International Day for Monuments and Sites 2014

Today is the International Day for Monuments and Sites, with "Heritage of Commemoration" being chosen as the 2014's theme.

 ICOMOS Committees and other organizers from over 40 countries are offering several cultural activities to alert the public on the importance of the cultural heritage and the need for its preservation.

 Not only monuments and museums provide tangible forms of heritage. Mausoleums, monumental sculptures, cemeteries or memorial gardens, are also carriers of memory of the human experience. They contribute to the commemoration and transmission of values which include history. This heritage also includes elements that were given a commemorative value; for example, ruins or industrial vestiges accompanied by dedication plaques, or public squares whose toponymy commemorates a historical event or individual.

 The choice of "Heritage of Commemoration" was partly inspired by the centennial of the beginning of the Great World War of 1914-1918. The theme is an opportunity to present those constructions that have been intentionally created with the purpose of commemorating an event, a person, an idea, etc.

 ICOMOS ( International Council on Monuments and Sites) works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places. It is the only global non-government organisation of this kind, which is dedicated to promoting the application of theory, methodology, and scientific techniques to the conservation of the architectural and archaeological heritage.

International Museum Day 2013

Established by the International Council of Museums (ICOM)in 1977, the International Museum Day has the purpose of raising public awareness of the role of museums in the development of society.

 Celebrated every year in the 18th of May, the 2013 theme is “Museums (Memory + Creativity) = Social Change”. Putting together their traditional mission of displaying and conserving of hour historical heritage, with the necessary creativity to attract new and more public through their programmes, museums want to play a constructive role in society.

 During the International Museum Day 2013, near 32000 museums in 129 countries, celebrate this day with special programmes, including workshops,  and extendend opening hours - often until midnight.

 Don't stay home today, go to a museum near you.

The face of "The Origin of the World" may have been found

In exhibition at the Musée D'Orsay, Gustave Courbet's oil painting "L'Origine du Monde" (The Origin of the World) has become famous from the start. Not only because of its subject, but also because of being a witness of the artist's skills in terms of realism  and for the curiosity that has triggered about who the model might have been.

Now, based on the opinion of experts, the French magazine Paris Match, claims the world exclusive of having tracked down the top part of the painting.
Known to the magazine as "John," the owner of the painting informed that he bought it in 2010 for €1400, from a Parisian antiques dealer.

Until now, the Musée D'Orsay has assumed a contrary position to suggestions that there were any missing parts to Courbet's painting. A position that differs from the opinion of Jean-Jacques Fernier, who believes that the recently discovered painting of a woman's head, was cut off the L'Origine du Monde.



Should experts arrive to a consensus that the painting does belong to the Courbet's work hanging at the museum, we will have to wait and see if le D'Orsay shows interest in displaying it and how it will do it.
The owner of the painting has already stated that he would  be most pleased to lend it.

Photo by Philippe Petit, Paris Match

Charles W. Leslie donates $8.8 million to the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art

Charles W. Leslie, who with J. Frederic "Fritz" Lohman, cofounded the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, donated $8.8 million to the museum, in memory of his long-time partner Lohman. This major gift consists in stock holding in a New York real estate corporation, which will continue to support the museum in the future.

Together with other substantial donations, including $1.5 million dollars from the Estate of Marion Pinto, an artist and long-time friend and supporter of Leslie-Lohman, the excess of $10 million in gifts constitutes the largest donation ever received by any LGBT arts organization.

The history behind the museum goes back into the year of 1969, when Leslie and Lohman mounted their first exhibition of gay art in their loft on Prince Street in New York City, after collecting art for several years.
Shortly after they opened a commercial art gallery, but the venue would close in the early 1980s at the advent of the AIDS pandemic.

In 1989, the two men applied for nonprofit status as a precursor to establishing a foundation to preserve their collection of gay art and continue exhibition efforts. The Internal Revenue Service objected to the word "gay" in the title of the foundation, and held up the nonprofit application for nearly a decade.

The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation was finally granted nonprofit status in 1990 and its first location was in a basement at 127B Prince Street in New York.
In 2006, the collection moved into a much larger ground floor gallery at 26 Wooster Street in SoHo, but the Foundation retained its original home for storage and archive purposes.

In April 2012, it was accredited as an officially recognised museum by the State of New York and the name was changed to its current name from the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation.

