A High Renaissance masterpiece, Bacchus and Ariadne (1520-23), by the great Italian painter Titian (c. 1488-1576), is getting a touch-up thanks to Bank of America’s (BOA) extensive art conservation program, which has helped save more than 15,000 objects in 40 countries since its launch in 2010. This is the second time under the microscope for this work.
Art News
In ancient Rome, bathing was a staple, not a luxury. Bath buildings are one of the most frequently encountered types of structure at archeological sites across the Roman world, from the Middle East to Northern Europe.
More than 130 museums and historic landmarks in Iran have been damaged since the conflict with Israel and the United States erupted in January, despite efforts to mark protected locations and pleas from international groups to use caution.
In satirist James Gillray’s 1801 illustration A Cognocenti Contemplating ye Beauties of ye Antique, the expert’s body is a stand-in for his skill. His stooped shoulders, shock of white hair, and gnarled fingers clutching a walking stick all signify not just age but wisdom. His ill-fitting waist coat, rumpled breeches, and a thatch of thick nose hair suggest a man too busy at his task to worry over his appearance, although his stark black top hat indicates his societal position and fit within this collection of antiquities.
As temperatures rise to summer highs, one artwork seems to encapsulate our collective torpor better than most: Salvador DalÍ’s The Persistence of Memory. The iconic 1931 work depicts a series of clock faces that appear to be melting in a seaside landscape hauntingly barren except for a leaf-less tree, a couple of simple architectural structures, and a distorted, globular form resembling the face of a sleeping human with incredibly long eyelashes.
Founded by a group of free-thinking artists in 1875, the Art Students League of New York has always been marked by innovation. Dissatisfied with the teaching style at the National Academy of Design, these artists started their own school, committed to making fine-art education accessible to all. Utilizing a unique atelier-style system, the League offers classes for adults and children, covering a diverse array of artistic practices, methodologies, and media.
Villa Pilar, which was painted in 1940 by Leonora Carrington during her confinement at the Sanatorio Morales—a clinic located just outside Santander, Spain—remained in her psychiatrist’s family for more than 80 years after it was given to him as a gift.
Long before Dior became a worldwide fashion house, branching from haute couture into perfume and later into shoes and accessories, there was French designer Paul Poiret (1879-1944).
The south side of the Colosseum, Rome’s most famous ancient monument, has been revamped as a new public space. Opened in March, the piazza is the culmination of a four-year project, which began with the excavation of the area in 2022.
One of the joys of spending time in a record store is not knowing what to choose. For those who go in “just to have a browse,” the risk is to spend hours flipping through countless records. Yet, the quest might end when your eyes get caught by an image, a design, or a color on one of the covers. The art created for record covers is revelatory: it presents the artist, their music, and the ideas behind that particular album.
