arthipstory

NOBODY TOLD ME Renoir’s “Dance at Bougival” was on loan to EUROPE when I traveled to Boston last week, so I’m just going to have to look at the thing online.

My favorite part of this painting isn’t the suave man going in for the KILL, but the cigarettes and discarded matches all over the place. Why recycle when we’ve been doomed for centuries?!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms that combed and braided our hair, only to do it all over again through tears and tangles (my mom can’t be the only one!). I’m sorry to tell you we don’t grow out of it — which is why we’ll send flowers and use conditioner.

If you’re in DC, celebrate mom and visit the opening of the NGA’s exhibition on Degas and the painter of mothers, Mary Cassatt. Hit the gelato stand after. It’ll look like you planned every moment.

Cornelius Gurlitt, the 81-year-old son of Hitler’s favorite art dealer, died yesterday. More than 121 framed and 1,000 unframed pieces were discovered in a Munich apartment in 2012 and taken by Bavarian authorities. Since their discovery, Gurlitt had been cooperating with the government to research and return the work to their rightful owners’ heirs. 

With the news of Gurlitt’s death, it also surfaced the Museum of Fine Arts Bern in Switzerland was named the sole heir in his will. A 60 Minutes article reported the story, along with the tricky situation with moral obligation against German laws, in early April. At the time, the will was a secret and doctors were not giving leads about its details.

Salon critics are the worst. “Cezanne is nothing but a lamentable failure,” one wrote, “perhaps he has ideas, but he is incapable of expressing them. He seems not to know even the first principles of his craft.”

“Card Players” is the most expensive painting ever sold at auction for a cool, lamentable $250 million.

“Las Meninas” is one of the most regarded works in Western painting, but let’s give credit where it’s due, shall we? Velazquez is responsible for creating the most choreographed selfie. Sorry, Ellen.