Art History Michelangelo Is a Giant of Art History. But as a Person, He May Have Actually Been Quite Short After studying the Renaissance artist’s shoes, researchers in Italy were able to estimate his height. By Artnet News, Sep 3, 2021
Museums & Institutions Conservators at the Met Have Discovered a Hidden Composition Under Jacques Louis David’s Portrait of a Famed Chemist David’s original painting of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier and his wife depicted the couple as self-indulged nobles rather than liberal leaders of science. By Artnet News, Sep 1, 2021
Art & Exhibitions Titian’s ‘Poesie’ Paintings Transformed Western Art. One U.S. Museum Is Showing Them All Together—and It Will Never Happen Again Bringing the show together was a herculean task, that involved literally rewriting laws. By Sarah Cascone, Aug 26, 2021
Law & Politics Restitution Experts Blast Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts for Refusing to Return a Painting Once Purchased for Hitler’s Museum The Monuments Men Foundation is squaring off against the MFAH in the court of public opinion. By Sarah Cascone, Aug 18, 2021
Archaeology & History Machu Picchu Is Even Older Than Previously Thought, New Radiocarbon Dating Shows The colonial records kept by the Spanish appear to have been wrong. By Sarah Cascone, Aug 5, 2021
Analysis Houston Built Big in 2020—But Shenzhen Is the Future: 7 Takeaways From a New Report on Global Cultural Trends AEA Consulting's Cultural Infrastructure Index aims to give a snapshot of the present and future of museum building. By Eileen Kinsella, Jul 27, 2021
Art World Try These 10 Tasty Cocktail Recipes That Frick Collection Curators Mixed for the Museum’s Hit Lockdown Video Series The series finale of "Cocktails With a Curator," featuring a Black Manhattan, aired last Friday. By Sarah Cascone, Jul 23, 2021
Art History While Restoring a Mysterious 16th-Century Painting, Experts Found That Someone Turned Its Subject’s Frown Literally Upside Down From the department of "Don't Tell Women to Smile." By Artnet News, Jul 16, 2021
Artnet News Pro Christie’s Came Out of the Pandemic to Have Its Most Lucrative First Half in Years. Here, Execs at the Auction House Explain How They Did It The sales thus far have amounted to $3.5 billion. By Eileen Kinsella, Jul 13, 2021
Art World The Victoria and Albert Museum Says It Has Spotted Michelangelo’s Thumbprint, Preserved in Wax, on One of His Sculptures The long-hidden mark likely appeared on the delicate wax sculpture due to changes in temperature or humidity. By Sarah Cascone, Jul 13, 2021
Art & Tech Scientists Tracing Leonardo da Vinci’s Family Tree Have Tracked Down 14 Living Relatives—Including a 62-Year-Old Artist The descendants include farmers, office workers, and an upholsterer. By Sarah Cascone, Jul 7, 2021
Art World You Can Now Spend the Night Inside the Palace Versailles For a Kingly $2,000 a Night The historic site is now a hotel. By Sarah Cascone, Jul 4, 2021
Art World A Painting Fell Off the Wall and Went in for Conservation. Turns Out It’s a Long-Lost Rembrandt Worth Up to $240 Million The discovery was announced at a symposium held at Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome. By Sarah Cascone, Jun 25, 2021
Art & Exhibitions Damien Hirst’s Fake Antiquities From an Imaginary Shipwreck Are on View Alongside the Real Thing at the Galleria Borghese—See It Here Italy's culture minister hopes the show will mark "a new renaissance for Italy" and its tourism. By Sarah Cascone, Jun 14, 2021
On View A Marble Skull Displayed for Centuries at a German Castle Turns Out to Be the Work of Bernini, Researchers Have Discovered The skull, made for Pope Alexander VII, is included in the new Dresden show “Bernini, the Pope and Death." By Taylor Dafoe, May 28, 2021
