Brother, can you spare a masterpiece?
November 5, 2011 9:27 AM Subscribe
Paintings by Leonardo da Vinci are among the rarest and most coveted treasures in the museum world. So how did the National Gallery manage to assemble two thirds of the world's supply for its new show Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan?
Guy with a bow tie took an interest
posted by The Whelk at 9:32 AM on November 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 9:32 AM on November 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I foresee a trip to London in my not-too-distant future, something which only became possible for me six months ago. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
posted by shelleycat at 9:35 AM on November 5, 2011
posted by shelleycat at 9:35 AM on November 5, 2011
Oh, and the linked article is really interesting too by the way.
posted by shelleycat at 9:37 AM on November 5, 2011
posted by shelleycat at 9:37 AM on November 5, 2011
Please don't let Dan Brown read this. I'm begging you...for the love of literature, don't let him read this!
posted by Fizz at 9:43 AM on November 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 9:43 AM on November 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
Dan Brown eh? The Sun says:
Letters in Mona Lisa's Eyes.
Leonardo Fake Is Real Deal, Says Expert.
posted by marienbad at 10:03 AM on November 5, 2011
Letters in Mona Lisa's Eyes.
Leonardo Fake Is Real Deal, Says Expert.
posted by marienbad at 10:03 AM on November 5, 2011
The use of the word "supply" made me laugh. "Dude, what's the deal with that 'nardo supply?" Gotta get me a better supply line.
posted by Jibuzaemon at 10:21 AM on November 5, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by Jibuzaemon at 10:21 AM on November 5, 2011 [4 favorites]
*ponders building london into itinerary between two entirely different continents*
posted by infini at 10:26 AM on November 5, 2011
posted by infini at 10:26 AM on November 5, 2011
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Good article and a seriously tempting exhibition.
Having all those paintings in one place is scary though.
posted by YAMWAK at 10:42 AM on November 5, 2011
Having all those paintings in one place is scary though.
posted by YAMWAK at 10:42 AM on November 5, 2011
dunno man some of these nardos are kinda sketchy
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:27 AM on November 5, 2011
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:27 AM on November 5, 2011
Dunno, some guy came into the bar last nigh selling nardos. He works at a hotel and some real rich guy forgot them in his room. I got his number I can hook you up.
posted by Ad hominem at 11:49 AM on November 5, 2011
posted by Ad hominem at 11:49 AM on November 5, 2011
I am sad that this is not viral marketing for the next Oceans Zillionteenth film.
posted by elizardbits at 11:58 AM on November 5, 2011
posted by elizardbits at 11:58 AM on November 5, 2011
Yea, gimme those digits. I hella need a twenty sac of nardo
posted by Jibuzaemon at 11:59 AM on November 5, 2011
posted by Jibuzaemon at 11:59 AM on November 5, 2011
Now I'm sad that I won't be able to get to London between now and February. Also sad that this is not either an Ocean's movie nor the next Thomas Crown in the making.
posted by immlass at 1:30 PM on November 5, 2011
posted by immlass at 1:30 PM on November 5, 2011
I'm sorry, but everyone knows that the real Mona Lisa is hanging in the home of "importer" Carmine Sabatini.
posted by Ber at 4:02 PM on November 5, 2011
posted by Ber at 4:02 PM on November 5, 2011
I saw "National Gallery" and thought "I can be in DC over Christmas!" #justanotherdisappointment.
posted by octobersurprise at 4:28 PM on November 5, 2011
posted by octobersurprise at 4:28 PM on November 5, 2011
Yo, yo, can I score some "Lady With an Ermine"?
someone hook me up?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:29 PM on November 5, 2011
someone hook me up?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:29 PM on November 5, 2011
Same here, octobersurprise. Dammit, why can't we have the 'nardos over here?!
posted by Soliloquy at 6:00 PM on November 5, 2011
posted by Soliloquy at 6:00 PM on November 5, 2011
I haven't read the article yet, but based on the FPP, I'm thinking it involved midnight parachute drops, silenced pistols, and because this is England, a woman wearing a leather catsuit.
posted by happyroach at 3:00 AM on November 6, 2011
posted by happyroach at 3:00 AM on November 6, 2011
Two very different takes on the Leonardo exhibition and the curation of art exhibitions in general.
David Allen Green: The ticket holders go in with their expensive tickets, and with their guide-books and ear-phone sets, and they look and they stare, and then they shuffle along and look and stare again. But instead of looking and staring at the painting or other artifact, they look and stare at the typed caption 'explaining' the work of art. And once they have looked and stared at this caption, they give the painting or other artifact a very brief glance, and they then move on to the next caption ... It is almost as if the painting or other artifact is there as an aid to understanding the caption, and not the other way round.
Lucy Inglis: Let’s not beat about the bush: ‘Art’ in the original drying brushstroke or the horrifically-expensively-insured-flesh has never been for people who cannot pay to see it either in money or in patronage. Vermeer’s idyllic domesticity was not for the people, but his patrons and sometimes his friends. Their viewing of his pictures was influenced by what they knew of his household, and their own comparable set-ups. They knew about the troublesome wife, the money problems, even down to the exquisite light of Delft’s famously clean and minimalist interiors. They did not need the caption.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 8:23 AM on November 13, 2011
David Allen Green: The ticket holders go in with their expensive tickets, and with their guide-books and ear-phone sets, and they look and they stare, and then they shuffle along and look and stare again. But instead of looking and staring at the painting or other artifact, they look and stare at the typed caption 'explaining' the work of art. And once they have looked and stared at this caption, they give the painting or other artifact a very brief glance, and they then move on to the next caption ... It is almost as if the painting or other artifact is there as an aid to understanding the caption, and not the other way round.
Lucy Inglis: Let’s not beat about the bush: ‘Art’ in the original drying brushstroke or the horrifically-expensively-insured-flesh has never been for people who cannot pay to see it either in money or in patronage. Vermeer’s idyllic domesticity was not for the people, but his patrons and sometimes his friends. Their viewing of his pictures was influenced by what they knew of his household, and their own comparable set-ups. They knew about the troublesome wife, the money problems, even down to the exquisite light of Delft’s famously clean and minimalist interiors. They did not need the caption.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 8:23 AM on November 13, 2011
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posted by blue_beetle at 9:32 AM on November 5, 2011 [3 favorites]