Renaissance Art

June 6, 2024

Stolen Painting Returned to Chatsworth House After More Than 40 Years

Sometimes things turn up when you least expect them to. Such is true in the art world too, where pieces once feared to be lost to time or theft can reappear in unlikely places. Charles Darwin's notebooks returned themselves to Cambridge University, while the FBI recovered a stolen painting with mobster ties. Other works—looted or lost—have reemerged over the years and been returned to their rightful owners.

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January 31, 2024

X-Ray Scans Reveal Hidden Portrait of the Young Charles II Behind the Older King

Thanks to modern technology, we’re able to uncover hidden images within historic works of art. One recent discovery comes from a 17th-century portrait of a royal. The Habsburgs ruled early modern Europe. For almost seven centuries, members of the clan intermarried and ruled across Europe. From Hungary to Portugal and Germany, their power rose and fell.

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December 1, 2023

Conservator Restores 16th-Century Portrait of Isabella de’ Medici, the “Paris Hilton” of the Italian Renaissance

Years ago, a painting of a young woman ended up at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The museum was not very impressed by the benign, uninspired face of the sitter, leading to the painting's eventual deaccession from the collection. Instead, it found its way into the collection of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It then sat in the basement, unseen, until it caught the eye of Louise Lippincott, a former museum curator.

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November 3, 2023

Restored Rembrandt Is on Sale for $30 Million

Works by Rembrandt van Rijn are rarely seen at auction. The precious Old Master's works are worth many millions, coveted by private collectors and museums alike. In 2009, Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo (1658) set the Rembrandt record with a €23.2 million sale (over $24.6 million). Other sales, such as Abraham and Angels (c. 1646), have been private for amounts ranging upwards of $20 million. Now, another masterpiece is up for sale.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.