Luis García Berlanga and Sacha Guitry at the Cinemateca Portuguesa

Next month, the Cinemateca Portuguesa (Portuguese Cinematheque) will present a retrospective dedicated to Luis García Berlenga and Sacha Guitry.

In partnership with the Instituto de Cinematografia y Artes Audiovisuales, the Filmoteca Española and Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture, the Cinemateca Portuguesa will present 10 films from restored copies by the Spanish film director and screenwriter Luis García Berlanga Martí.

This will be one of the first public presentations worldwide, including some famous films from the 50's: "Esa Pareja Feliz", "Bienvenido, Mr. Marshall! / Benvindo, Mister Marshall" and "Calabuch."



"El Verdugo" (1963); "La Escopeta Nacional" (1978); "Vivan los Novios" (970); "Todos a la Carcel" (1993), are some of the titles that the public will be able to enjoy from 1 to 21 of February 2012.

The retrospective dedicated to the French film director Alexandre-Pierre Georges (Sacha) Guitry, will take place from 20 of February through March, also presenting 10 films.



"Le Roman d'Un Tricheur" and "Faisons un Rêve" (1936), "Désiré" and "Quadrille" (1937/8), "Le Comédien" and "Le Diable Boiteux" (1948), "Aux Deux Colombes" (1949) and "La Poison" (1951) will be shown during the month of February.

Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Sacha Guitry was also a stage actor, film actor, screenwriter, and playwright of the Boulevard theatre.

To learn more about the retrospective dedicated to Luis García Berlanga and Sacha Guitry, you can call (351) 21 359 62 66.

India Art Fair 2012

The 4th edition of India Art Fair (formerly India Art Summit) will open to the general public tomorow, January 26, after today's preview.

India Art Fair welcomes 98 exibitors from 20 countries into the NSIC Exhibition Grounds, in Okhla(South Deli), a newly renovated Exhibition Centre offering 16000 sqm of open ground space.

Interactive art projects, site-specific sculptures, multi-media installations, panel discussions between artists and public, access to book launches on first-hand, as well as curated walks, will be part of the programme.

A series of collateral events, including exhibitions, talks, studio visits, etc, will occur during India Art Fair 2012.

The organizers pursuit their founding goals of creating a platform for art enthusiasts to share, learn and exchange ideas in the field of art. These goals are accomplished through the collaboration with cultural and educational institutions, internships, curated student visits to the art fair, supporting initiatives by art schools across the country towards art management and curating, alongside art appreciation, conservation and preservation.

A Collector's Circle, accessible through a membership fee and the submission of an application form, will enable art enthusiasts with a desire of starting an art collection or learn more about modern and contemporary art, to enhance their knowledge in several areas, namely collecting and conservation.
The membership offers several benefits throughout the year.

India Art Fair 2012 can be visited until January 29

Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture

Today at 18h00(GMT) will take place the opening ceremony of Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture. Located in the Northwest of Portugal, the historic city of Guimarães will host a series of art events presented by artists from several countries.

With the creation of artistic residencies and a proactive involvement with the public, in particularly with the population and schools, Guimarães 2012 will contribute to the cultural development of the city and its surrounding, as well as to the interaction between artists working in distinct areas and from different countries.

Throughout the year, the programme will include music, cinema, photography, fine arts, architecture, literature, thought, theatre, dance and street art.

Guimarães 2012 opening performance will take place at 22h00(GMT) at the Toural Square (Largo do Toural) and will be presented by the famous Catalan theatrical group founded in 1979, La Fura Dels Baus.



The city of Maribor in Slovenia is the other European Capital of Culture for this year. Maribor 2012 was inaugurated on January 13 and will present a programme focused on a young audience.

The future European Capitals of Culture will be Marseille (France) and Košice (Slovakia) in 2013; Umeå (Sweden) and Riga (Latvia) in 2014; Mons (Belgium) and Plzeň (Czech Republic) in 2015.

Hans Holbein's "Darmstadt Madonna" goes to Schwäbisch Hall

Acquired last year by the by German entrepreneur Reinhold Würth for near €70 million, the "Darmstadt Madonna" (also known as Madonna of Jakob Meyer zum Hasen), painted by Hans Holbein the Younger around 1526 in Basel, will go on display at the Johanniter Church (Johanniterkirche) in Schwäbisch Hall, southwestern Germany.

The painting, widely called "Virgin of Mercy" (Schutzmantelmadonna), depicts the Mother of God, with the Christ Child in her arms, standing in a huge scalloped niche. Mary's outspread cloak, identifying her as the Virgin of Mercy, shelters the people kneeling at her feet, including Bürgermeister of Basel Jakob Meyer zum Hasen, his first wife (who had died earlier), his current wife, and his daughter. The work ends with a semicircle at the top.

Part of the Würth Collection, the "Darmstadt Madonna" can be seen from January 24, 2012 at the Johanniterkirche (Tue-Sun 11am-5pm), together with other works by Old Masters such as Lucas Cranach the Elder, Tilman Riemenschneider or the Master of Messkirch, Johanniterkirche and Hans Holbein the Elder.

