8 janvier 2011

photos Sven-Anton Svensson

Late 17th-century painting in the Gyalsey zimchung, a private room in Tango monastery © The Courtauld Institute of Art. LONDON.- The small and stunningly beautiful Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has for many years intrigued the West, not least on account of its geographic isolation, its hermetic reputation, and its distinct and perfectly preserved culture. The core of Bhutan’s identity is its Tibetan Buddhist heritage which, uniquely in the modern world, remains as rich and vital as it ever has been. In over two thousand thriving... [Lire la suite]

Kris hilt depicting a demonic figure, perhaps 1700–1800. Ivory. H: 5¼ in; D: 1¾ in. Asian Art Museum SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Mayor Gavin Newsom, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, City Controller Ben Rosenfield, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu and the Asian Art Museum Foundation, the private fundraising arm of the Asian Art Museum, today announced a proposal to restructure the Foundation’s $120 million bond debt. The five-party proposed agreement, coordinated by City Attorney Herrera, City Controller Ben Rosenfield, and City... [Lire la suite]

President Kennedy and the First Lady. Image courtesy of Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Photo: Richard Avedon. WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is displaying nine photographs of President John F. Kennedy and his family taken by Richard Avedon for Harpers Bazaar. The photos will be on view until Feb. 28. During the photo session 50 years ago—the only to take place between the election and the inauguration—Avedon removed the usual activity-filled environments and set them... [Lire la suite]

Raphael's Madonna dell Granduca. FLORENCE.- An X-ray analysis has shown that the dark background that appears in one of the most famous paintings by Raphael, the Madonna dell Granduca, is not original, but was added by a painter, who is still unknown. It was until the seventeenth century, that the painting, which is housed at the Pitti Palace in Florence, that in the background of the painting architectural structures and a landscape were seen, according to research done by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (an art restoration... [Lire la suite]

Damien Hirst, For Heaven's Sake, 2008. Platinum, pink and white diamonds, 85 x 85 x 100 mm. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates. © Damien Hirst and Hirst Holdings Ltd, DACS 2011. HONG KONG.- To inaugurate the Hong Kong exhibition space, Gagosian Gallery will present Forgotten Promises, an exhibition of new paintings and sculptures by Damien Hirst opening on 18 January 2011. In recent years, Hirst has developed his familiar iconography the skull, the diamond and the butterfly to explore fundamental ideas about existence. His work... [Lire la suite]

CAIRO.- The Supreme Council of Antiquities has announced that the tomb of Tutankhamun will be closed to tourists due to the deterioration that is caused. In this image: A Tutankhamun mask is on display in the exhibition rooms of the Event Arena at Olympiapark in Munich. EPA/PETER KNEFFEL. CAIRO.- Workmen remove an object from the tomb of King Tut in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt, Feb. 1923. AP Photo. CAIRO.- This undated file photo shows Howard Carter, the archaeologist who discovered King Tutankhamuns tomb,... [Lire la suite]

Francois Mitterrand à Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam, 1993.