The Guardian reports on the exploits of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, the Nazi art theft division that was responsible for the theft of over 5 million works during its existence, including loot from the Uffizi, the Louvre, and countless churches across Europe.  It is reported that one of the group’s most infamous prizes, the Mona Lisa, was rumored to have been recovered from an Austrian salt mine after the war, although recent research has determined that this loot was in fact a copy of the original work. (more…)

A group of art researchers, led by self-styled art history detective Silvano Vinceti, claim that they have taken a major step in identifying the remains of the model for Da Vinci’s most famous painting.  Taking DNA samples from remains in the crypts of Florence’s Santissima Annunziata basilica, the group will perform a number of tests before attempting to reconstruct the face of the woman, conventionally believed to be Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Renaissance-era silk merchant.   (more…)

A fresh series of tests on a Swiss-held portrait of the Mona Lisa has bolstered claims that it is in fact an earlier version of the famous portrait by Leonardo Da Vinci.  The “Isleworth Mona Lisa” was recently examined by experts of Da Vinci’s sacred geometry techniques, and also underwent a series of carbon dating tests, both of which supported evidence of the work being an earlier version of the immediately recognizable painting.   “When we add these new findings to the wealth of scientific and physical studies we already have, I believe anyone will find the evidence of a Leonardo attribution overwhelming,” said David Feldman, vice-president of the Mona Lisa Foundation. (more…)

Two famous Spanish directors, Carlos Saura and Fernando Colomo, will release two films featuring different aspects of Picasso’s life. One will focus on the painting of Guernica, and the other will explore how Picasso became wrapped up in the theft of the Mona Lisa back in 1911. Carlos Saura’s Guernica film will star Antonio Banderas as Picasso and Gwyneth Paltrow as Dora Maar, Picasso’s mistress.

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