Picasso Exhibition at Burgos Cathedral Explores Artist's Biblical Roots

picasso burgos cathedral show

The Catedral de Santa María in Burgos is hosting "Picasso: Biblical Roots," an exhibition exploring the enduring influence of Christian iconography on Pablo Picasso. Featuring 44 works loaned from major institutions like the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the show traces the artist's journey from his early academic religious paintings in Spain to the subtle theological motifs found in his later Cubist and post-war works.

whitney houston biennial

Curator and artist Christine “C.” Finley has launched the second edition of the Whitney Houston Biennial, an all-female contemporary art survey titled “Greatest Love of All.” Hosted at a chashama space in Manhattan, the exhibition features 125 women artists in a salon-style presentation. The show serves as a scrappy, inclusive alternative to the Whitney Museum’s official biennial, emphasizing female legacy by requiring each participant to submit a text honoring a woman who paved the way for them.

hudson shaoxia zhangus golf foundation

Chinese American artist Hudson Shaoxia Zhang has been named the inaugural recipient of the U.S. Golf Art Foundation Fellowship Award, a distinction recognizing his prolific career dedicated to the intersection of sport and landscape painting. Zhang, a former art historian who authored over 40 books before returning to a dedicated studio practice, has produced more than a thousand paintings of golf courses. His work has gained significant international traction recently, with four solo exhibitions across Europe in 2024 and a major museum retrospective at the Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts in 2023.

scarcity rarity artnet 20th century art auction

Artnet Auctions has launched its "20th Century Art" sale, featuring works by blue-chip masters including Joan Miró, Yves Klein, and Andy Warhol. The auction, curated by specialists Sylvie François Sturtevant and Jason Rulnick, highlights the distinction between "rarity"—objects that are unusual due to limited production or historical loss—and "scarcity"—where high market demand outstrips the available supply of editioned works.

keisha scarville brooklyn museum uovo prize

Brooklyn-based photographer Keisha Scarville has been named the 2026 winner of the Brooklyn Museum’s Uovo Prize. The award includes a $25,000 cash prize, a solo exhibition at the museum, and a public art commission featured on the facade of Uovo’s Bushwick facility. Her upcoming presentation, titled "Where Salt Meets Black Water," will debut in May 2026 and features vinyl reproductions from her "Mama’s Clothes" series, which explores Guyanese heritage and maternal legacy through textiles.

venice biennale russia pavilion eu funding

The European Union has threatened to withdraw a €2 million grant from the Venice Biennale following Russia's decision to return to the international exhibition for its 61st edition. The EU Commission warned that providing a platform for a Russian national pavilion risks legitimizing figures connected to the Kremlin and violating sanctions, while Biennale organizers have defended the move as a commitment to artistic freedom and a rejection of censorship.

Glassblower and porcelain heir Paul Arnhold on the art he loves to collect

The article profiles Paul Arnhold, a New York-based glassblower and fourth-generation heir to a major Meissen porcelain collection. He discusses how his hands-on practice as a maker directly informs his eclectic approach to collecting, which spans from ancient Etruscan artifacts to contemporary paintings by artists like Salman Toor. He emphasizes collecting based on personal joy and tactile presence rather than provenance alone.

gallery garth greenan relocation soho

Garth Greenan Gallery has announced it will relocate from Chelsea to SoHo in September, marking the gallery's 15th anniversary. The move involves opening two distinct spaces across from each other at 10 and 25 Greene Street, nearly tripling the gallery's current footprint to over 3,500 square feet of exhibition space. The new locations, situated in landmarked cast-iron buildings, will debut with solo exhibitions by Rosalyn Drexler and Cannupa Hanska Luger.

Italy Acquires Caravaggio's Barberini Portrait

italy acquires caravaggio barberini

The Italian Ministry of Culture has acquired a rare Caravaggio portrait of Maffeo Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII, for €30 million ($35 million). The late 16th-century masterpiece, which had been hidden in a private collection for decades, will now reside permanently at Rome’s Palazzo Barberini. The acquisition follows a successful short-term loan and extensive technical analysis that confirmed the work's authenticity.

