Author: Seraphina Calder

The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently announced that it has begun the return of 14 sculptures to Cambodia and two to Thailand that were associated with art dealer Douglas Latchford. The returns were the result of an agreement between the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the museum. The returned items are Khmer artifacts “made between the 9th and 14th centuries in the Angkorian period and reflect the Hindu and Buddhist religious systems prevailing at that time,” according to a museum press release. The group also includes statutes from the archaeological site of Koh…

After years of starts and stops, the Bardo National Museum, often called the “jewel of Tunisian heritage,” finally reopened this year. Housed in a 17th-century beylic palace in the suburban town of Le Bardo that also houses the country’s parliament, the newly renovated museum has welcomed several thousand visitors in the months since it reopened in September. The Bardo’s most recent closure came about two years ago after President Kais Saied’s decree to close the parliament, which shares the same building. That was the latest in a series of recent closures that began during the 2011 revolution. It closed again…

A masterpiece hanging in the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid has long sparked debate as to whether it was the work of Raphael. But a group of researchers now claim to have finally solved the mystery by using an artificial intelligence algorithm. O Madonna of the Rose (Madonna of the Rose) it represents Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus, along with a childish version of John the Baptist. Until the 19th century, the painting was attributed to the Italian Renaissance painter Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael. Doubts then arose about the figure of Joseph “which seemed…

Prices at this year’s auctions have been volatile, prompting questions about whether the market is slowing down, but that hasn’t stopped Julie Mehretu from setting and resetting records. In October, the Ethiopian-American painter set a new record for an African-born artist when an untitled work from 2021 sold for $9.32 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong. It broke the previous record, set by South African artist Marlene Dumas The Visitor (1995) in 2008, when it sold for $6.33 million at Sotheby’s in London. Then, in November, Mehretu broke her record with a new one: her 2008 work Walkers with dawn and…

This year there have been a number of significant discoveries in the field of archaeology. Perhaps some of the most interesting involved innovative technology that allowed archaeologists to dig deeper than before, such as the discovery of an ancient temple, now underwater, in a sunken city off the coast of Egypt and an ancient Greek catacomb found beneath the southern city of Italy from Naples Others, however, have been directly linked to current events, including the ancient Greek city of Cyrene, which emerged after floods devastated Libya. Some early settlements, such as a Neolithic monument and a mysterious shrine have…

A new artwork by Banksy has been removed from its London location shortly after the artist uploaded images to his Instagram account on December 22.The new work by the anonymous artist is a metal traffic stop sign that features three images of aircraft that look like military drones. It was installed on a street sign in Peckham, South London. The public display of Banksy’s new work did not last long. (Photo by Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images) Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images After images of the stop sign were posted on Banksy’s popular account (which has 12.1 million…

Art marketEditorial ArtisticIn this monthly series, we collect opinions and highlights from Artsy’s art experts on what they’re seeing, expecting and enjoying in the art world this month.What we are noticing Bar hopping low in Miami Beach View of the Art Basel Miami Beach installation, 2023. Courtesy of Art Basel.To say there were nerves in the air going into Art Basel Miami Beach would be an understatement. More than a few dealers have told me it’s possible they won’t sell exactly anything, which is a concern given that they typically use the proceeds from the early December fairs to get…

ArtMaxwell RabbPeter Saul Life is Tuff, 2023. © Peter Saul and Artist’s Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy of the artist and Venus Over Manhattan.by Pedro Saúl Life is Tuff (2023) is puzzling. The painting, which depicts a man’s head being crushed by an imposing black boot while searching for gold coins, was Saul’s response to the financial pressure most New Yorkers experienced. Crushed by a symbol of the capitalist system, the figure of Saul is lashed by the faceless powers that be, broken nose and cracked eyes. The work is hard to watch, but then again, unsettling times often…

Musician Nick Cave will present new work at Xavier Hufkens’ Burssels gallery in 2024. Opening on April 5, 2024, the exhibition will feature Cave’s “The Devil—A Life (2020–22),” his first major visual art series. Comprised of 17 glazed ceramic figures, the display will illustrate the life story of the Devil, drawing inspiration from the flat-bottomed Staffordshire figures of the Victorian era. Cave’s songs and musical compositions often interweave themes of religious faith, reflecting his complex relationship with Christianity.”What began as a desire to create a single little figure of the devil as a vehicle for a deep red glaze turned…

Art marketMaxwell RabbLifetime friends Ashlyn Davis Burns and Shane Lavalette shared a passion for photography and other lens-based arts long before they founded their Houston-based gallery Assembly. In their previous professional roles—Burns at the helm of the Houston Center for Photography and Lavalette leading Light Work in Syracuse, New York—the duo found themselves on very similar paths, often exchanging ideas and aligning on what they believed the art world needed. to change These conversations, spanning nearly a decade, planted the seeds for Assembly, a collaborative venture born out of their mutual desire to help artists reach new heights. As the…