A self-portrait attributed to Van Dyck has been reconfirmed as a work by the master painter, after a study of the work uncovered a gold watch that was the property of the artist himself.  The work is currently held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota, and was confirmed by four separate experts on the painter.  It is considered particularly relevant as it was a work the artist had intended to complete as his ideal portrait, and was documented as an etching for his book Iconography. (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…)

‬The New York Times Magazine compares paintings of Edward Hopper, on what would have been his 130th Birthday, to photos of the original houses that inspired the works. “We know it’s time to put up the awnings each year when we’re eating on the porch and we turn around and see a big tour group watching us eat dinner.” Greta Bagshaw, an owner of the “Mansard Roof” home says.

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