Art Galleries/Museums
- Crisis at Pompeii
- Medieval Works at Frist Center
- Artifacts Repatriated to Iraq
- Royal Academy's Exhibitions Head
- Penn Museum to Digitize Collection
- Nan Rosenthal Retired from The Met
- She-wolf of Rome Is Medieval Work
- Shelby White Returns Two Artifacts
- Brooklyn Museum's Contemporary Art
- Egypt's Sunken Treasures Touring
Posted by
Stan Parchin
Stan Parchin
The southern Italian site of Pompeii is under siege by unruly tourists, thieves, a shortage of guards and a lack of funds to protect its endangered ruins.
Bloomberg News reported on July 18, 2008 that Pompeii is being destroyed by tourists and thieves. The same Italian government that earlier this month declared the archaeological site to be in a state of emergency has also allowed Pompeii to become the victim of bureaucratic cutbacks.
Renato Profili, nearby Naples' former Chief of Police, has been placed in charge of Pompeii's 188 acres. His job involves preventing the touching, flash photography, defacing and plundering of precious fresco paintings. Next year's budget cuts of 8 billion euros ($13 million) will affect Italy's Ministry of Culture and ultimately its ability to help authorities at Pompeii to enforce rules for its 2.6 annual visitors.
Eliminating unlicensed tour guides and vendors is Commissioner Profili's top priority, followed by a systematic reopening of Pompeii's restored villas. The issues of stray dogs on the premises and the need for more security guards have not been effectively addressed. The 349 officers, an inadequate number down 19% from 2001, must be shared by the sites of Boscoreale, Ercolano (Herculaneum), Oplontis, Pompeii and Stabia.
Renato Profili, nearby Naples' former Chief of Police, has been placed in charge of Pompeii's 188 acres. His job involves preventing the touching, flash photography, defacing and plundering of precious fresco paintings. Next year's budget cuts of 8 billion euros ($13 million) will affect Italy's Ministry of Culture and ultimately its ability to help authorities at Pompeii to enforce rules for its 2.6 annual visitors.
Eliminating unlicensed tour guides and vendors is Commissioner Profili's top priority, followed by a systematic reopening of Pompeii's restored villas. The issues of stray dogs on the premises and the need for more security guards have not been effectively addressed. The 349 officers, an inadequate number down 19% from 2001, must be shared by the sites of Boscoreale, Ercolano (Herculaneum), Oplontis, Pompeii and Stabia.
Medieval Works at Frist Center
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Stan Parchin
Stan Parchin
Nashville, Tennessee's Frist Center for the Visual Arts will host "Medieval Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art" in Winter and Spring 2009.
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, Tennessee is the next venue for Medieval Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art (February 13-June 7, 2009). The exhibition was previously on view at the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, Germany (May 11-September 16, 2007) and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008).
Medieval Treasures... features more than 120 examples of armor, carved ivories, enamels, gold and silver decorative works, illuminated manuscripts, paintings and sculptures from the 3rd through 16th Centuries. Arranged chronologically and by place of origin, the works illustrate the historical progression of Late Antique, Early Christian, Byzantine and Western European art during the Middle Ages.
Highlights of the Exhibition
Medieval Treasures... features more than 120 examples of armor, carved ivories, enamels, gold and silver decorative works, illuminated manuscripts, paintings and sculptures from the 3rd through 16th Centuries. Arranged chronologically and by place of origin, the works illustrate the historical progression of Late Antique, Early Christian, Byzantine and Western European art during the Middle Ages.
Highlights of the Exhibition
- The Jonah Marbles (ca. 270-280) are four statuettes that depict the Old Testament narrative of the prophet Jonah having been swallowed and regurgitated by a sea monster, a story believed by many to be symbolic of Jesus Christ's death, entombment and resurrection.
- Icon of the Virgin and Child (500-600) is a rare surviving early Byzantine tapestry.
- The Guelph Treasure from a medieval German church includes the Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude (ca. 1045). Its combination of royal and religious figures represents Gertrude's attempt to justify the imperial aspirations of her dynasty.
- Three strikingly realistic alabaster Mourners (1406-1410) were created for the celebrated tomb of Philip the Bold, the Valois Duke of Burgundy (r. 1363-1404).
- The melancholic Saint Lawrence (ca. 1502) was carved by Tilman Riemenschneider, arguably the most profound sculptor of northern Europe during the Late Middle Ages.
Posted by
Stan Parchin
Stan Parchin
Looted antiquities have been returned to Iraq from Syria and Jordan.
The Associated Press reported on July 7, 2008 that Syria returned to Iraq a marble artifact looted from an archaeological site in Nimrud, the capital of the Assyrian Empire some 15 miles south of Mosul. Measuring 4' x 1.5 ', the block is carved with the image of a bearded man kneeling in prayer. Lines of cuneiform text appear on the object's surface. The sculpture joins 701 additional artifacts returned to Iraq from Syria in recent weeks, along with 2466 others repatriated from Jordan.
In earlier and related news, a July 1, 2008 article in The Art Newspaper quoted an international team of specialists who insist that eight important archaeological sites in southern Iraq have not been looted since the 2003 coalition invasion of the country.
