Thu - March 8, 2007

Tue - September 12, 2006

Austrian jailed for museum theft

An Austrian who pulled off the country's most spectacular museum theft has been jailed for four years.

Robert Mang stole the 16th century gold sculpture the "Saliera" (Salt Cellar) from a glass showcase in Vienna's Art History Museum.

He was cleared of threatening to melt down the $65m (£34.6m) masterpiece, by Florentine artist Benvenuto Cellini, unless a $13m ransom was paid.

Mang, an alarm systems specialist, said the sculpture had been easy to steal.

Full article at bbc.co.uk >>>

Posted at 01:49 PM    

Fri - August 11, 2006

Read Renaissance and Early Modern festival books on your desktop now

View 253 digitised Renaissance festival books (selected from over 2,000 in the British Library's collection) that describe the magnificent festivals and ceremonies that took place in Europe between 1475 and 1700 - marriages and funerals of royalty and nobility, coronations, stately entries into cities and other grand events.

British Library >>>

Posted at 12:12 PM    

Tue - June 13, 2006

Michelangelo's midnight extension

The British Museum is to open until midnight for the first time to satisfy demand for an exhibition of drawings of the Italian master Michelangelo. Opening hours are being extended on Saturdays until the end of June for the display, which has been seen by 140,000 visitors since it began in March.

The show contains works from throughout his life, such as early pen drawings and later portrayals of crucifixion. Some of the 90 images have not been exhibited together for 440 years.

"The exhibition has been such an overwhelming success that we wanted to find a way to let more people to see the show before the end of its run," said director Neil MacGregor.

Full article at news.bbc.co.uk >>>

Posted at 08:35 PM    

Mon - April 3, 2006

Much ado about Shakespeare First Folio

By Nigel Reynolds

A Shakespeare First Folio that has been hidden in one of Britain's most esoteric libraries for almost 300 years is to go under the hammer with the possibility of threatening the world record price for any book sold at auction.

Sotheby's said that the 950-page volume, on which it has put a 2.5 million to 3.5 million (HK$33.7 million to HK$47.2 million) estimate, is the best example of a First Folio edition to reach the market in 60 years. To whip up interest from international buyers, it will take the book on a world tour before the sale in London in July.

Only 18 of Shakespeare's plays were published in his lifetime and it was not until 1623, seven years after his death, that the so-called complete works - a total of 36 plays - appeared in what is now known as the First Folio.

Full article at thestandard.com >>>

Posted at 11:09 PM    

Mon - January 23, 2006

Austria solves mystery of missing $80m sculpture

By Luke Harding

IT IS one of the world's greatest Renaissance artefacts, an extraordinary gold-plated salt-cellar by the Florentine genius Benvenuto Cellini. But the Austrian police had no idea what had happened to the €50 million ($80 million) figurine after it was stolen in 2003 from a Vienna museum. Had it been melted down, or was it gracing the home of an unscrupulous collector?

And who had stolen it in the first place, shinning up scaffolding and breaking a window and display case at the capital's sumptuous art history museum without the guards noticing? On Sunday, detectives were celebrating. They had recovered the unique gold and enamel cruet set and caught the man suspected of stealing it.

"Our joy is extraordinary," said Austria's Culture Minister, Elisabeth Gehrer, showing off the 16th-century sculpture, which depicts a trident-wielding Neptune reclining opposite a languorous naked woman. "Today will go down in history. You sometimes need good nerves."

Cellini created the 28-centimetre-high salt-cellar in Paris between 1540 and 1543 after it was commissioned by Francis I of France. It later passed to Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, before ending up in the imperial Viennese collection.

Full article at smh.com.au >>>

Posted at 10:27 PM    

Mon - May 30, 2005

Summer is here!

We've reached the end of the semester and summer is here.

Postings will be few for the upcoming weeks, but I hope to see you all again next fall!

PETER GILLGREN
/editor

Posted at 01:41 PM    

Tue - May 24, 2005

Austria stops Renaissance art from travelling to Ottawa

Two drawings by Michelangelo and Raphael will not be coming to Ottawa, after the Austrian government cancelled all foreign loans of art works from the Albertina gallery.

The National Gallery has confirmed that Raphael's Studies of the Virgin and Child and Michelangelo's Male Nude Seen from the Back will not be part of its major summer exhibition, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and the Renaissance in Florence.

The Albertina was to lend the works by the Italian Renaissance masters to the National Gallery. That means only two, rather than three, works by Michelangelo will be part of the National Gallery's show.

The move by the Austrian government is the result of a dispute with officials at the Albertina, apparently over conservation practices

Full article at cbc.ca >>>

Posted at 10:32 AM    

Thu - April 21, 2005

International Museum of Reformation Reveals the History of Protestantism

A very special museum opened in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday 15th April which provides a place for all people in the world to review the history of Protestantism, according to the Ecumenical News International (ENI).

The International Museum of Reformation is located on the ground floor of Maison Mallet. Through 12 thematic exhibition spaces, "the Reformation from 1536 to the present day" is accessible to everyone. The Maison Mallet is a highly symbolic location: built in 1723 on the site of the former cloisters of Saint-Pierre Cathedral, the very place where the citizens of Geneva adopted the Reformation on 21st May 1536.

The permanent exhibition includes over four hundred objects of every kind such as paintings, books, manuscripts, gold and silver, medals and more, according to Laurence Vial, Curator of the International Museum of the Reformation. The first French Bible of 1535 and Calvin's manuscripts are examples of the prestigious collection.

Full article at christiantoday.com >>>

Museum homepage >>>

Posted at 10:27 AM    

Fri - April 8, 2005

Renaissance Academy discusses Da Vinci Code

By Sue Keller

Margaret "Peg" Kaiser spoke about Dan Brown's controversial book The Da Vinci Code at a recent Renaissance Academy lecture entitled "Secrets and Speculations."

Kaiser is a Renaissance Academy Instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University. She presented the last Renaissance Academy lecture for the Marco Winter Season on March 18 at the Marco Island Yacht Club.

"You are the largest crowd so far for any Florida Gulf University Renaissance program," said program co-coordinator Dr. Fay Biles as she introduced the speaker. Biles asked how many in the audience had read the book. Hands went up all over the room.

Kaiser began by sharing that Dan Brown's book title The Da Vinci Code was not the proper way to refer to Leonardo Da Vinci. She said Da Vinci was a town in Italy. It is proper to refer to the famous artist only as Leonardo Da Vinci or just Leonardo.

Starting with the lighter side of her talk, she asked the crowd if they knew The Da Vinci Code was being made into a movie produced by Ron Howard. A lively discussion ensued about the actors selected to play the roles of the main characters.

Full article at zwire.com >>>

Posted at 10:46 AM