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art has a gallery for temporary exhibitions and includes a sizable permanent collection of art surpassing over 3,000 items, including names such as Andy Warhol, Delmas Howe, Jean Cocteau, Deni Ponty, Robert Mapplethorpe, George Platt Lynes, Horst and Arthur Tress.

International Museum Day 2012

Since 1977, museums around the world celebrate the International Museum Day with special events and extended hours, enhancing the visitors experience in the world of culture.

The annual event takes place around the 18th of May and for this year the motto is 'Museums in a changing world'.
Check the International Museum Day on Facebook.

Apply for the MONA Scholarship 2012

Emerging Tasmanian artists are invited to apply for the AUD $12,500 MONA Scholarship 2012.

The money granted by the Scholarship is to be used to buy art materials and equipment for an exhibition at MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) 12 months after receiving it. The exhibition will be held at the Mona Library Gallery, and the museum will select one piece for its permanent collection. The remainder of the works can be sold to the public, with the artist keeping the profit.

The 2012 MONA Scholarship winner will be announced on June 28, 2012 at Mona Library Gallery during Alyssa Simone's opening exhibition. Alyssa is a multi-media artist from Bruny Island, Tasmania and was the 2011 winner. She will exhibit between 6pm and 8pm.
Applications must be posted or delivered by hand to MONA by 5pm Friday 1 June 2012.
The winner will be advised by email in due time.
 
Please read all the participating rules carefully before submiting your application. And if you are not selected, don't worry. There are other ways of getting there.

Guided Tours in the Capela de São João Baptista (Igreja de São Roque)

                         

Celebrating the conservation and restoration of the St. John Baptist Chapel (Capela de São João Baptista) located in the Saint Roch Church (Igreja de São Roque) in Lisbon, which occurred between November 2010 and March 2012, the Museu de São Roque (Saint Roch Museum) is hosting a series of activities from 19 April to 26 May 2012.

"O restauro da Capela de São João Baptista - redescobrir o seu esplendor"  the programme will be presented as follow.

Guided Tours and Art Workshops:

The St. John Baptist Chapel (Capela de São João Baptista) and its collections: features and singularity; thematic guided tours catered for adults. Free individual participation with previous registration during the following days:

April: 21 (10h) and 28 (15h)

May: 5 (10h), 12 (15h), 19 (10h) and 26 (15h)

Registration for organized groups can be taken from Tuesday to Friday (10h00-12h30 and 14h00-17h30).

Maximum of 30 participants per visit.


Guided Tours to the St. John Baptist Chapel and its Goldsmithery and Church-vestments:

22 of April, 10h and 15h – Italian

29 of April, 10h and 15h – English

6 of May, 10h and 15h – French

20 of May, 10h and 15h – Spanish

Free individual participation with previous registration. Maximum of 30 participants per visit.


Lets Know  the St. John Baptist Chapel:
A cycle of visits with games and art workshops dedicated to children from 6 to 12 years of age.
The event will allow children to explore and get acquainted with the materials and techniques used in the construction of the chapel and at the same time stimulate their attention to the importance of conservation and restoration.

Free individual participation with previous registration during the following days:

April: 21 (15h) and 28 (10h)

May: 5 (15h), 12 (10h), 19 (15h) and 26 (10h)


Lectures:


Spring in Saint Roch (Primavera em São Roque)
- Cycle of thematic lectures about the St. John Baptist Chapel

19 April - 18h30
Art and Politics: The St. John Baptist Chapel in Saint Roch.
(Arte e Política: a Capela de São João Baptista em São Roque)
Lectured by António Filipe Pimentel Phd.

3 May - 18h30
The mosaics in the St. John Baptist Chapel: techniques and conservation issues.
(I mosaici della cappella di San Giovanni Battista: tecnica esecutiva e i problemi di conservazione)
Lectured by Solange Muralha

3 May -19h00
Scyentific analisys of the St. John Baptist Chapel's mosaics
(Análise cientifica dos mosaicos da Capela de São João Baptista )
Lectured by Solange Muralha

10 May - 18h30
The St. John Baptist Chapel: concealed details.
(A Capela de São João Baptista: pormenores ocultos)
Lectured by Belmira Maduro

10 May  - 19h00
The pedestal flooring of the St. John Baptist Chapel: characteristics, conservation and restoration.
(O supedâneo da Capela de São João Baptista: caracterização, conservação e restauro do estrado de altar)
Lectured by Tiago Dias

17 May - 18h30
Gold, gold, gold...
(Oro, oro, oro…)
The liturgic vestments ordered to Rome for the St. John Baptist Chapel and for the Holy Ghost Chapel in the Saint Roch Church of Lisbon.
(I paramenti liturgici ricamati a Roma per la Cappella di San Giovanni Battista e dello Spirito Santo nella Chiesa di San Rocco di Lisbona)
Lectured by Professor Marialuisa Rizzini
The lectures in Italian will be translated simultaneously.
Free individual participation with previous registration. Maximum of 40 participants per lecture.