Museo del Prado open 7-days-a-week

In the same day that Telefónica renewed its sponsorship of the Museo Nacional del Prado for another four years as Benefactor of the Prado’s Visitor Attention Programme, the museum confirmed that will open 7-days-a-week, as announced last October, reinforcing the Prado’s position as the public European museum with the longest opening hours (3,542 hours per annum). As a result, the Prado now joins the very small group of major international art museums that are open every day of the week (Tate Modern, the British Museum, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum in Europe, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, USA).

The Museo del Prado will no longer close on Mondays and will remain open on Good Friday, permiting to visit its collections and temporary exhibitions every day of the year, except on three major public holidays (1 May, 1 January and 25 December).
This new strategy is accompanied by changes in the daily opening hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 10am to 8pm; Sundays and public holidays, 10am to 7pm (the exceptions being 24 December, 31 December and 6 January: open 10am to 2pm).

Visitants will also enjoy an increase in the number of free opening hours to the Prado, which can now be visited free of charge during the last two hours of every day of the week, except on public holidays.

In order to celebrate its new opening hours and the agreement signed with Telefónica, the entry to the museum’s collections will be free to all visitors on the 16, 23 and 30 January 2012.

With this initiative the Museo del Prado seeks to improve and multiply its cultural activities, thus assuring its commitment to cover 60% of its budget through self-financing.

BRAFA’12 - Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair

From 21 to 29 January 2012, it will take place at Tour & Taxis, located in the heart of Brussels, the 57th Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair, BRAFA’12.

With the first edition in 1955 held in the Arlequin Hall of the Galerij Louiza, under the name of “Belgian Antiques Fair” or “Foire des Antiquaires de Belgique”, renamed BRAFA or Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair in 2007, it's one of the oldest longest running fairs in the world.

Across 9 days, the public will access a fine selection of art presented by 122 exhibitors from 11 countries in over 14,000 square metres of exhibition area, showing objects and antiques such as oil paintings (including Old Masters), engravings, watercolours, gouaches, primitive art, earthenware, porcelain, ceramics, antique frames, 18th century furniture, religious icons and antique wallpaper.

This year's guest of honour will be the King Baudouin Foundation Heritage Fund, which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in fitting style with an exceptional exhibition of a few key works from its collection of around 7,000.

Entrusted once again to Volume Architecture, the decoration will include Byzantine patterns on the carpets, inspired by the pavements of Amiens Cathedral, contrasting with origami, giant birds and kites suspended from the roof, creating an eye-catching effect on both floor and ceiling.

BRAFA’12 can be visited from 21 to 29 January 2012 (11-7 pm), with late night opening on the 24 the 26 until 10 pm.
The indivudual entrance fee is €20 (other conditions available according to number of people and ages).
For a complete practical information, please refer to this page.

Applications for iPhone and iPad, as well as a virtual tour of the stands offering the option of zooming in on some of the exhibits, will be made available.

BRAFA is organized every year by the Belgian Antiques Fair not-for-profit association.

New York Open Day at Sotheby's Institute of Art (January 2012)

On Thursday, January 26, 2012 (6.00pm – 8.00pm), the Sotheby's Institute of Art in New York will open its doors to those who are interested in pursuing a professional career in the art industry and want to learn more about the programs and areas covered by the institute.

The evening will cover three subject areas: Art Business, American Fine & Decorative Art, and Contemporary Art, during which participants will meet the faculty members, including art scholars, historians and professionals. Drinks reception to follow.

To register your attendance for the New York Open Day, send an e-mail to rsvpny@sothebysinstitute.com with the subject RSVP to NY Open Day. For more information, please contact: Tel: 212.517.3929

The Sotheby's Institute of Art offers a distinctive curriculum that takes full advantage of its central London and New York campuses, combining hands-on learning experience with intensive classroom instruction.

"Na Casa De" photography exhibition

Portrayals of extreme poverty is what at first sight this photography exhibition is about and the images are there to bear witness of it. But beyond that first impression, through his camera the photographer aims to capture more than an image, he wants to capture the essence and the fragile dignity of individuals and families who were placed aside by society and live in degrading conditions.

With the valuable collaboration of the social worker José António Pinto, the Portuguese photojournalist Paulo Pimenta completed a series of photos depicting a reality in the city of Oporto, a reality far from fiction and that people often prefer to ignore.

"Na Casa De" can be visited until February 19, 2012 at FNAC - Gaia Shopping (Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal).

The exhibition will then travel to Lisbon.

ILUSTRARTE 2012 (Lisbon, Portugal)

From 13th January to 8th of April 2012, the works of 50 illustrators from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, and UK, can be seen at the Museum of Electricity (Museu da Electricidade) in Lisbon, Portugal.

The 5th edition of ILUSTRARTE 2012 shows 150 illustrations created by some of the most renowned illustrators of children literature, as well as those from emerging ones.

