popular artists march 2025 2617709

Artnet News published its quarterly analysis of the most exhibited living artists at over 250 U.S. museums in March 2025, identifying more than 3,700 artists. The top artist is photographer Cara Romero, who appears in multiple museum shows including a major retrospective at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College. Three of the six most featured artists have Native American backgrounds, reflecting a surge in exhibitions celebrating Indigenous art. The list excludes the late Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, a Native painter and curator who died in January 2025 at age 85 and would have ranked highly.

A Launchpad for the Future

"Eine Startrampe für die Zukunft"

The article is a media roundup covering several stories from the art world. It includes an interview with Jeff Koons discussing his artistic process and philosophy, a portrait of artist Jorinde Voigt, a report on the robust Art Düsseldorf fair, a news piece about two valuable Gerhard Richter paintings on loan to a museum, and a review of the new LACMA building's non-linear curatorial approach.

heft gallery opens in new york city ai art 1234741940

Adam Heft Berninger has opened Heft, a new gallery on Manhattan's Lower East Side, dedicated to artists who work with systems-based practices such as generative code, machine learning, and scanners. Berninger, who previously worked with MoMA and the Public Art Fund and ran the curatorial platform Tender, emphasizes that the gallery is not an "AI art" gallery but a contemporary art space where technology serves as a tool for artistic methodology rather than a defining label. He argues that misconceptions about AI art can only be overcome through in-person viewing, and that the scarcity of galleries focused on this kind of work globally—countable on two hands—presents an opportunity.

Sonic investigations non-profit to be artist-in-residence at London's Gasworks

The non-profit organization Earshot, founded by artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan, has been awarded a three-year studio bursary at London's Gasworks. The bursary, backed by Spanish patron Mercedes Vilardell, provides an annual stipend and covers monthly rent for a studio space at the south London exhibition and residency space. Earshot uses sound in the defense of human and environmental rights, and the residency gives it a platform to operate independently after an incubation period with Forensic Architecture. Abu Hamdan and Earshot will also take over the Barbican Centre this autumn for an event titled Repercussions, featuring installations, performances, screenings, and live music.

raphael rooms restoration discovery 2662624

The Vatican Museums have completed the decade-long restoration of the Hall of Constantine, one of the Raphael Rooms, revealing that Renaissance master Raphael himself painted two figures—Justice and Friendship—in the hall, contrary to the long-held belief that the entire room was executed solely by his assistants after his death. Conservators identified Raphael's hand by his distinctive oil-on-resin technique, which differed from the traditional fresco methods used by his assistants Giulio Romano, Gianfrancesco Penni, and Raffaellino del Colle. The discovery was made during a meticulous restoration that began in March 2015 and finished in December 2024.

AI Model Reveals New Information About Authorship of 17th-Century El Greco Altarpiece

A team of scientists from Case Western Reserve University has developed a new AI model named PATCH that analyzes tiny sections of paintings to identify the number of artists involved in their creation. The model was applied to two works by El Greco, suggesting that 'The Baptism of Christ,' long thought to be a collaborative workshop piece, may have been painted primarily by the master himself.

hidden vermeer self portrait maid asleep 1234753399

New research by the Metropolitan Museum of Art suggests that Johannes Vermeer may have hidden a self-portrait beneath his painting *A Maid Asleep* (1656–57). Using scientific analysis, the Met's team discovered an overpainted figure in the background—a man painting with his left hand, likely a reflection in a framed mirror. The image is too obscured to reveal facial features. The theory, first proposed by the Met in 2023, is bolstered by a comparison to Nicolaes Maes's *The Naughty Drummer* (1655), which similarly depicts an artist reflected in a mirror. The Met argues Vermeer likely knew Maes's work.

The Wild Ways Artists Have Made Their Livings, from the Renaissance to Today

The Wild Ways Artists Have Made Their Livings, from the Renaissance to Today

Mason Currey's new book, 'Making Art and Making a Living,' compiles stories of how artists from the Renaissance to today have funded their creative lives. It details diverse methods beyond family wealth, including odd jobs, dual careers, and institutional roles, highlighting figures like Louise Nevelson, Philip Glass, and Frank O'Hara.

