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Painters

Left: Half-restored version of Vermeer's "Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window" / Right: Unrestored version

Cool Finds

Restoration Reveals Long-Lost Cupid Painted Over After Vermeer’s Death

In an unusual move, the Dresden gallery has opted to display the half-restored painting prior to concluding conservation efforts

Edvard Munch, "Self-Portrait with Tulla Larsen," ca. 1905

British Museum Reunites Portrait That Edvard Munch Sawed in Half to Avenge His Fiancée

The Norwegian painter split the canvas in two following a violent breakup with partner Tulla Larsen

"Slow looking" is impossible in Yayoi Kusama's popular "Infinity Mirror Rooms," which enforce a strict 30-second visitor time limit

This Saturday, Museums Across the Globe Are Asking Visitors to Linger for Slow Art Day

166 institutions are participating in the 10th-annual event, which encourages visitors to spend 5 to 10 minutes in front of a single work of art

Dutch art detective Arthur Brand has been trying to find "Buste de Femme" for years.

‘Indiana Jones of the Art World’ Finds Picasso Stolen 20 Years Ago From Saudi Billionaire

The painting had been ‘used as collateral, popping up in a drug deal here, four years later in an arms deal there,’ says Arthur Brand

Edouard Manet, "Laure," also known as "Olympia," 1863

Musée d’Orsay Renames Manet’s ‘Olympia’ and Other Works in Honor of Their Little-Known Black Models

Marie-Guillemine Benoist’s “Portrait of Madeleine,” previously titled “Portrait of a Black Woman,” hangs alongside Manet’s newly christened “Laure”

Beyoncé and Jay-Z filmed their "Apeshit" music video at the Louvre, further publicizing the already iconic museum

These Were 2018’s Most Popular Art Exhibitions and Museums

Celebrities including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rihanna and the Obamas helped galleries achieve record-breaking visitor numbers

Georgia O’Keeffe. Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz, 1919.

Newly Public Letters Show Georgia O’Keeffe’s Quest for Independence

The Library of Congress has acquired a collection of letters from the artist to filmmaker Henwar Rodakiewicz

These floral watercolors may have been painted by van Gogh's unrequited love interest, the 19-year-old daughter of his landlady

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Papers Found in Vincent van Gogh’s London Lodging

The cache includes insurance records signed by his landlady, a volume of prayers and hymns, and watercolors possibly painted by an unrequited love interest

Norman Wilfred Lewis, "Eye of the Storm (Seachange XV)," 1977

Art Meets Science

Study Finds Paintings Featuring Blue and Red Hues Sell for the Most Money at Auction

There’s green to be found in shades of red and blue

The 13 missing works are valued at more than $500 million.

Mobster Who May Be the Last Living Person With Knowledge of Gardner Museum Heist Set to Be Released From Prison

Octogenarian Robert Gentile has long maintained his innocence, but investigators believe otherwise

Georges Seurat's Pointillist "Study for 'A Sunday on La Grande Jatte'" exhibits high levels of entropy but low levels of complexity

Art Meets Science

Physicists Come Up With Intriguing Way to Measure Art’s Evolution

By mapping the complexity and entropy of 140,000 paintings created between 1031 and 2016, the researchers demonstrated the interaction of art movements

Underdrawing as seen under X-ray (left) and underdrawing superimposed with elements of 1619 portrait (right)

Cool Finds

X-Ray Analysis Reveals Self-Portrait Hidden Under Artemisia Gentileschi Painting

The underpainting closely mirrors an earlier self-portrait depicting the Baroque artist as Saint Catherine

Vincent van Gogh, "Tree Roots," 1890

Van Gogh Museum Suggests Artist’s Last Painting Has Long Been Misidentified

Experts argue that the abstract “Tree Roots” is a more likely candidate than the oft-cited “Wheatfield With Crows”

Maria Sibylla Merian, Untitled (Toucan), 1701–1705

80,000 Watercolor Portraits (and Counting) Paint a Pre-Photography Picture of the Planet

The Watercolour World enables users to compare historical paintings with contemporary images of landscapes

Teresa Feodorowna Ries, "Witch Doing Her Toilette on Walpurgis Night," 1895

Remembering the Forgotten Female Artists of Vienna

New exhibition draws on works by around 60 women who lived and worked between 1900 and 1938

Rembrandt Used Unexpected Ingredient to Create His Signature Technique

New analysis shows the Dutch master added lead carbonate plumbonacrite to his impasto mix

Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, c. 1615-17

All Hail the Renaissance of Artemisia Gentileschi

The London National Gallery unveiled a restored portrait of the Baroque painter and announced a 2020 retrospective dedicated to the artist

Frederic Leighton, "The Music Lesson," 1877

Connie Gilchrist Was the Shirley Temple of Victorian London

The child star captivated audiences and artists alike, served as muse for Lewis Carroll, James McNeill Whistler

Claude-Joseph Vernet, "The Storm," 1759

How a New Hampshire Museum Is Using Art to Reach Families Affected by the Opioid Crisis

The ‘Art of Hope’ initiative encourages participants to draw connections between works of art and their own lives

The virtual museum features seven rooms focused on themes such as correspondence, music and flirtation.

Virtual Travel

Explore Vermeer’s Surviving Paintings, Together After All This Time, in One Virtual Exhibition

The augmented reality “Meet Vermeer” experience details the Dutch Old Master’s artistic style, life and enduring legacy

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