The British Army provided seven scholars with an armed Merlin helicopter for their unpublicized ground and aerial inspections of Eridu, Larsa, Lagash, Tell el-Lahm, Tell el-Ouelli, Ubaid, Ur and Warka, all north of Basra. The group, called the Cultural Heritage Initiative by its organizer, Dr. John Curtis, the British Museum's Keeper of the Middle East Department, included three other academicians: Professor Elizabeth Stone of the State University of New York at Stony Brook; Dr. Margarete van Ess, Director of Berlin's German Archaeological Institute; and Dr. Paul Collins, a specialist in Mesopotamia from the British Museum. Despite the absence of looting, the team found evidence for military damage to the region.
Distressing is the neglect of ancient buildings at Ur that were reconstructed in the 1960s and 1970s. They require immediate conservation.
In earlier and related news, a July 1, 2008 article in The Art Newspaper quoted an international team of specialists who insist that eight important archaeological sites in southern Iraq have not been looted since the 2003 coalition invasion of the country.
The British Army provided seven scholars with an armed Merlin helicopter for their unpublicized ground and aerial inspections of Eridu, Larsa, Lagash, Tell el-Lahm, Tell el-Ouelli, Ubaid, Ur and Warka, all north of Basra. The group, called the Cultural Heritage Initiative by its organizer, Dr. John Curtis, the British Museum's Keeper of the Middle East Department, included three other academicians: Professor Elizabeth Stone of the State University of New York at Stony Brook; Dr. Margarete van Ess, Director of Berlin's German Archaeological Institute; and Dr. Paul Collins, a specialist in Mesopotamia from the British Museum. Despite the absence of looting, the team found evidence for military damage to the region.
Distressing is the neglect of ancient buildings at Ur that were reconstructed in the 1960s and 1970s. They require immediate conservation.
Royal Academy's Exhibitions Head
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Stan Parchin
Stan Parchin
The Royal Academy of Arts in London announced that Kathleen Soriano will assume the position of Director of Exhibitions on January 1, 2009.
London's Royal Academy of Arts revealed on July 16, 2008 the appointment of Kathleen Soriano as its new Director of Exhibitions. Beginning January 1, 2009, she replaces Sir Norman Rosenthal, the RA's former Exhibitions Secretary for 31 years.
The Director of the Compton Verney art gallery since Spring 2006, Soriano previously served as the National Portrait Gallery's Head of Exhibitions and Collections Management.
The Director of the Compton Verney art gallery since Spring 2006, Soriano previously served as the National Portrait Gallery's Head of Exhibitions and Collections Management.
Penn Museum to Digitize Collection
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Stan Parchin
Stan Parchin
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is embarking on a three-year project to make its entire collection accessible on the Internet.
According to Reuters on July 9, 2008, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology will begin in September to produce a "digital spine" on the Internet that will catalogue its entire collection, numbering some one million pieces. The cost of the three-year project is estimated to be between $7 million and $10 million.
Only 5% of the world-renowned Philadelphia institution's holdings is currently on view. A greater presence on the Internet will provide scholars, students and the general public with virtual access to the museum's vast treasures. The new website will complement Penn Museum's active program of cultural explorations, archaeological digs, exhibitions and lectures.
Among the works to be digitized will be the museum's important Mesopotamian artifacts from the Sumerian royal tombs of Ur (ca. ca. 2500 B.C.). Penn Museum jointly excavated the site with the British Museum's Sir Leonard Woolley in the early 20th Century. The BM will supply the website with images and information from its corresponding Sumerian pieces.
Also scheduled to be recorded digitally are exquisite examples of Precolumbian ornamental goldwork from Panama's ancient cemetery of Sitio Conte, excavated by the museum's archaeologists in the 1940s.
Only 5% of the world-renowned Philadelphia institution's holdings is currently on view. A greater presence on the Internet will provide scholars, students and the general public with virtual access to the museum's vast treasures. The new website will complement Penn Museum's active program of cultural explorations, archaeological digs, exhibitions and lectures.
Among the works to be digitized will be the museum's important Mesopotamian artifacts from the Sumerian royal tombs of Ur (ca. ca. 2500 B.C.). Penn Museum jointly excavated the site with the British Museum's Sir Leonard Woolley in the early 20th Century. The BM will supply the website with images and information from its corresponding Sumerian pieces.
Also scheduled to be recorded digitally are exquisite examples of Precolumbian ornamental goldwork from Panama's ancient cemetery of Sitio Conte, excavated by the museum's archaeologists in the 1940s.
Nan Rosenthal Retired from The Met
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Stan Parchin
Stan Parchin
Senior Consultant Nan Rosenthal retired from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of 19th-century, Modern, and Contemporary Art on July 1, 2008.
Nan Rosenthal, Senior Consultant for Modern and Contemporary Art at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, retired on July 1, 2008 after 15 years of distinguished service. She will be succeeded this Fall by Marla Prather.
Rosenthal organized a number of landmark exhibitions, including:
Previous to her work at The Met, Nan Rosenthal was Curator of 20th-century Art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (1985-1992).