Has a new Banksy statue just appeared in central London?

A new statue has appeared on Waterloo Place in central London, bearing the signature of elusive street artist Banksy. The artwork depicts a suited man carrying a large flag that covers his face, stepping off a plinth, and blends with nearby bronze and granite monuments. Sightings were first reported on Wednesday 29 April, but how and when the statue was erected in this busy intersection remains unknown. Banksy has not yet posted the work on his Instagram account, his usual method of authentication, though crowds have already gathered.

AI Helps UK Researchers Identify Unknown Subject in Hans Holbein Drawing as Anne Boleyn

Researchers Karen L. Davies and Hassan Ugail used artificial intelligence facial recognition to analyze two Hans Holbein drawings from the Royal Collection Trust. Their study, published in npj Heritage Science, suggests that a portrait previously labeled as Anne Boleyn actually depicts her mother, Elizabeth Howard, while a drawing cataloged as an unidentified woman is the true likeness of Anne Boleyn. The findings challenge long-held identifications based on 18th-century inscriptions and align more closely with contemporary descriptions of Boleyn as slender with dark hair.

A.I. Identifies Holbein Drawing as Possible Portrait of Anne Boleyn

Researchers at the University of Bradford have used artificial intelligence to analyze preparatory drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. The AI model, which previously identified a forgotten Raphael painting, suggests that a drawing long believed to depict Anne Boleyn actually shows her mother, Elizabeth Howard, while another drawing labeled "Unidentified Woman" likely portrays Anne Boleyn herself. The findings, published in Heritage Science, are based on biometric analysis of facial features, bone architecture, and proportional relationships, offering quantifiable evidence to resolve long-standing scholarly uncertainty about the sitters' identities.

van eyck ai authenticity 2744090

A Swiss artificial intelligence firm, Art Recognition, has claimed with high certainty that two versions of the painting 'Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata' (ca. 1428-32), held by the Royal Museums of Turin and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, are not by the hand of Northern Renaissance master Jan van Eyck. The company's CEO, Carina Popovici, stated the A.I. model determined the works were not authentic with 91% and 86% certainty, respectively, though the museums involved have not officially commented.

Dürer Copy Real, National Gallery Metzger

durer copy real national gallery metzger 2742430

Art historian Christof Metzger has challenged the long-held view that a portrait of Albrecht Dürer's father in London's National Gallery is a copy, declaring it an authentic work by the Renaissance master. Metzger, chief curator of the Albertina in Vienna, bases his argument on the painting's outstanding artistic quality and masterful technique, detailed in his new book, despite the museum's previous assessment that its unusual, streaky background suggests it is a copy.

Spot the difference: Bridget Riley work enjoys new green cleaning treatment

Tate Britain has completed the first-ever cleaning of Bridget Riley’s landmark 1964 Op art painting, 'Hesitate,' using a pioneering 'green' conservation method. Developed through the international Greenart research program, the treatment utilizes specialized hydrogels that lift dirt from the surface without the mechanical pressure of traditional swab rolling. This breakthrough allows conservators to safely clean the sensitive, unvarnished polyvinyl acetate house paints Riley favored, which were previously deemed too fragile for standard restoration techniques.

mcny tyger shipwreck research 2740893

The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is launching a new research project to re-examine a 17th-century shipwreck discovered during a 1916 subway dig in Lower Manhattan. The wreck, long believed to be the Dutch ship *Tyger*—one of the earliest European vessels to anchor in New York Harbor—was excavated by subway foreman James A. Kelly and later donated to MCNY in the 1940s. In partnership with the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE), the museum will apply advanced scientific techniques, including dendrochronology and wood species analysis, to the ship's timbers to confirm their origins and better understand the vessel's history.

