Category: Art

Memento Mori

If you have a big ego and a bigger bank balance it’s not a bad idea to build somewhere to display your tasteful collection of art, sculpture, furniture and bric-a-brac but the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is the first “dedicated exclusively to visual storytelling and narrative art, placing popular culture (such as comics and… Continue reading Memento Mori

Pontormo Plan

It is a good plan to have a plan when on holiday. I have a plan for when the weather in S Europe cools down.

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Categorised as Art

Vermeer Today, Gone Tomorrow

Ireland was not immune to art thefts but from country houses not museums. Something stolen from one house was recovered in London, returned to its rightful place, and shortly afterwards stolen again not to be found so far.

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The John Blake Conspiracy

“How five art dealers, four policemen, three picture restorers, two auction houses and a journalist plotted to recover some of the world’s most beautiful stolen paintings.” ( Double Dealer by Peter Watson, dust jacket)

A Cold Night in Florence

The thefts in the Iain Pears art heist series are often close to reality, the main characters are well portrayed, the descriptions of Rome excellent but of course the plots and denouements contrived.

Grand Theft

If you are interested in the new version of Grand Theft Auto (a video game, m’lud) you are in the wrong place. This is about art theft.

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Childish Things

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. (1 Corinthians 13:11, King James Version)

Konrad Mägi

When I stand up for a pee it’s often in the bushes but yesterday it was at a urinal. There was a sign above. It did not say “We aim to please, You aim too please”; nor did it advertise prophylactics.

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High Renaissance

My next book, well that’s a bit misleading as it will be my first book, is going to look at busts and portraits. I have a newly formed theory that sculptors are more generous than artists. Take a look at these two fellers.

Stolpersteine

Tomorrow is Holocaust Memorial Day. The person who may have done most to keep memories of victims alive is German artist Gunter Demnig. Since 1992 he has been placing small square brass plaques (Stolpersteine) on pavements to mark the last place they lived. He says “a person is not forgotten until his or her name… Continue reading Stolpersteine

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Categorised as Art, History