9 d. ago Jenny Saville at the National Portrait Gallery: 'mythic art of the flesh'

Jenny Saville’s huge new show at the National Portrait Gallery shows her as a student of the Old Masters and 20th Century abstract artists, but with a visceral magic all of her own that feels utterly timely

Politics

1 week ago That muscular back! Those fleshy breasts! The National Gallery’s ‘fake’ Rubens looks very real to me

How can anyone call Rubens’ sumptuous masterpiece Samson and Delilah a ‘fake’ and ‘a shoddy artefact’? The Flemish master is simply doing a superb job of copying his own favourite outlaw artistSamson, a huge muscular hunk of a man, slumbers in the lap of his seducer Delilah, in a bedchamber sumptuously lit by candle. As Delilah looks down on the unconscious form of the great biblical hero, her accomplice is cutting the very tangled locks that hold his superhuman strength. Meanwhile, at the door, soldiers are waiting by torchlight. At the heart of it all is Samson’s rippled naked back, nestled on the woman’s pink silk skirts.Is this a painting by the Flemish baroque master Peter Paul Rubens? Hell, yes. The wonder is that anyone would ever think otherwise. And yet some do. Michael Daley and his campaigning group ArtWatch UK, and the art historian Euphrosyne Doxiadis (among others), are getting traction with their claims that the National Gallery owns a “fake” or “modern copy” and is c...

Politics

1 week ago José María Velasco’s Mexico Glows at London’s National Gallery

José María Velasco’s Mexico Glows at London’s National Gallery  observer.com

Politics

1 week ago Pussy Riot’s founder built a ‘police state’ in an LA art gallery. Then the national guard arrived

Nadya Tolokonnikova tells the Guardian she felt she had ‘entered a wormhole’ when her police state exhibition was shut down – by the police stateNadya Tolokonnikova, the co-founder of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot, was sitting in a replica Russian prison cell in downtown Los Angeles when the police started shutting down the streets around the art museum.Police helicopters hovered overhead. Somewhere, through a loudspeaker, an officer delivered a tinny order to disperse. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago A £2.5m dud? Fresh doubt cast on authenticity of National Gallery Rubens

Former curator’s comments, later withdrawn, reignite debate over attribution of Samson and Delilah paintingIt is an unwelcome question, but an important one: did the National Gallery buy a £2.5m dud?This has remained the suspicion of many experts since one of Britain’s premier cultural institutions acquired Samson and Delilah, a long-lost masterpiece by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, in 1980. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Director of National Portrait Gallery resigns after Trump’s effort to fire her

Kim Sajet’s departure comes after the Smithsonian Institute rebuffed the president’s attempt to fire her over DEIThe director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, has resigned just two weeks after Donald Trump attempted to fire her and accused her of being “highly partisan and a strong supporter of DEI”.“We thank Kim for her service. Her decision to put the museum first is to be applauded and appreciated. I know this was not an easy decision. She put the needs of the Institution above her own, and for that we thank her,” Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian secretary, wrote in a Friday internal email that was obtained by multiple outlets. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘It makes me sick!’ How the likes of the French impressionists went from ‘lunatics’ to luminaries

The National Gallery of Victoria’s new show, French Impressionism, celebrates the likes of Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot and Pissarro, who painted in the face of public outrageGet our weekend culture and lifestyle email“Five or six lunatics deranged by ambition – one of them a woman – have chosen to exhibit their works,” French critic Albert Wolff wrote in a review of an art exhibition in Paris in 1876. The lunatics in question were a group of up-and-coming artists: Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro and Edgar Degas.Almost 150 years later, we know now that those lunatics took over the asylum. The impressionists, who rebelled against the old masters by painting lighter, brighter, ephemeral scenes, are today’s old masters; what was so shocking then is now all over our calendars, coffee cups and phone cases. But back in 1876, those looking at their works “are content to laugh at such things,” Wolff wrote sniffily. “But it makes me sick ...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘It makes me sick!’ How the French impressionists went from ‘lunatics’ to luminaries

