MetaFilter posts tagged with italy and art

Art of Noises

fire&wings — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:32:46 -0800

Luigi Russolo was a futurist painter, experimental composer, and instrument builder. In his 1913 manifesto "The Art of Noises" he declaimed the death of traditional Western music and foresaw the dawning of a new music based on the grinding, screeching, moaning, crackling and buzzing of mechanical instruments. He and his assistant Ugo Piatti built the Intonarumori to bring these new sounds - "the palpitation of valves, the coming and going of pistons, the howl of mechanical saws, the jolting of a tram on its rails, the cracking of whips, the flapping of curtains and flags" - to life. Listen to them, then and now.

Caravaggio and Rembrandt, two great tastes that go well together

Kattullus — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:34:08 -0800

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam invites you to compare Caravaggio and Rembrandt. For an overview of Rembrandt's work here are Rembrandt van Rijn: Life and Work and A Web Catalogue of Rembrandt Paintings. For Caravaggio there's caravaggio.com which makes use of the Italian website Tutta l'opera del Caravaggio.

Monstrous Scuplture Garden In Italy

jonson — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 20:46:10 -0800

In the town of Bomarzo in central Italy you will find Monster's Grove, a vast sculpture garden created in 1552 by Pier Orisini to be a unique & astonishing place. The scupltures are quite large, and some are carved directly into the bedrock; as the name might indicate, the subjects are mainly mythical creatures. For centuries, the stone was uncared for, and nature began to reclaim the art, until the 1970s when efforts began to preserve the pieces, and today it is a major tourist attraction, though still privately owned nearly five centuries in.

The Italian Futurist Book

Meatbomb — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 03:16:43 -0800

The book is an account of the battle of Adrianopolis (Turkey) in 1912 in which the author volunteered as a Futurist-soldier.
Futurism (1909-1944) was perhaps the first movement in the history of art to be engineered and managed like a business.

Uncompromising alternative

Abiezer — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 20:23:05 -0800

The art of Flavio Constantini. Naval officer turned anarchist Constantini (1926- ) paints rebels, martyrs, assassins, writers, and architecture, all with a special quality of light.

The real Da Vinci Code?

Len — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:59:14 -0800

I know who brought Leonardo's greatest drawings to Britain. I may not be a Harvard professor of religious symbology or know much about the bloodline of the Magdalene, but I do enjoy a mystery and so I set out to solve this one. And I succeeded. Final proof is elusive, always, but in this case the circumstantial evidence is so overwhelming, I think I've got my man."

River Art

tellurian — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 16:15:08 -0800

Ahmad Nadalian's work can be found all over the world. He is an artist that carves symbols on rocks and then leaves them at the site where they were created (sometimes burying them).

Giant pink bunny invades Italy.

myopicman — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 10:07:09 -0800

A large pink rabbit will visit Italy for 20 years. Yet another controversial work of art by Gelitin from Vienna. (via Guardian)

Museum of Seaside Bathing/Tourism

peacay — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 05:43:49 -0800

~Balnea~ Virtual Museum of Sea Bathing and Seaside Tourism
This beautiful and comprehensive Italian site records the development of human association with the sea from the 18th to the 20th century. Art works, posters and photographs display the evolving nature of seaside architecture, fashion, lifesaving, cafes/amusements, sun protection, pavillions and more. There are even vintage essays and partially digitized books (some are in english) as well as beach tunes (midi files) for those so-inclined. [site map] via

The ransack of Italy

andrew cooke — Fri, 20 May 2005 08:41:09 -0800

The ransack of Italy is finally becoming big news. The Getty had a reputation for buying Italian antiquities of "uncertain provenance". It recently returned some treasures, but has remained in the market; it also kept the Morgantina Aphrodite. But, perhaps, not for much longer. Marion True, a senior curator there, has just been indicted by the Italian authorities "on criminal charges involving the acquisition of precious antiquities".

Long Lost Leo

ScottUltra — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 12:56:41 -0800

"Researchers have discovered the hidden laboratory used by Leonardo da Vinci for studies of flight and other pioneering scientific work in previously sealed rooms at a monastery next to the Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata, in the heart of Florence."

When museums were cemetaries

Pinwheel — Fri, 20 Dec 2002 10:58:12 -0800

Futurism and the Futurists is a comprehensive (but oddly self-promotional) website showcasing the ideas, biographies, and works of the Italian Futurists. Enjoy the painting, poetry, the fabulous theatre "sentesi," and of course, all those lovely manifestos.

Voyageman — Thu, 14 Mar 2002 14:04:43 -0800

"World's largest and most complete private collection of eyeglasses" Galleria Guglielmo Tabacchi in Padua, Italy, with objects dating back to " ..1285, when glasses were first created in Venice...". Check out Elton John's shades in Celebrities - he too belongs in the 13th century.

MAYORBOB — Sat, 08 Dec 2001 23:38:40 -0800

Italy privatizes its culture. At least that's what will happen when a bill turning management of all of its museums sails through the Parliament this week. Critics of the Berlesconi-driven measure say that trying to turn culture into a profit center is foolish as there are only a few attractions that make any money now.