For information and registration, please contact:

Tel. (351) 213 235 421
       (351) 213 235 824
       (351) 213 235 065

Email: info@museu.saoroque.com

More information about the São Roque Church in Lisbon and how to get there, as well as further places to visit in the city, can be found here.

Painting in the Kröller-Müller Museum attributed to Van Gogh

Today, the Kröller-Müller Museum offically revealed to the public the conclusion of several tests that confirmed Vincent Van Gogh as the author of a painting now entitled "Still life with meadow flowers and roses."

The story begins in late November 1885, when Van Gogh arrived in the city of Antwerp, later enrolling at the art academy in January 1886.
One of the exercises included in the art course was to paint a pair of wrestlers.
Van Gogh was urged by his teacher to purchase a large canvas, new brushes and paint, as stated in a letter that Van Gogh wrote on 22 January.
He didn't have enough money, but with the help of his brother Theo, he as able to buy the materials.
A week later he wrote ‘This week I painted a large thing with two nude torsos – two wrestlers’ and that he was delighted with the result. The large 100cm x 80cm canvas was a standard format for figure paintings at the academy in Antwerp.

Van Gogh took the canvas with him when he went to live with his brother in Paris in late February 1886. Several months later, while still in Paris, he painted directly over the 'wrestlers' without scraping or adding an intermediate layer, or any other sort of preparation.
The artist painted a flower still life where an opulently filled foreground was an uncharacteristic exuberance for him. This fact added to the unusual format and size for the subject, prompt experts to dismissal the painting as being Van Gogh's. Moreover his Parisian flower still lifes were generally smaller.
Later however the size proved to be determined by the underlying academic piece, and the exuberant foregroung revealed necessary to cover an entire wrestler on that spot.

In 1920, the Kröllers purchased 26 (!) of the 48 Van Gogh paintings at auction and although this work made part of the lot, they didn't acquire it.
The painting ended up in various private collections and was not included in the Kröller-Müller collection until 1974, when it was purchased with support from the Rembrandt Association and the Prince Bernhard Fund, in order to ‘save it for the nation’. At that time, the senior curator of the museum, Ellen Joosten, described the work as both ‘exceptional’ and ‘remarkable’. She found the large size, the abundance of flowers in their lush display of colour and the smooth, ‘rather academic approach’ highly unusual.

An X-ray image made in 1998, revealed that the flower piece was painted over the other the scene with the torsos of two wrestlers grasping each other by the arms. This X-ray continued to fascinate researchers.
Nonetheless, in the 2003 file catalogue – The paintings of Vincent van Gogh in the collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum – new arguments were raised, adding to the existing doubts. The work was dismissed but remained in the collection, listed as ‘artist: anonymous’ ever since.

Recently, a team of researchers from the TU Delft, the University of Antwerp, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) Hamburg, the Van Gogh Museum and the Kröller-Müller Museum has succeeded in confirming its authenticity. The new research technique MA-XRF (Macro Scanning X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry) made it possible to analyze both paintings in greater detail. This revealed not only a defining characteristic of the academy in Antwerp, namely that the male models posed half naked in contrast to academies elsewhere, but that the pigments used correspond entirely with Van Gogh’s palette at that time. Furthermore, it made possible to recognize Van Gogh’s typical brushstrokes in the now far more perceptible depiction.

In the publication Rehabilitation of a flower still life in the Kröller-Müller Museum and a lost Antwerp painting by Van Gogh, available as a prepublication in the museum shop (English language), the authors Luuk Struick van der Loeff, Matthias Alfeld, Teio Meedendorp, Joris Dik, Ella Hendriks, Geert van der Snickt, Koen Janssens and Meta Chavannes, explain in detail how the wrestlers and the flower still life were painted by Van Gogh.
A new publication Van Gogh: New Findings (Van Gogh Studies deel 4) will be available from June 2012, published by WBooks under the auspices of the Van Gogh Museum.