Auctioneer Surprisingly Released from Jail

auctioneer surprisingly released from jail

Herbert Schauer, the director of the Munich-based auction house Zisska & Schauer, has been released from custody in Naples following a judicial review. Schauer had recently been sentenced to five years in prison for his alleged role in a conspiracy to sell stolen antique books, including a rare first edition by Galileo Galilei, which were embezzled from the Biblioteca dei Girolamini in Italy.

zanele muholi wins 2026 hasselblad award

Zanele Muholi has been named the winner of the 2026 Hasselblad Award, widely considered the world’s most prestigious photography prize. The South African photographer and "visual activist" will receive approximately $218,000, a solo exhibition at the Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg opening in October 2026, and a dedicated publication. Muholi’s work is celebrated for its monumental grayscale portraiture that documents and honors the Black LGBTQIA+ community, challenging historical omissions and systemic oppression.

trump freedom truck exhibition

President Donald Trump has launched the 'Freedom Truck' fleet, a series of six mobile exhibitions traveling across the United States ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Funded by a $14.1 million grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the project features interactive displays, AI-powered historical figures, and artifacts provided by Glenn Beck’s American Journey Experience. The tour, organized by conservative groups like PragerU and Hillsdale College, focuses on a patriotic narrative of American independence and sovereignty.

cosima von bonin loewe fall winter 2026 paris fashion week

German sculptor Cosima von Bonin transformed the Loewe Fall/Winter 2026 runway at Paris Fashion Week into a whimsical maritime environment. The presentation featured her signature oversized plush sea creatures—including whales, clams, and crabs—alongside a new series of canine sculptures titled "The Beaux," which referenced her recent survey at Mudam Luxembourg.

gardner museum restoration dutch room chairs

Conservators at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum have successfully identified the original 17th-century upholstery for a set of 14 chairs in the Dutch Room, the site of the infamous 1990 art heist. Using a combination of AI colorization software called Palette and the discovery of a single faded thread, the team determined that the chairs were originally vibrant red with pink stripes, rather than the fabric used in a 1970s restoration. This discovery is part of a comprehensive three-year project to restore the room to the founder's original vision.

michelangelo attributions painting bust

Recent scientific and archival investigations have led to two significant new attributions to the Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti. The first involves a painting titled 'Spirituali Pietà,' which was previously sold as an anonymous work but has now been linked to the artist through pigment analysis, X-ray fluorescence of monograms, and stylistic parallels to his known masterpieces. Simultaneously, researcher Valentina Salerno has identified a marble bust of Christ the Savior in Rome’s Basilica of St. Agnes Outside the Walls as a potential Michelangelo original, based on a decade of archival research.

Michelangelo's Pietà Altarpiece for His Own Tomb Restored and Returned to Public View

altarpiece michelangelo made tomb brought back life conservators see pictures update masterpiece

The Opera del Duomo Museum in Florence has unveiled the newly restored Bandini Pietà, a monumental sculpture Michelangelo carved for his own tomb between 1547 and 1555. The two-year conservation project, funded by the Friends of Florence Foundation, removed centuries of accumulated dust, wax, and plaster residue from the 5,900-pound marble block, which the artist famously left unfinished after discovering flaws in the stone.

carol bove just revealed a miro mural typically hidden in the guggenheims walls

Artist Carol Bove has unveiled a hidden Joan Miró mural as part of her new retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The 19-foot-long ceramic work, titled 'Alicia' (1965–67), was commissioned by Harry F. Guggenheim but has been concealed behind a false wall for over two decades because curators felt it clashed with other exhibitions. Bove integrated the masterpiece into her show by cutting a diamond-shaped aperture into the partition, allowing visitors a rare glimpse of the site-specific piece.

salvador dali largest ever painting bonhams paris auction

Salvador Dalí’s largest ever painting, a monumental 13-panel stage set created for the ballet "Bacchanale," is set to lead Bonhams’s fourth annual Surrealist sale in Paris on March 26. Measuring 65 by 100 feet, the work was originally commissioned for the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo and features Dalí's signature paranoiac-critical imagery, including a central depiction of Mount Venus. The set, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1939, is estimated to fetch between $236,000 and $350,000.

Carmen Reviriego on Art Patronage in Spain and the Callia Foundation

carmen reviriego art patronage spain callia foundation

Carmen Reviriego, founder and president of the Callia Foundation, recently hosted the 11th edition of the International Patronage Awards at Madrid’s Royal Collections Gallery. The event honored significant figures in the art world, including ARTnews Top 200 collector Batia Ofer, while highlighting the foundation's broader mission of funding restorations and fostering collaboration between private donors and Spain’s public institutions. Reviriego, who transitioned from a career in finance to art philanthropy, utilizes a business-minded approach to advocate for a more balanced model of cultural funding in Spain.

sistine chapel restoration last judgement sweat

Vatican conservators are currently undertaking a delicate restoration of Michelangelo’s 16th-century masterpiece, The Last Judgement, to remove a white film caused by tourist sweat. The accumulation of lactic acid and calcium carbonate, exacerbated by record-high visitor numbers and rising temperatures, has created a "cataract" effect that obscures the fresco's original vibrancy. Using distilled water and Japanese rice paper, specialists are cleaning the monumental work to reveal long-hidden details in the figures of Christ and the surrounding saints.

