked to produce art for the corporation under a programme of purchasing public art linked to the redevelopment of Broadcasting House in London. The collection includes pavement poetry, a 3,000ft tower of light shone into London's night sky through an inverted steel and glass cone and a small bird sitting on top of a 13ft bronze perch in Liverpool. But critics have attacked the BBC for lavishing public money on non-programming activities at a time of massive cost-cutting in the organisation. BBC director general Mark Thompson is currently in the middle of slashing £400m of costs from the broadcaster's budget and axing 3,000 jobs amid calls to raise the licence fee to £180 a year.
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Irish Art