restorer painting italian pm on ancient fresco morning links 1234772067

Restorer Bruno Valentinetti admitted to painting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's face onto an angel fresco at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Rome, sparking backlash from lawmakers who called it "covert propaganda." The Vatican ordered the image removed, and Valentinetti complied, erasing his homage. Experts are now studying photographs of the original angel to guide a new restoration. Separately, President Trump announced plans to install a repaired statue of Christopher Columbus on the White House grounds, and an open letter with 500 signatories demanded curatorial independence at the Art Gallery of Ontario after it declined to acquire a Nan Goldin work.

When is art sacred? A Jesuit artist on what makes the absurd, the abstract and the ordinary holy

The article is a first-person reflection by Nick Leeper, a Jesuit artist and scholastic, on the Biennale d'Art Contemporain Sacré in Menton, France. Leeper describes entering the Grand Hôtel des Ambassadeurs expecting a traditional sacred art show but finding abstract sculptures, Venetian glassworks, and Man Ray's mirrors alongside his own works and those of artists like Damien Hirst, Yayoi Kusama, and Gerhard Richter. The biennale, founded in 2019 by Liana Marabini, features 180 artists from 29 countries exploring the theme of forgiveness, prompting viewers to question what makes art sacred.

The Colors of Mark Rothko Conquer Florence: A Major Exhibition Across Three Venues

I colori di Mark Rothko conquistano Firenze: una grande mostra in tre sedi

The city of Florence is hosting a major three-venue retrospective dedicated to Mark Rothko, centered at Palazzo Strozzi with extensions into the Museo di San Marco and the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana. Curated by Christopher Rothko and Elena Geuna, the exhibition features 70 works spanning the artist's career, from his early Surrealist-influenced paintings of the 1930s and 40s to his iconic 'Multiform' and classic color-field abstractions. A unique highlight of the show is the installation of Rothko’s smaller works within the historic cells of the Museo di San Marco, directly alongside frescoes by Beato Angelico.

security threats force londons va to remove prophet muhammad artwork 232724

The Victoria & Albert Museum in London removed an image of an artwork depicting the Prophet Muhammad from its website due to security concerns following the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack. The artwork, a poster made by an Iranian artist around 1990, remains in the museum's collection and is available to scholars by appointment. The decision has drawn criticism from experts who view it as self-censorship that could undermine the study of Islamic art.

6 gripping museum exhibitions to view this winter

Six major museum exhibitions opening across the U.S. this winter are profiled, including 'Austrian Expressionism and Otto Kallir' at LACMA, which features a newly acquired Gustav Klimt painting and works by Egon Schiele; 'Divine Color: Hindu Prints from Modern Bengal' at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the first U.S. exhibition to explore how lithography transformed Hindu devotional art; 'Frida: The Making of an Icon' at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, examining Kahlo's rise from local painter to global brand; 'Conversation Pieces: Stories from the Fashion Archives' at the Denver Art Museum, showcasing garments from its permanent collection; and 'Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work' at the Smithsonian.

art bites sistine chapel michelangelo critics 2718347

The article recounts the creation and controversy surrounding Michelangelo's fresco of the Last Judgement on the west wall of the Sistine Chapel. While the chapel attracts 25,000 daily visitors and is celebrated as a pinnacle of Renaissance art, the west wall initially provoked scorn from church officials and critics like Biagio da Cesena and Pietro Aretino, who objected to its nudity, pagan imagery, and perceived idolatry. Michelangelo retaliated by painting his detractors into the fresco—Da Cesena as King Minos with donkey ears and a snake biting his genitals, and Aretino as Saint Bartholomew holding flayed skin resembling the artist.

What Hans Memling's Last Judgment Still Tells Us

Was uns Hans Memlings Jüngstes Gericht noch sagt

Hans Memling's 15th-century triptych "The Last Judgment" is currently undergoing restoration at the National Museum in Gdańsk, Poland, and is expected to be off view until the end of the year. The artwork, painted before 1465, has a dramatic provenance, having been captured at sea by a privateer en route from Bruges to Florence and eventually finding a permanent home in Gdańsk after various displacements.

Museum of Contemporary Religious Art comes to a close after three decades

The Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) at Saint Louis University is closing to the public on May 31, 2025, after more than three decades of operation. Its final exhibition, 'Liminal,' features works from 47 artists, many drawn from the museum's permanent collection. The closure, announced last year, is a result of university budget cuts.