rembrandt authenticated rijksmuseum

Advanced imaging and material analysis have officially reattributed the 1633 painting "Vision of Zacharias in the Temple" to Rembrandt van Rijn. The work, which had been dismissed by scholars in the 1960s as the product of a collaborator, underwent a rigorous two-year study by the Rijksmuseum’s conservation department. Using macro-XRF scanning and dendrochronological analysis, researchers identified characteristic pentimenti and period-accurate materials that confirm it as a masterpiece from the artist's early Amsterdam period.

rembrandt discovered rijksmuseum zacharias in the temple

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has officially authenticated a long-lost painting, 'Vision of Zacharias in the Temple' (1633), as a genuine work by Rembrandt van Rijn. The painting had been dismissed by scholars in the 1960s and remained in a private collection for over six decades until the owner approached the museum for a technical analysis. Using advanced imaging and material studies similar to those used on 'The Night Watch', experts confirmed that the pigments, signature, and date align perfectly with Rembrandt’s early Amsterdam period.

venice biennale 2026 artist list koyo kouoh

The Venice Biennale has released the artist list for its 61st edition, titled "In Minor Keys," featuring 111 participants. This edition is historically unique as its curator, Koyo Kouoh, passed away in May 2025 during the exhibition's development, leaving a team of advisors including Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Helene Pereira, and Rasha Salti to realize her vision. The exhibition focuses on understated, poetic sensibilities and living artists, a departure from the larger, historically-focused surveys of recent years.

billionaire collector les wexner jeffrey epstein deposition

Billionaire retail magnate and prominent art collector Les Wexner provided a closed-door deposition to the House Oversight Committee regarding his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. During the testimony, Wexner characterized himself as "naive, foolish, and gullible" for trusting the disgraced financier, whom he labeled a con man. While Wexner denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities, Democratic lawmakers noted that the 88-year-old offered few new details and frequently cited a lack of memory regarding key events.

sva shutting down mfa curatorial practice program

The School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York has announced the closure of its MA in Curatorial Practice program, effective upon the retirement of its founding chair, Steven Henry Madoff, in May 2027. The decision to "teach out" the program comes despite recent recruitment efforts and follows a period of financial instability for the institution. The announcement also coincides with the recent abrupt resignation of David A. Ross, chair of SVA’s MFA Art Practice program, following revelations regarding his past ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Tino Sehgal at Museo de Arte de Zapopan

tino sehgal

Renowned performance artist Tino Sehgal has launched a major self-titled exhibition at the Museo de Arte de Zapopan (MAZ) in Guadalajara, Mexico. The show’s centerpiece is 'Andador 20 de Noviembre,' a site-specific adaptation of his acclaimed 2012 work 'These Associations.' Staged on a historic pedestrian thoroughfare, the performance involves a 'hive mind' of participants who transition from slow-motion movements to jogging and engaging the public with intimate personal vignettes, creating an immersive experience that blurs the line between audience and performer.

plautilla bricci painter roman architect

The nonprofit organization Artemisia Gold has announced a major restoration project for Plautilla Bricci’s 17th-century altarpiece, 'Birth of the Virgin' (ca. 1660), located in Rome’s Church of Santa Maria in Campo Marzio. Bricci, a rare female polymath of the Baroque era, was Italy’s first professional female architect as well as a prolific painter and sculptor. The restoration team, led by Jane Adams, aims to clean the darkened canvas and conduct X-ray analysis to potentially uncover a hidden signature and more details regarding its commission by Abbess Anna Maria Mazzarino.

Tintoretto Genesis Cycle Restored

tintoretto genesis cycle restored

Four paintings from Tintoretto’s 16th-century “Stories from Genesis” cycle have been reunited in Venice for the first time in two centuries following an extensive restoration. The exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia features three works from the museum’s permanent collection alongside a crucial loan from the Uffizi Galleries, all of which underwent a year-long conservation process to remove centuries of darkened varnish and grime.

Trump Arts Impact 2025

trump arts impact

The Trump administration has initiated a sweeping overhaul of the American cultural landscape, marked by aggressive oversight of the Smithsonian Institution and the termination of numerous National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants. Key actions include the disbanding of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the removal of leadership at the National Portrait Gallery, and the implementation of content audits to remove references to Trump's impeachments and information regarding slavery from federal sites. These moves are part of a broader effort to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and enforce 'American values' in cultural programming ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary.

Louvre Appoints Christophe Leribault as New Director

louvre new director christophe leribault

Christophe Leribault has been appointed as the new director of the Louvre, succeeding Laurence des Cars following her resignation. Leribault, who currently leads the Palace of Versailles and previously directed the Musée d’Orsay, returns to the institution where he once served as deputy director of graphic arts. He takes the helm during a period of intense turmoil marked by staff strikes, a high-profile $102 million heist of the French crown jewels, and systemic security failures.