A juri composed by Isabelle Vandenabeele, Isidro Ferrer, João Paulo Cotrim, Martin Jarrie and Paolo Canton, decided to award the italian illustrator Valério Vidali with the Ilustrarte Grand Prix 2012.
Two special mentions were awarded to the works of Simone Rea(Italy) and Nina Wehrle and Evelyn Laube(Switzerland).

Included in the programme are a retrospective about the French illustrator Martin Jarrie and a display of books by the Portuguese writer António Torrado.

ILLUSTRARTE 2012 Will be inaugurated on the 12th of this month at 21h30 and can be visited between the 13th of January and 8th of April 2012, Tuesday to Sunday, from 10h00 to 18h00.
Admitance is free.

On the next spring, the exhibition will travel to Ghent(Belgium), thanks to a partnership between ILUSTRARTE and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Ghent, then other countries will follow.

1585 illustrators from 65 countries sent their artwork to ILUSTRARTE 2012.

A catalogue from the exhibition will be available.

Curatorship: Eduardo Filpe and Ju Godinho.
Advisory: Sara Morão.

Last days of In the Presence of Things. European Still-Life Painting (1840 - 1955) with extended hours

The major exhibition In the Presence of Things. European Still-Life Painting (1840 - 1955) will close at 23h00 during its last three days (6,7 and 8 of January 2012).

Only 120 people are allowed each time and during these last days the waiting time can be longer than usual.

This still life exhibition organized by the Gulbenkian Museum and curated by Neil Cox PhD, offers a rare opportunity to see the works by some of the most celebrated artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

René Magritte's "Olympia" returned by thieves

Not always what starts well ends the same way, especially for the two unmasked thieves who in the morning of 24 September 2009, assaulted the museum located at Esseghem 135 in Brussels in Magritte's former home, where he lived with his wife from 1930 to 1954, and recurring to gunpoint fled with Magritte's 60cm by 80cm painting by foot and then got into a car.

Painted in 1948 and depicting Magritte's wife Georgette, naked with a conch over her belly and a seascape in the background, the painting was too well-known to be sold in the black market and the thieves weren't able to find a complice to buy it.

According to the Belgian press, the art expert Janpiet Callens was contacted anonymously about two years ago, with the purpose of handing the work to him to later be returned to the authorities, and so it happened
Fortunately, "Olympia" was handed back in excellent condition.

It was mentioned in the daily ‘De Morgen’ that a €75,000 ransom was paid by the insurer, while the daily ‘De Standaard’ reported that judicial authorities have confirmed that money changed hands.

The painting has an estimated value of near 3 million Euro.

Los Angeles Art Show 2012

The 17th annual edition of the Los Angeles Art Show will take place during this month and will present exciting modifications from its previous editions.

Now under the management of Art Miami, the art fair will debut two separate shows, the LA Art Show: Modern & Contemporary and the Los Angeles Fine Art Show: Traditional and Contemporary. Both shows will take place January 18 - 22, 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in West Halls A and B.

The LA Art Show: Modern & Contemporary, aims to showcase not only the works of famous artists such as Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, David Hockney, Fernando Botero and Roy Lichtenstein, but also to give the opportunity to emerging artists to show their art to the public.
Contemporary art galleries, dealers and collectors will have the chance to trade information and ideas that may lead to future partnerships.
Video installations, performance pieces and mixed media installations will be some of the art projects present at the show, as well as curated special exhibitions, tours and lectures.

As for the Los Angeles Fine Art Show: Historic and Traditional, it will be focused in offering high quality works of representational art, including pre-20th century Impressionism, plein air paintings and drawings. A selection of contemporay realism will also be included.
This show does not pretend to exhibit a particular art period, but to provide contact with traditional art for those who appreciate it, independently of when it was completed.

Following last year's program, also the annual IFPDA Print Fair will take place in conjuction with the Los Angeles Art Show.
The 27th edition will offer a comprehensive look at Prints in all techniques, including drypoint, etching, engraving, lithography, mezzotint and woodcut.
Dürer, Whistler, Diebenkorn and Ruscha are some of the artists whose works can be found.

With prices ranging from under $500 to more than $50,000, visitors will have the chance to observe and purchase works from different periods and movements, featuring a broad spectrum that will include Old Masters, German Expressionist, antique and modern Japanese, 18th and 19th-century European, 19th-century American, American Regionalist, and Latin American.

Another special ingredient will be the International Vintage Poster Fair, joining the Los Angeles Fine Art Show this year and showing an outstanding selection of 100 years of vintage posters. Poster styles include: Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Mid-century Modern dating from the 1890's Belle Époque to the stylized 1930s, and on through the Atomic Age.
All posters on display will be the original lithographic advertising pieces that were created through the ages to be posted on the street.

All three shows will launch with an Opening Night Premiere Party on January 18, supporting Art of Elysium and its project Bringing Art to Kids and Kids to Art. This project makes possible for special children to participate in school visits to the Getty Museum and enjoy other artistic activities, which are important for their personal development.

The 17th edition of LA Art Show will take place on January 19‐22, 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, West Halls A and B.
General admission is $20 and will provide entrance for the three shows.
Ticket information and purchase is available on this page.