Museum of Contemporary Religious Art comes to a close after three decades

The Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) at Saint Louis University is closing to the public on May 31, 2025, after more than three decades of operation. Its final exhibition, 'Liminal,' features works from 47 artists, many drawn from the museum's permanent collection. The closure, announced last year, is due to university budget cuts, and the collection will be integrated into exhibits at SLU's Museum of Art.

kansas church tiffany window sale 2725402

First Presbyterian Church in Topeka, Kansas, is selling one of its ten Tiffany stained-glass windows at Sotheby's Design sale on December 10. The Jonathan Thomas Memorial Window, a rare medallion window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany himself in 1910, carries an estimate of $1.5 million to $2 million. The church cites the high cost of maintaining its historic building and the Tiffany windows—sending just one window for repair cost over $50,000—as the reason for the sale. The auction also features a magnolia floor lamp designed by Agnes Northrup, estimated at $2 million to $3 million.

borso deste bible on view in rome 2713488

The Borso d'Este Bible, a lavishly illuminated 15th-century manuscript often called the 'Mona Lisa of Illuminated Manuscripts,' has gone on public display at the Italian Senate in Rome. The two-volume Bible, commissioned by Duke Borso d'Este between 1455 and 1461, features gold and Afghan lapis lazuli illustrations and is usually kept in a safe at a Modena library. Its rare public showing is part of the Vatican's Holy Year celebrations, which are expected to draw 32 million visitors to Rome. The Bible was transported under elaborate security and is presented in a humidity-controlled case with a touch-screen digital experience.

Behold the Lamb: New Spori Art Gallery exhibit

The Spori Art Gallery opened a new exhibition titled "Behold the Lamb" on Thursday evening, featuring artwork depicting Jesus Christ. The gallery was filled with students, faculty, and community members who viewed paintings such as "Jehovah Creates the Earth (Jesus Christ Creates the Earth and the Heavens)" by Walter Rayne, "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" by Lynne Millman-Weidinger, and works by Kristen M. Yee, Rose Datoc Dall, J. Kirk Richards, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Peter Paul Rubens. The exhibit is free and open to the public through December 19.

Dr Kurt A. Gitter, Japanese Art Collector, 89

Dr. Kurt A. Gitter, a pioneering retinal surgeon and world-renowned collector of Japanese art, has passed away at the age of 89 in New Orleans. Born in Vienna and having escaped the Holocaust as an infant, Gitter discovered his passion for Japanese culture while serving as a U.S. Air Force flight surgeon in the 1960s. Over several decades, he and his wife Alice Yelen Gitter amassed one of the most significant private collections of Edo-period paintings and self-taught American art in the Western world.

BYU Museum of Art exhibit walks visitors on the road to Calvary with Christ

The Brigham Young University Museum of Art has opened a new exhibition titled "The Road to Calvary: Walking with Christ." The immersive show guides visitors through a series of artworks and installations that depict the final journey of Jesus Christ to his crucifixion, aiming to create a contemplative, physical experience of the Passion narrative.

Innocent mistake? Italy's prime minister appears as a cherub in Rome church

A fresco restoration in Rome's Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina sparked a political controversy after a cherub was found to bear a striking resemblance to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The artist, Bruno Valentinetti, initially denied the intentional likeness before admitting he had painted the figure based on the Prime Minister's features. Following an intervention by the Vatican's administrative body, the Curia, the face was subsequently painted over and removed from the chapel.

Springville Museum of Art's Spiritual and Religious Art exhibit wraps up its 39th season

The Springville Museum of Art's 39th annual Spiritual and Religious Art exhibit is concluding this month. The show received over 900 submissions, with only about 200 works selected for display, making it a highly competitive exhibition for living Utah artists. The museum, originally founded over 100 years ago by Springville High teachers and students, continues its mission with outreach programs for K-12 students. The exhibit features diverse mediums including sculpture, knit, paint, and photography, and includes a Spotify playlist to accompany the gallery experience.

‘From Above’: New Church History Museum exhibit features Australian Aboriginal Latter-day Saint art

The Church History Museum in Salt Lake City has opened a new exhibition titled “From Above: Aboriginal Australian Art From the Bird Family.” The show features works by Indigenous Australian artists from the Anmatyerr culture who are also members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The artists, including Gary Bird Mpetyane, Maggie Bird Mpetyane, and Rose Coleena Wallace Nungari, traveled from Australia to attend the opening of the exhibit, which runs through August 1, 2026.