"Still life with meadow flowers and roses" is on display since 20 March in the Kröller-Müller Museum in Netherlands, together with Van Gogh’s "Roses and peonies" and "Flowers in a blue vase."

The Musée Maillol presents: Artemisia - Power, Glory and Passions of a Female Painter

On the 8th of July 1593 was born in Rome the eldest daughter of the italian baroque painter Orazio Lomi Gentileschi, Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi.

Artemisia began receiving instruction in the art of painting at a very early age, quite probably by her father. In a letter dated July 3, 1962, adressed by her father to the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, he atests his daughter's artistic skills.
The young woman's first ever signature, “ARTEMITIA. / GENTILESCHI. F / 1610”, appears in the lower left hand corner of a "Susanna and the Elders," currently in the Schönborn collection in Pommersfelden, Germany.

At the age of 18, Artemisia is raped by Agostino Tassi, a colleague of Orazio’s. After the rape, Tassi promises to marry the young woman and convinces her to continue a relationship with him for another nine months.

However around March-April 1612, impelled by public morality, though also by personal interest, her father decides do denounce Tassi and make public his rape of Artemisia.
The rape trial of Agostino Tassi opens on March 2 and continues for another seven months, until October 29.

Meanwhile, Orazio Gentileschi sends a letter to the Grand Duchess Christine of Lorraine in Florence about the trial, pleading with her to intervene and to prevent Agostino Tassi from walking free. In that letter, he also proposes to send the Grand Duchess one of his daughter’s paintings to demonstrate her abilities. At this stage, according to her father, Artemisia has already been painting for three years.

The verdict is announced on November 27, 1612: Agostino Tassi is sentenced to a five years exile from Rome‘sub pena triremium,’ as a galley slave. Subsequently, the punishment is judged to have been unfair and Tassi never serves his sentence.

On November 29, 1612 Artemisia marries Pierantonion Stiattesi, a minor artist born in Florence, son of a cobler and brother of Giovan Battista. He was also friend of Orazio.
Their first son, Giovanni Battista, is baptized on September 21, 1613, in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Forence.

While in Florence, Artemisia starts gaining reputation. Among her commissions, there's an Allegory of Inclination commissioned by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger.
She becomes a member of Florence’s Accademia del Disegno on July 19, 1616, as testified by two documents that also make reference to Orazio. It’s probably over the following years that, thanks to Buonarroti and Matteo Frescobaldi, Artemisia becomes a friend of Galileo Galilei, a member of Accademia del Disegno since 1613 and with whom she would later remain in correspondence.
Along the following years and between several commissions, Artemisia's life and of her family suffers inumerous mishaps.

Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi was quite probably deceased between 1652 and 1654; a document dated from January 31, 1654, provides proof of the collaboration between Artemisia and Palumbo.
According to 17th to 19th century sources, Artemisia was buried in the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini in Naples. The precise location of the grave remains uncertain, as the headstone bearing the simple inscription “HEIC ARTIMISIA” had already disappeared when restoration work was carried out in 1785.

From March 14th throughout July 15th, 2012, the Musée Maillol - Fondation Dina Vierny,Paris, presents the major exhibition "Artemisia - Power, glory and passions of a female painter" (Artemisia - Povoir, gloire et passions d'une femme peintre."
The exhibition includes a significant number of paintings from several important museums and galleries in Italy and abroad, as well from private art collections.

Official opening of the National Museum of China

After four years of renovation started in March 2007 and one-year trial period that started with the exhibition The Art of the Enlightenment, the National Museum of China has officialy opened its doors to the public on the 1st of March 2012.

With a total floor space of nearly 191,900 square meters - more than triple the previous exhibition space - including 28 new exhibition halls and state of the art exhibition facilities and storage, the National Museum of China is the largest museum building in the world, presenting a frontal length of 313 meters, a width of 149 meters, and a height of four stories totaling 40 meters.
The museum houses more than 1.2 million cultural relics.

First established in 2003 through the merging of the National Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution, both occupying the same building since 1959, the National Museum of China (中国国家博物馆) is expected to become a world class museum.

On view are the exhbitions "Ancient China", "Road to Revival" and "Ancient Chinese Bronze Art," as well as a presentation about Chinese Buddhist Sculpture.
The special exhibition "The Art of the Enlightenment" can be visited until March 31, 2012.