Artibus et Historiae - An Art Anthology - No. 92, 2025

Artibus et Historiae - An art anthologie - n°92, 2025

The latest issue of the academic journal 'Artibus et Historiae' has been published, featuring a collection of scholarly articles focused on European art from the Renaissance to the early 19th century. The volume includes research on topics such as the translation of classical imagery in colonial Peru, investigations into women artists in Bologna, new attributions and provenance studies for works by artists like Ludovico Carracci and Caravaggio, and analyses of drawings and artistic education.

gordion royal tomb king midas 2661601

Archaeologists from the Penn Museum and Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University have discovered an 8th-century B.C.E. royal tomb in Gordion, Turkey, containing 88 well-preserved objects including bronze cauldrons, vessels, and iron tools. The tomb, located near the famous Midas Mound, suggests a connection to the legendary King Midas or his family, and its cremation burial method predates previous evidence of elite cremation in the region by over a century.

adam eve nude restored fitzwilliam 574241

An illuminated manuscript from 1505, *The Primer of Claude of France*, has had its original nude depictions of Adam and Eve digitally restored after a former owner crudely painted clothing over them. The restoration was achieved using an algorithm developed by Cambridge University's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, which stripped away the overpaint without damaging the original page. The manuscript is currently on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, as part of the exhibition “Colour: The Art and Science of Illuminated Manuscripts.”

leonardo da vinci dna finding 1234769273

Scientists from the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project (LDVP) have extracted DNA from a chalk sketch titled *Holy Child*, which may be by Leonardo da Vinci. In a preprint paper posted Tuesday, researchers suggest genetic links between the artwork and a letter from one of Leonardo's cousins, indicating a shared Tuscan ancestry. However, the findings are preliminary and not yet peer-reviewed, with experts cautioning that proving a direct connection to Leonardo himself is extremely difficult due to the lack of confirmed DNA from the artist and the disputed attribution of the drawing.

Paris Man Wins $1.2 Million Picasso Painting in Charity Raffle

A Parisian software salesman, Christophe Dothen, won a 1921 oil painting by Pablo Picasso titled 'Nature Morte' in a charity raffle. The raffle, which sold tickets for 100 euros each, raised over $5 million for the international charity Abridge, which provides clean water to villages in Africa.

louvre museum to install 100 surveillance cameras anti intrusion systems 1234762295

The Louvre Museum will install 100 surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems following the theft of France’s crown jewels last month. Director Laurence des Cars announced the measures to the Committee of Cultural Affairs of the National Assembly, noting that the cameras will monitor the building's exterior for "complete protection of the museum's surroundings." The anti-intrusion systems will be operational within two weeks, while the cameras are expected by the end of next year. The theft involved disc cutters used to break glass display cases in the Apollo Gallery, a method des Cars said had not been anticipated when the cases were replaced in 2019.

A rare jewellery box identified in Vermeer paintings sheds new light on the artist’s connections

New research by curator Alexandra van Dongen of Rotterdam’s Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum reveals that a rare Indo-Portuguese jewellery casket depicted in two Johannes Vermeer paintings—Mistress and Maid and A Lady Writing (both 1664-67)—is a real, surviving object. Van Dongen tracked down the sole known example in the Távora Sequeira Pinto collection in Porto, with help from Amsterdam dealer Dickie Zebregs. Her findings, published in the book De tastbare wereld van Johannes Vermeer, suggest the casket likely belonged to Vermeer’s patron Maria de Knuijt, a wealthy Dutch East India Company shareholder who may have asked the artist to include it in her paintings.

