arttravelbug

The Birth of Venus, painted by Sandro Botticelli in the 1480s, is one of he world's truly beautiful artworks. I still remember it taking my breath away in when I stood before it. If you've seen it, you know what I mean. If you haven't, then go. Just GO. Though here is a tale from last week that might give you pause. "A man suffered a heart attack after he became overwhelmed by the beauty of Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. The unnamed Italian, 70, was gazing at the 15th century masterpiece in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence on Saturday morning when he had an intense artistic experience. He was the latest to fall victim to an apparent condition known as Stendhal's Syndrome - defined as dizziness, fainting, hallucinations and even heart palpitations when seeing something of 'great beauty'..." [ read more in the Daily Mail ]. Stendhal Syndrome Stendhal syndrome was named after Marie-Henri Beyle (1783–1842), better known by his penname Stendhal...

Ceci n’est pas une rue. Brussels honours artist René Magritte with a new street name. Brussels has a found a new way to honour Belgian artist, René Magritte...  "If you could name a street in your hometown, what would you choose? Belgian citizens had the opportunity to mull just that question as part of an initiative to name 28 streets, squares, and walkways in the Belgian capital’s Tour & Taxis district*. The city crowdsourced the names as part of an ongoing regeneration project in the Tour & Taxis district—a formerly industrial area now set to become one of the city’s cultural and residential meccas. After receiving nearly 1,400 suggestions from the public, the final list was chosen by a jury of city officials, historians, and the site’s property developer, Extena...""[ read more on Quartz ]. *The district is named after the famous Thurn and Taxis, a German noble family that was a key player in European postal services until the fall of the Holy Roman...

"The so-called 'Van Gogh Museum Editions' are premium quality, three dimensional replica's of Van Gogh's masterpieces." More than 120 years after his death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the stomach, the mystique of Vincent Van Gogh remains as powerful as ever. The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently placed all 16 of its Van Gogh paintings on display together for the first time and a pop-up exhibit displaying replicas of his paintings from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has embarked upon a tour of America – at shopping malls. The first stop is the King of Prussia Mall outside of Philadelphia through October 14th..." [ read more on Forbes ]. What would happen if it suddenly became possible to make perfect copies of paintings of the past? To begin with, the purpose of art museums would change dramatically. It is by going to museums, after all, that most of us discover how different it is to stand in front of a great painting instead of seein...

Georgia O'Keeffe: Visions of Hawaii New York Botanical Garden To October 28, 2018 "O’Keeffe was astonished by the beauty of Hawaii." Hawaii in NYC: Georgia O'Keeffe: Visions of Hawai'i at New York Botanical Garden "Finding out Georgia O’Keeffe had a Hawaiian period is kind of like finding out Brian Wilson had a desert period. But here it is: “Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawaiʻi,” 17 eye-popping paradisal paintings, produced in a nine-week visit in 1939, and now on display at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, through October 28. It is the first time the largely unknown group has been shown together since its original exhibition in 1940 at Alfred Stieglitz’s gallery, An American Place, in New York. In addition, there are two oil sketches never before exhibited. And not a bleached skull in sight..." [ read more in the New York Times ]. "Her advertising work — the original impetus for the trip — is only a minimal part of the ...

"A work of art is not to ease but to awaken and hassle the mind." Daniel Cordier There is an art auction coming up later this month at Sotheby's (on September 27) that is like no other. Assembled over 70 years by Daniel Cordier, the French Resistance figure and renowned Parisian gallerist, the collection features nearly 400 historic works. It is Cordier's backstory, however, that is fascinating. "The early life of Daniel Cordier reads like something out of a John le Carré thriller: soldier, spy, resistance hero, art dealer. After parachuting into Nazi-occupied France in 1942 aged 22 on the orders of the exiled General Charles de Gaulle in London, Cordier worked with the leader of the French Resistance, Jean Moulin..." [ read more on The Guardian ]. "For a year he was Moulin's right-hand man, writing his correspondence and liaising with other leaders. In May 1943 he was on guard outside the building in Paris, when the first meeting of the u...

“At the heart of nearly every art crime, we see greed woven into the fabric of the scheme—greed to take it, and greed to profit from its return.” Jill Sanborn, Special Agent in Charge of the Minneapolis Division of the FBI "A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and stolen from the actress’ namesake museum in Minnesota more than a decade ago has been recovered, the FBI announced. The iconic sequined shoes, known as the 'traveling pair'—one of at least four pairs used in the film that are still in existence—were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005 and recovered earlier this summer during a sting operation. But the case is far from over..." [ read more on FBI News ]. "Rhys Thomas, author of The Ruby Slippers of Oz, called the slippers 'the Holy Grail of Hollywood memorabilia. They are maybe the most iconic cinematic prop or costume in movie history, and in fact, in cultural hi...

Portrait of Dr. Gachet is one of the most revered paintings by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. It depicts Dr. Paul Gachet who took care of Van Gogh during the final months of his life, and was painted in June 1890 at Auvers-sur-Oise. There are, or were, two versions of the Portrait of Dr. Gachet, as well as a single etching. The whereabouts of the original Portrait of Dr. Gachet are unknown, and is one of today's biggest art mysteries. Portrait of Dr. Gachet - the original Whereabouts unknown First sold in 1897 by Van Gogh's sister-in-law for 300 francs, the original Portrait of Dr. Gachet was subsequently bought by Paul Cassirer (1904), Kessler (1904), and Druet (1910). In 1911, the painting was acquired by the Städel (Städtische Galerie) in Frankfurt, Germany and hung there until 1933, when the painting was put in a hidden room. It was confiscated by the Nazis in 1937 as part of its campaign to rid Germany of so-called degenerate art. Instead of destroying...