Major Rembrandt retrospective at The Cleveland Museum of Art

From February 19 through May 28, 2012, The Cleveland Museum of Art is showing two parallel exhibitions about the work of Rembrandt yan Rijn: "Rembrandt in America" and "Rembrandt Prints from The Morgan Library & Museum."

The close relation between both, offers the chance for the visitor to better apprehend the facets of Rembrandt, not only as an excellent painter but also as a skilled draughstman and printmaker.

The Rembrandt in America exhibition takes place at the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall and shows 30 works by Rembrandt, some of them autograph and others thought to be by the artist when they entered American collections but whose attributions can no longer be maintained, and over 20 works by other artists.

In 2006, several exhibitions worldwide celebrated the 400 years of Rembrandt's birth, nonetheless Rembrandt in America brings an indepth perspective about his career as a painter, as well as information about his studio, a broader network of adapters, followers, and copyists.

The public is invited to examine the gradual opinions and methods of scholars and collectors regarding what constituted an autograph Rembrandt painting over a period of more than a century, while at the same time earning skills in connoisseurship and opinions on authenticity thanks to the display of works in small groupings.

Rembrandt in America occurs at a time when scrutiny of “Rembrandt” versus “not Rembrandt” continues to trouble the discipline and affect the art market significantly. As the first major exhibition to take a broader look at the history of Rembrandt collecting and connoisseurship in America and namely in Cleveland, the show also addresses growing interest in the country’s collecting history.



The Cleveland Museum of Art owns four paintings associated with Rembrandt, two acquired in the early 20th century by the Cleveland collectors John L. Severance and Elisabeth Severance Prentiss and two others purchased by the museum in 1950 and 1967.
Each came to the museum attributed to Rembrandt, and all have subsequently been questioned to various degrees, with consensus yet to be reached.

The exhibition, well complemented by its accompanying catalogue, explores the often-controversial issues of collecting and connoisseurship, with a focus on individual paintings where these two related topics intersect.


Rembrandt in America is organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of Art, where was on view between October 30, 2011 and January 22, 2012; Raleigh; and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, to where will travel from June 24 through September 16, 2012.



Showing a significant set of works from the Morgan Libray & Museum, considered the largest and finest collection of Rembrandt prints in USA holding nearly 500 impressions by the artist from circa 1626 to about 1661, during which time he executed some 290 plates, the Rembrandt Prints from The Morgan Library & Museum exhibition offers a broad overview about the artist's skills and creativity as printmaker.

Contrary to most of his predecessors, who sought to achieve a standardized representation of the printed image with little variation from impression to impression, Rembrandt was inclined to experiment. He would achieve an array of effects by varying the support and how the plate was inked, so that impressions from the same plate could differ noticeably.

The artist improvised as he worked on the plate, sometimes even changing the concept of the image, adding and subtracting lines, leaving traces of the previous work on the plate, while printing proofs at various stages of the work’s completion. He used different types of paper, and he also printed on vellum, as it is a non-absorbent support.
Rembrandt created tone not only by controlling the amount of ink left on the surface of the plate before printing, but by using drypoint as well, which produces broad, velvety lines. He also successfully integrated drypoint with etched and engraved work in one composition.

Rembrandt’s prints cover a wide range of subjects, including Old and New Testament narratives, landscapes, portraits and self-portraits, nudes, and scenes from daily life as it was common in his time. He sometimes returned to the same theme, allowing for a comparison of a subject executed decades apart, illustrating his artistic development and experimental advances.

The Rembrandt Prints from The Morgan Library & Museum exhibition is a collaboration between the Morgan Library & Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

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.

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.

Gerardo Rueda Modern Art Center in Matosinhos

The Gerardo Rueda Modern Art Center (Centro de Art Moderna Gerardo Rueda) was inaugurated today in the portuguese city of Matosinhos, Oporto district.
Exhibiting near 500 items from the Fundación Gerardo Rueda and others belonging to the heir José Luis Rueda, the permanent collection includes 35 pieces of several art genres completed by Gerardo, of which only 16 are showing, and artworks by Antonio López, Carmen Laffón, Doukopil, Manuel Millares, Miró, Palazuelo, Sempere and Zobel, among others.

The Center results from a three year protocol, renewable for another five, signed between the Fundación Gerardo Rueda and the City Hall of Matosinhos, where the first, besides lending the works of art, commits itself to organize eight temporary exhibitions per year in the Gerardo Rueda Modern Art Center and two exhibitions of portuguese art in Madrid, while the second one grants an annual subvention to the Foundation. Private sponsors are also involved in this project.