Marla Prather was Curator and Head of the Department of 20th-century Art at the National Gallery of Art from 1996 to 1999. After her tenure as Curator of Postwar Art at the Whitney Museum of American Art from 1999 through 2004, she became the New York-based Curator of American Art for London's Tate Modern from 2005 to 2007.
Rosenthal organized a number of landmark exhibitions, including:
- Willem de Kooning: Paintings (1994);
- Jackson Pollock: Early Sketchbooks and Drawings (1997-98);
- Anselm Kiefer: Works on Paper 1969-1993 (1998-99);
- Philip Guston (2003-04);
- Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration (2004);
- Robert Rauschenberg: Combines (2005-06); and
- Jasper Johns: Gray (2008).
Previous to her work at The Met, Nan Rosenthal was Curator of 20th-century Art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (1985-1992).
Marla Prather was Curator and Head of the Department of 20th-century Art at the National Gallery of Art from 1996 to 1999. After her tenure as Curator of Postwar Art at the Whitney Museum of American Art from 1999 through 2004, she became the New York-based Curator of American Art for London's Tate Modern from 2005 to 2007.
She-wolf of Rome Is Medieval Work
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Stan Parchin
Stan Parchin
Tests indicate that the she-wolf of the Capitoline Museums' statue representing Rome's founding was produced in the 13th Century and is not an ancient Etruscan work.
BBC News reported on July 10, 2008 that the she-wolf of the Lupa Capitolina, the statue depicting the suckling of twins Romulus and Remus, dates to the 1200s and is not an Etruscan work from around 500 B.C. Some 20 tests, including carbon-dating, were recently conducted on the statue of the wolf to determine its true age.
It has been known for quite some time that the figures of the two infants seated under the beast's belly were fabricated in the 15th Century.
It has been known for quite some time that the figures of the two infants seated under the beast's belly were fabricated in the 15th Century.
Shelby White Returns Two Artifacts
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Stan Parchin
Stan Parchin
Shelby White has agreed to repatriate to Greece two ancient artifacts from her collection that were found to have been illegally excavated and exported.
MarketWatch reported on July 11, 2008 that antiquities collector Shelby White will return to Greece two artifacts illegally excavated and exported but acquired in good faith by the philanthropist and Leon Levy, her late husband. An agreement concluded between White and the Greek Ministry of Culture calls for the objects to be transferred later this month.
One work is the upper part of an early 4th-century B.C. grave stele depicting a warrior and a youth. The fragment will eventually be reunited with the sculpture's lower section presently on view in the Vravrona Archaeological Museum.
The other artifact, a bronze calyx krater (ca. 340 B.C.), most probably came from an illegally excavated royal tomb in Pieria, northern Greece.
Upon repatriation, both works will be displayed in Athens' National Archaeological Museum. They will subsequently be returned to their regional museums.
One work is the upper part of an early 4th-century B.C. grave stele depicting a warrior and a youth. The fragment will eventually be reunited with the sculpture's lower section presently on view in the Vravrona Archaeological Museum.
The other artifact, a bronze calyx krater (ca. 340 B.C.), most probably came from an illegally excavated royal tomb in Pieria, northern Greece.
Upon repatriation, both works will be displayed in Athens' National Archaeological Museum. They will subsequently be returned to their regional museums.
Brooklyn Museum's Contemporary Art
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Stan Parchin
Stan Parchin
The Brooklyn Museum will premiere new galleries for its contemporary art collection on September 19, 2008.
5000 square feet of new gallery space devoted to contemporary art will open at the Brooklyn Museum on September 19, 2008. 21: Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Museum, the inaugural long-term exhibition, is devoted almost exclusively to works in the institution's collection produced since 2000.
The list of acquisitions on display includes:
The museum's fifth-floor lobby gallery will feature three wax sculptures by New York artist Petah Coyne from August 6, 2008 through July 2009. Two of them are recent gifts to the collection.
The list of acquisitions on display includes:
- Fragile Dress by Andy Warhol;
- Night Fishing by Herman Bas;
- Fallen Bierstadt by Valerie Hegarty;
- Koh-i-Noor by Hew Locke;
- photogravures by Olafur Eliasson;
- Burning African Village Play Set with Big House and Lynching by Kara Walker; and
- A Little Taste Outside of Love by Mickalene Thomas.
The museum's fifth-floor lobby gallery will feature three wax sculptures by New York artist Petah Coyne from August 6, 2008 through July 2009. Two of them are recent gifts to the collection.
Egypt's Sunken Treasures Touring
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Stan Parchin
Stan Parchin
The nearly 500-piece traveling exhibition "Egypt's Sunken Treasures" will visit Japan and the United States after the show closes in Italy this year.
Farouq Hosni, Egypt's Minister of Culture, announced on July 3, 2008 that the traveling exhibition Egypt's Sunken Treasures will tour Japan and the United States after its European tour concludes in Italy this year. The exhibition has been viewed by more than 1.5 million people in Berlin, Paris, Bonn and Madrid. Details about the additional venues will be available shortly.
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