Seurat and the Sea Is Postcard Perfect

Seurat and the Sea Is Postcard Perfect

The Courtauld Gallery in London is hosting 'Seurat and the Sea,' the UK's first exhibition dedicated to Georges Seurat's seascapes. The show features over half of the artist's lifetime output of canvases, painted during summer trips to the Channel coast between 1885 and 1890, which he intended as visual cleansers from studio work. The exhibition highlights his pointillist technique, using contrasting dots of color to capture seaside light.

michelangelo sculpture reattributed rome 1234775993

A marble bust of Jesus Christ located in Rome’s Basilica of Sant’Agnese fuori le mura has been reattributed to Michelangelo. Independent researcher Valentina Salerno, a member of the Vatican committee for Michelangelo’s 500th anniversary, used archival records and inventories to trace the sculpture back to the Renaissance master, reversing a 19th-century dismissal of its origins. Simultaneously, a private owner in Belgium is claiming a recently acquired Pietà painting is also a work by Michelangelo, supported by carbon dating and stylistic analysis from art historian Michel Draguet.

artist jacky tsais painting launches into space literally 2665051

Chinese artist Jacky Tsai has created a painting on an orbital rocket, produced in collaboration with commercial space company LandSpace. The artwork, titled ZQ-2E Y2 (Zhuque-2 Enhanced, Flight 2), was rendered in aerospace-grade paint using advanced methods coordinated with engineers, and launched into space earlier this year. Inspired by the Chinese folktale “Chang’e Flying to the Moon,” the design remained visible as the rocket approached the stratosphere, marking what Tsai calls the first fully art-painted rocket to enter Earth’s orbit.

tv art authenticator claims he was contacted to authenticate stolen louvre jewels 1234758194

British art authenticator Curtis Dowling claims he received two phone calls on Sunday, October 19, 2025, from individuals asking him to authenticate "some important French jewelry," just hours after a $102 million jewel heist at the Louvre. The stolen pieces once belonged to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie and were taken by three masked men using chainsaws to breach a museum window. Dowling, who hosts the TV series "Treasure Detectives" on CNBC Prime Time, said the callers offered him cash far above his usual fee, which he declined, suspecting the jewels were stolen and that organized crime was involved.

ai art restoration conservation mit 2656171

MIT mechanical engineering student Alex Kachkine has developed a new AI technique that could dramatically speed up the restoration of aged or damaged paintings. The method uses a high-resolution scan of the artwork, an AI algorithm to identify cracks and missing patches, and a digitally printed polymer film—called a "digital mask"—that is overlaid onto the painting and sealed with varnish. The mask can be removed without trace using conservators' solvents. Kachkine tested the process on a 15th-century oil-on-panel painting by the Master of the Prado Adoration of the Magi, where the AI identified 5,612 damaged sections and the restoration took just 3.5 hours—66 times faster than conventional hand inpainting.

extreme mold damage denmark 1234741884

A newly discovered mold species, aspergillus section restricti, is damaging artworks and cultural objects across Denmark. Detected in 12 museums including the National Museum of Denmark and Skagens Museum, the fungus thrives in dry environments—the very conditions used to preserve artifacts. Conservators describe it as an "epidemic" that also poses health risks to visitors. The National Museum is relocating affected works to a new warehouse near Copenhagen, but no solution has been found yet. Preliminary studies are underway at 150 additional cultural sites to assess the spread.

Take Your Practice Further in a Visual Arts Residency at Banff Centre

The Banff Centre is accepting applications for two thematic visual arts residencies in late 2026 and early 2027. The first, "On Other Archives," focuses on reinterpreting archival methods and will be led by artists Deanna Bowen and Krista Belle Stewart with curator Tarah Hogue. The second, "Future Figurations," explores speculative futures and world-building under the guidance of artists Rajni Perera and Marigold Santos.

3d tech reveals new gladiator graffiti in pompeii 2738381

Researchers using Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) and 3D photogrammetry have uncovered 79 previously invisible graffiti fragments on a 90-foot walled corridor in Pompeii's theater district. Among the discoveries are a dynamic sketch of two gladiators in combat and a love declaration beginning "Erato amat…" (Erato loves…). The work, detailed in Pompeii's e-journal, was conducted by teams from Sorbonne University and the University of Québec at Montréal, who developed a custom 3D-image platform to visualize and digitally annotate the ancient carvings.