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The Headlines
KEEP CALM. In Artnet, Adam Schrader reported that the British Department of Culture Media and Sport has barred the export of an early Renaissance painting by Fra Angelico depicting the crucifixion of Jesus in the presence of the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, and John the Evangelist. The hope is that a national gallery or institution will acquire it. The tempera on wood panel, which has been in the U.K. for two centuries, is worth more than £5 million ($6.4 million). “This beautiful piece by such an important figure of the early Renaissance represents a key moment in the history of European painting,” Stephen Parkinson, the arts and heritage minister, said in a statement. A decision on whether to grant an export license application for the 15th-century work has been delayed until April 7 to allow time for potential buyers to come forward.
COPY & PASTE. According to reports from Business Insider, American-Israeli designer, artist, and academic Neri Oxman, who has recently faced criticism for accepting donations from Jeffrey Epstein, was reported to have plagiarized passages from Wikipedia and academic papers in more than two dozen instances, including her doctoral dissertation. The articles came out shortly after the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, whom hedge fund manager William Ackman, Oxman’s spouse, had himself accused of plagiarizing other scholars and of not taking a strong enough stand against antisemitism on campus. Oxman has recently published a statement on X apologizing for her mistakes and requesting that MIT “make any necessary corrections.”
The Digest
The demolition of Paris’s Pavillon des Sources, which was part of the laboratory used by French scientist Marie Curie for her pioneering work on radioactivity, was due to take place yesterday, but the culture minister Rima Abdul Malak has announced that the building’s destruction would be “suspended, pending the study of alternative solutions” for the development of a centre for biological chemistry on cancer. [The Art Newspaper]
Zachary Small tried the artificial intelligence version of Vincent Van Gogh. The AI program called “Bonjour Vincent” is presented at the end of Orsay’s exhibition about the last months of the artist’s life. Small describes his experience as “rough at times”. The AI was not necessarily answering his questions correctly… [The New York Times]
A charity auction of clothes that belonged to Ed Sheeran has already raised over £27,000. A total of 445 items, including his underwear, were given to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) shop in Framlingham, Suffolk, where the singer grew up. Many of the items have been sold on the charity’s eBay site. [BBC]
The Museum Connections fair, created to connect cultural institutions and innovative companies, is returning from 16 to 17 January to Porte de Versailles, near Paris. Its 28th edition, directed by Claire Longeaux and devoted to “museum of tomorrow”, will present the new technological trends likely to improve any museum experience. [Connaissance des arts]
Natasha Lyonne’s dress for the 2024 Golden Globe Awards, which took place on Sunday in Los Angeles, made her feel like an artwork. The white, strapless, tassel gown included sculptural details. “I love the history of Schiaparelli, Elsa Schiaparelli and surrealism as a movement […]. What could be more surreal than all of these shenanigans we involve ourselves in. […] We’re in the business of the arts, and wearing this art piece is a special thing.” [WWD]
The Kicker
GO TO JAIL SPACE. Gérard Depardieu has been the talk of France for months now. Suspected of rape and sexual assaults, he is the subject of an intense investigation. As a way to support his potential victims, French Street artist and activist Toolate has built a small brick wall around the hand print that the 74-year-old actor has left, as well as 400 other celebrities, on Cannes’s Chemin des Étoiles, a segment of La Croisette evidently inspired by Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. The evocative installation, symbolically emprisoning the movie star, goes along with a message : “Wandering hands in jail, not on display”. [Huffington Post]