Creative Commons images Photogestion on Flickr "Piero Fornasetti was an artist ahead of his time. With an imagination that blurs the lines between illusion and reality, his surrealistic and – dare I say – psychedelic works are always unexpected and catch you by surprise. The exhibition juxtaposes Fornasetti’s surrealist pieces alongside the gallery’s permanent collection of classical sculptures and Renaissance works in an ironic and inventive way. Throughout the frescoed rooms and grand halls, the parallel objects seem to “speak” with each other, creating a dialogue between the works that play with the imagination and invite the viewer to venture into a land without rules or preconceptions..." [ read more ]. To visit Citazioni Pratiche (translation: "Practical Quotes" or “Practical Citations”) Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Altemps, Piazza S. Apollinare 46, Rome Tuesday – Sunday, 9:00am – 7:45pm (last entry at 7pm) Closed Mondays Exhibit tickets C...

The Art of Influence: Propaganda Postcards from the Era of World Wars Museum of Fine Arts, Boston To January 21, 2019 Propaganda of the era appeared on posters, postcards and stamps "Leonard Lauder was first drawn to postcards as a boarding school student in Miami Beach. Lauder, the 85-year-old chairman emeritus of the Estée Lauder Companies... stuck to collecting. Before long, he was buying 100-year-old postcards from a stamp dealership. Today, he owns about 130,000 postcards. Much of the collection is a promised gift to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston." "[Collecting] cards taught him how easy it can be to fall prey to a dangerous message. 'If you look at the imagery today, you would say, "How could they have been duped by it?" But they were,' he noted. 'What drove me to do this book was that most people did not realize the banality of the propaganda and how effective it was. That was… the Facebook of the time...'" [ read mor...

In mulling about for ideas to kickstart my creativity, I've started thinking about going on a writing retreat. I know these exist, but don't know much more, so I set out to research where one might travel to participate in a writing retreat. As its an interest of many, I thought I'd share my discoveries . Here are 5 writing retreats that made me want to pack my bags: You can write sitting where Hemmingway did at Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center Writers' Retreats , which are held in Hemmingway's Barn Studio in Piggott, Arkansas, USA. I liked how budget-friendly this one was, and how they change their coaches with each session. The Tuscany Writing Retreat is held in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy creative commons image bramhall/Flickr The Tuscany Writing Retreat , with Cary Tennis, is situated in the medieval hill town of Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy and is timed to coincide with two local festivals. Oh, still...

Picasso's Kitchen Museu Picasso, Barcelona To September 30, 2018 "An exhibition on the subject of Picasso’s kitchen? Why not? There is nothing at all incongruous in the idea, because cooking is a subtle revelation of Picasso’s art: painting, engraving, sculpture, ceramics, poetry and theatre. What is more, we should not neglect the role of the restaurant as a meeting place for the avant-gardes, from the Quatre Gats tavern in Barcelona to the cabaret Au Lapin Agile on Montmartre, where the bohemians of the time and Picasso’s little entourage would share a table." From the exhibit catalog "The exhibition will include the exceptional collaboration of chef Ferran Adrià who will introduce a dialogue between the artist’s creative process and contemporary culinary art. The Mauri gallery– which is the gallery of the museum devoted to contemporary art- will house an intervention from the internationally acclaimed chef, who will showcase ‘Sapiens”, his methodology fo...

~~~ "Traveling along the Côte d'Azur from Nice by train gives flirtatious glimpses of the Mediterranean at every tilting bend. (We) tumble out at a deserted station and walk across the tracks to the entrance of Les Roches Rouges. The hotel’s structure is partially built into a cliff face so we’re ushered through its airy lobby and onto its upper terrace to be met by a stunning seascape. The staff, perhaps reading our hungover expressions, immediately present us with deliciously sticky orange Campari cocktails while our bags are taken to our room..." [ read more ]. ~~~ Situated midway between St. Tropez and Cannes, Hôtel Les Roches Rouges re-opened in the past year, transformed from a former 2-star hotel into a 5-star cliffside oasis. "A savior came in the somewhat unlikely guise of 42-year-old Valérie Grégo, founder of the French boutique-hotel chain Les Hôtels d'en Haut. 'When I first came to check the place out I saw this two-star hotel, and th...

David Bowie Is Brookyn Museum To July 15, 2018 Creative Commons image eliasroviello on Flickr "'David Bowie Is' is a museum exhibition that thinks it’s a rock concert. And it has toured the world like a rock star. Beginning in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum in 2012, it has 'played' to rave reviews and long lines in 11 museums on five continents for the past five years. Bowie himself had hoped the exhibit would start in London, where he was born, and end in New York, where he lived and, in 2016, died. Now, 'David Bowie Is' arrives at the Brooklyn Museum for the final stop on its world tour. John Schaefer spoke to the curators of the both the original London exhibition and this newly-expanded New York edition..." [ listen to WNYC's interview ]. "It's a stunning tour of Bowie's world – whatever your level of Bowie fascination, it's impossible to walk more than a few inches without being dazzled. It has previousl...