English flagChinese (Simplified) flagChinese (Traditional) flagDutch flagFrench flagGerman flagGreek flagItalian flagJapanese flagKorean flagPortuguese flagRussian flagSpanish flag

December 31, 2009

Stolen Painting by Leonardo Goes Back on View at the National Galleries in Scotland (Art Daily)- leonardo da vinci,leonardo da vinci paintings

Gallery assistant Clare McCormack poses for photographers next to “The Madonna of the Yarnwinder” by Leonardo da Vinci during a photocall at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland. This little panel is probably identical with one described in a letter dated 14 April 1501 from Fra Pietro da Novellara, head of the Carmelite order in Florence, to Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua and avid patron and collector of art. There has been much debate regarding the extent of Leonardo’s direct involvement in the painting, but it seems likely that the overall design, and the execution of the figures and the foreground rocks, are entirely his. That some of these reappear in early copies and variants of the composition supports the idea that the background may have been left unfinished by Leonardo and completed only later.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Permalink • Print • Comment

December 30, 2009

Let’s go / Best bets for the December 31 edition (Stars and Stripes)(leonardo da vinci,leonardo da vinci paintings)

Among the 1,800 pieces in the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries are Leonardo da Vinciâs notebooks; the 12th-century Gloucester candlestick; the Lorsch Gospels covers (an ivory book cover from the court of Charlemagne); and âThe Boar and Bear Hunt,â a 15th-century tapestry from the Devonshire Hunting Tapestries. The program includes training and hands-on experience in the science of excavation, including conducting a topographical survey of an area, digging, and documenting artifacts and monuments. The 2009 program offered digs on the Roman road, Via Amerina in Casale Ridolfi; the Etruscan settlement of Rofalco in the Selva del Lamone nature reserve; the Roman Villa of Selvicciola in Ischia di Castro; and the Etruscan necropolis of Pian Conserva in Tolfa. Tickets are on sale for the multimedia, interactive show that lets you immerse yourself in the musical world of the Swedish pop group ABBA. Some of the interactive highlights include a 3-D holograph illusion in which you can stand on stage with Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Frida and sing and dance with the group.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Permalink • Print • Comment

December 29, 2009

Bill Russell Turned Enemy Players Into Basket Cases (Investor’s Business Daily via Yahoo! News)(leonardo da vinci,leonardo da vinci paintings)

In April 1957, he led the Celtics to their first NBA title. In 1980, the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America named him the best player in NBA history. Russell was picked only because he had graduated in midyear and other players weren't available, he wrote in his book "Russell Rules. Russell memorized how he angled past other players, how he positioned himself, how and when he jumped. It was the same painstaking attention to detail that Russell had shown as a youngster. Better yet, in an era when defenders were happy just to swat a ball out of bounds, Russell focused on deflecting the ball into a teammate's hands.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Permalink • Print • Comment

December 28, 2009

Why golden ratio pleases the eye: US academic says he knows art secret (Guardian Unlimited)- Topic: leonardo da vinci,leonardo da vinci paintings

For the antelope scanning the horizon, danger primarily comes from the sides or from behind, not from below or above, so the scope of its vision evolved accordingly. Many artists since the Renaissance have proportioned their work in accordance with the golden ratio or “divine proportion”, particularly in the form of the golden rectangle, which has informed Leonardo’s work. Works most usually associated with it are the Mona Lisa and the Parthenon in Athens, although Swiss architect Le Corbusier relied on it for his Modulor system for the scale of architectural proportion and Dali explicitly used it in The Sacrament of the Last Supper. Bejan, an award-winning engineer who developed a new law of physics governing the design of matter as it moves through air and water in 1996, believes this “constructal law” governs systems that evolve in time, from cars in traffic to blood in the circulation, to how vision develops. Earlier this year, in a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, Bejan demonstrated how this law was behind his theory of how elite athletes had got taller, bigger and thus faster in the past 100 years .

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Permalink • Print • Comment
Made with WordPress and an easy to customize WordPress theme • Sky Gold skin by Denis de Bernardy