The National Gallery of Victoria’s new show, French Impressionism, celebrates the likes of Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot and Pissarro, who painted in the face of public outrageGet our weekend culture and lifestyle email“Five or six lunatics deranged by ambition – one of them a woman – have chosen to exhibit their works,” French critic Albert Wolff wrote in a review of an art exhibition in Paris in 1876. The lunatics in question were a group of up-and-coming artists: Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro and Edgar Degas.Almost 150 years later, we know now that those lunatics took over the asylum. The impressionists, who rebelled against the old masters by painting lighter, brighter, ephemeral scenes, are today’s old masters; what was so shocking then is now all over our calendars, coffee cups and phone cases. But back in 1876, those looking at their works “are content to laugh at such things,” Wolff wrote sniffily. “But it makes me sick ...

Politics

3 w. ago We in the cultural sector must stand up to Trump’s attacks – if not now, when? | Gus Casely

My former colleagues at the Smithsonian in Washington DC face unprecedented pressure. I urge them to defend their principlesGus Casely-Hayford is director of London’s V&A EastIn one of his recent Truth Social posts, Donald Trump appeared to fire Kim Sajet – the fearless and utterly brilliant director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. The president used his social media platform to claim that Sajet’s support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) made her unsuitable for her role. “Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am hereby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery”, Trump wrote. “She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position. Her replacement will be named shortly.”Where to start? By now, we all know the arts has become the terrain for a brutal proxy battle for hearts and minds. A culture war 2.0, where not ...

Politics

3 w. ago Wallace Collection picks National Gallery architect to revamp its London base

Wallace Collection picks National Gallery architect to revamp its London base  The Architects’ Journal

Events

4 w. ago The Jewish dealer who bought art hated by the Nazis – and created one of the greatest collections ever seen

A new National Gallery of Australia show draws on Heinz Berggruen’s collection to celebrate the spread of modernism around the world, despite the Nazis’ best effortsWhen Heinz Berggruen left Germany for America in 1936, he was not allowed more than 10 marks in his pocket. As a young journalist in Berlin, Berggruen had been forced to publish under the pseudonym “h.b.” in order to hide his Jewish heritage and evade the Nazi party’s antisemitism.In the decades that would follow, he became an art dealer, regularly rubbing shoulders with the most important artists of the 20th century, and amassing one of the most impressive private collections of modern art ever to exist. On the day he left Berlin for Berkeley, however, such a future would have seemed impossible. Continue reading...

Economics

4 w. ago Trump says he fired National Portrait Gallery chief in latest conflict with arts

President says director Kim Sajet has been fired but experts suggest president does not have legal grounds to do soDonald Trump says he is firing the first female director of the National Portrait Gallery, which contained a caption that referenced the attack on the US Capitol that his supporters carried out in early 2021.The president announced the termination on Friday in a post on his social media platform that accused Sajet – born in Nigeria, raised in Australia and a citizen of the Netherlands – of being “a strong supporter” of diversity initiatives that his administration opposes as well as “highly partisan”. He cited no evidence for either claim. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago Trump fires National Portrait Gallery director in latest conflict with arts

Move against Kim Sajet, gallery’s first female chief, comes as caption on Trump references impeachments and January 6Donald Trump says he is firing the first female director of the National Portrait Gallery, which contained a caption that referenced the attack on the US Capitol that his supporters carried out in early 2021.The president announced the sacking Friday through a post on his social media platform that accused Sajet – born in Nigeria, raised in Australia and a citizen of the Netherlands – of being “a strong supporter” of diversity initiatives that his administration opposes as well as “highly partisan”. He cited no evidence for either claim. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago Faizan Zaki, 13, rebounds from stunning gaffe to win National Spelling Bee crown

Texas teen Zaki wins 97th Scripps National Spelling BeeSpelling Bee quiz: can you beat the past years’ winners?Gallery: Best shots from the National Spelling BeeFaizan Zaki nearly threw away his opportunity to go from runner-up to champion at the Scripps National Spelling Bee with a shocking moment of overconfidence. Given a second chance, he seized the title of best speller in the English language.The 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, who lost in a lightning-round tiebreaker last year, outlasted eight other accomplished spellers to win the title on Thursday night, including two that he let back into the competition after his own careless flub. Continue reading...

Politics