The first temporary exhibition will be dedicated to the portuguese artist Noronha da Costa, of whom José Rueda owns 200 works of art. After which will follow one that compares Gerardo Rueda and Viera da Silva and another one with works by Mapplethorpe and Warhol

Located inside the building of the Town Hall of Matosinhos, the Centro de Arte Moderna de Matosinhos is open from Tuesday to Sunday (1 pm - 7 pm) and has an admission price of €3.5.

In the future, the collection will move to the 30,000 sqm building of the former Real Vinícola, much better than the actual 6,000 sqm.
An association of friends of the Center and a Gerardo Rueda prize for the arts and sciences will also be created.

"Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties" at the Brooklyn Museum

Through January 29, 2012, the Brooklyn Museum, NY, is showing a major exhibition about the art in the American 1920's, a decade that followed the horrors of World War I and has indelibly marked the popular imagination as the age of flappers and Fords. It was also the time of Jazz, Prohibition and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The "Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties" offers not only a chance to see the work of celebrated artists, but also a comprehensive look at the themes and subjects painted at the time - often causing surprise to the viewer - and how artists expressed their opinions and interpretated through their works, a decade fuelled by a growing economy but also a riotous one.

Organized by Teresa A. Carbone, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, the exhibition shows 140 works by sixty-eight painters, sculptors, and photographers who explored a new mode of modern realism, including the names of Thomas Hart Benton, Imogen Cunningham, Charles Demuth, Aaron Douglas, Edward Hopper, Gaston Lachaise, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Luigi Lucioni, Gerald Murphy, Georgia O’Keeffe, Alfred Stieglitz, George Bellows and Edward Weston.

Free tours lead by a Museum Guide will take place on the 26 and 27 of November, and a panel discussion on "Gender and Sexuality in the Harlem Renaissance" can be attended on December 10.
A free evening tour of the exhibition lead by Curator of American Art Teresa A. Carbone, will take place on December 15 and on the 22 of the same month, visitors will have the opportunity to attend a free evening tour of the exhibition.

A teacher resource packet is available for download.

"Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is showing a major exhibition of works by the acclaimed Dutch old master Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669).

Gathering an exceedingly rare and singular series of seven portraits depicting the head of Christ and complemented by more than fifty related paintings, prints, and drawings, some of them rarely exhibited or lent due to their light-sensitivity and fragility, the "Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus" exhibition invites the viewer to grasp the religious, historic, and artistic significance of these works, while at the same time witnessing Rembrandt's iconoclasm and his search for a meditative ideal.

These bust-length portraits portraits of Jesus mark a new step in the history of Christian art, which had previously relied on rigidly copied prototypes for Christ, by making use of a human model.

The "Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus" exhibition can be visited until October 30, 2011.

Sacred Art Museum of Grândola inaugurates permanent exhibition

Located in the Alentejo region, South of Portugal, Grândola (once named Bendada) was an important reference for the pilgrims going to Santiago de Compustela.
Its most famous location starts at São Vicente cape and reaches Odemira, Santiago do Cacém and Alcácer do Sal.

There, a small 15th century hospital ran by the Misericórdia (a charitable institution founded in 1498), would lodge the pilgrims after their difficult path through the ridge of mountains.

When the hermitage (small church)of São Sebastião was built in 1578, in the outskirts of Grândola, near the royal road, with the purpose of protecting the population from the plague, imediately became a visiting point for the pilgrims.

Once an old pilgramage passing spot, in the recent years this small church was being used to hold wakes.

In 2010, with the initiative of the local parish, in colaboration with the diocese of Beja and the city council, the church of São Sebastião was selected to become the Sacred Art Museum of Grândola (Museu de Arte Sacra de Grândola), and in Feburary 2011 it opened its doors to the public.

On August 23, 2011, the museum inaugurated its permanent exhibition.
Comprised of 100 pieces, mostly includes paintings and decorative art between 15th and 20th centuries.
Visiting the exhibition, it's possible to have an idea of some of the most important aspects of the religious quotidian of those times, including some aspects of the liturgic cult, devotions and the organization of parishes.



The retable of "São Jorge e o Ladrão", painted in 1961 by José Escada for the church of Lousal's mine, is one of the items representing the contemporary.

The exhibition is divided in three areas and shows items coming from the churches of Azinheira dos Barros, Santa Margarida da Serra, and from the Irmandade da Santa Casa da Misericórdia.