Michelangelo

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Italy's Quest to Protect Its Art Compared to 'a Land Grab'

Cultural code enforcement targets reproductions of iconic works in the public domain

(Newser) - For years, German toy maker Ravensburger has been decorating puzzles with Leonardo Da Vinci's iconic Vitruvian Man drawing. Under European law, copyright protections extend 70 years after the death of an artist, meaning Vitruvian Man has been in the public domain for centuries since Da Vinci's 1519 death....

Secret Room Used for Coal May Hold Michelangelo Art

Visitors will soon be allowed in long-hidden space in Florence's Medici Chapel to view wall drawings

(Newser) - Just four at a time, visitors soon will be allowed access to a long-hidden space inside Florence's Medici Chapel, where delicate charcoal drawings sketched on the walls have been attributed by some experts to Michelangelo. The secret room—a 10-by-33-foot space—was discovered in 1975, when officials were searching...

Michelangelo Gets Censored in Scottish Subway Ad

'David' needs a crop before he can be used to hawk pizza in Glasgow

(Newser) - He may be nearly universally considered a masterpiece made by one of the most widely renowned artists in history, but Michelangelo's David is definitely naked, and as such, proved a little too much for a Scottish subway system. As Hyperallergic reports, the idea was for Glasgow-based Italian restaurant Barolo...

Ousted Florida Principal Sees David in Person
Ousted Principal Sees David
Apr 30, 2023 3:00 PM CDT

Ousted Principal Sees David

Florida educator goes to Florence to view Michelangelo's masterpiece in person

(Newser) - When Hope Carrasquilla and her family arrived in Florence on Friday, they went straight to the Accademia Gallery. The Floridians had traveled to Italy to see the museum's main attraction: Michelangelo's David, who was sculpted without clothes—an artistic decision that, more than 500 years later, cost Carrasquilla...

David's Duster Says She Has the 'Best Job in the World'

Eleonora Pucci says her work can bring out emotion and admiration for Michelangelo

(Newser) - Six times a year, Eleonora Pucci spends her Monday morning dusting. She climbs scaffolding in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, Italy, until she can look Michelangelo's David in the eye, the New York Times reports. Then she takes photos used to check for wear and tear on the...

Michelangelo's Abandoned Pieta Reveals Its Secrets

Restoration uncovered the flaws that likely frustrated the artist

(Newser) - It was to be the sculpture that would adorn Michelangelo's tomb, or at least that was the artist's plan. He began working on the Pieta in 1547, while in his 70s, only to scuttle the effort eight years later. The New York Times reports a major restoration effort—...

Michelangelo Was Shorter Than You Think
Michelangelo Was
Shorter Than You Think
new study
Sep 9, 2021 6:20 PM CDT

Michelangelo Was Shorter Than You Think

New study puts him at 5-2, max

(Newser) - The evidence is circumstantial, but researchers say it's strong enough to show that Michelangelo was a pretty short guy. Specifically, he stood 5-foot-2, max, according to a new study by Italian researchers in Anthropologie . And how did researchers determine this? By examining three shoes—a pair of a leather...

On Michelangelo Sculpture, a Possible 'Direct Connection'

Museum staff find what may be the artist's fingerprint on wax model

(Newser) - A big find on a Michelangelo sculpture suggests the artist may have left something important behind on his work. Per the London Times , one of the butt cheeks on Michelangelo's "A Slave"—a wax statue said to have been used as a model for a never-completed marble...

20 Knew It Was a Suspected Michelangelo. Now It's Gone

16th-century painting was about to be formally studied to see whether it was by the master

(Newser) - An expert was to survey a painting some believe to be a lost work of Michelangelo at a church outside of Brussels on Thursday, though you can now consider the visit canceled. Pastor Jan Van Raemdonck—who had told only 20 people about the possible discovery—reported the painting missing...

Secret Room Where Michelangelo Hid, Sketched to Be Opened

It has been closed since its discovery in 1975 to keep the artwork safe

(Newser) - For two months in 1530, Michelangelo hid in a secret underground room beneath the Medici Chapels, "fill[ing] the walls with drawings" to forget his fears, as he later recalled. He had been commissioned by the Medicis, the most powerful family in Florence, to build the chapels—a mausoleum for...

Paintings of Michelangelo Reveal His Malady

Researchers say he had osteoarthritis

(Newser) - For centuries it has been thought that Michelangelo suffered from gout in later life, which was at the time used as a catch-all phrase to include all forms of arthritis. Researchers are reporting in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine that the famous artist instead had osteoarthritis. It'...

'Michelangelo of Butt Injections' Convicted of Murder

Botched injection killed London college student

(Newser) - A former madam who bragged of doing black-market "body sculpting" on thousands of women was convicted yesterday of murder in the death of a dancer whose heart stopped after nearly half a gallon of silicone was injected into her buttocks. Padge-Victoria Windslowe's colorful testimony during her Philadelphia trial...

Vatican Now Reveals 1997 Michelangelo Theft

Priceless document was snatched nearly 20 years ago

(Newser) - Is life borrowing plots from Dan Brown books? The Vatican yesterday confirmed that a letter from Michelangelo himself was stolen from its archives and a $108,000 ransom is being sought in exchange for it and a second document, NBC News reports. According to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero , the priceless...

Clue in Drawing May Prove Big Michelangelo Discovery

Indicates 2 bronzes are only such surviving sculptures by artist

(Newser) - Two sculptures of nude men—one young, one older—atop "ferocious" panthers might seem attention-grabbing of their own accord, but the pair are generating buzz for another reason entirely: "Compelling evidence" indicates they were crafted by Michelangelo, according to a press release from Cambridge University. If that's...

Sistine Chapel Private Concert Goes to ... Porsche

It's part of automaker's tour of Italy for car owners

(Newser) - Michelangelo didn't know it at the time, but his work in the Sistine Chapel would one day provide the backdrop for a sacred gathering of Porsche enthusiasts. Tomorrow, those who shelled out about $6,400 a head to the automaker will hear a concert of classical music in the...

Downfall of Michelangelo's David : Weak Ankles?

 Downfall of 
 Michelangelo's 
 David: Weak 
 Ankles? 
in case you missed it
May 4, 2014 7:00 PM CDT

Downfall of Michelangelo's David: Weak Ankles?

Researchers: Masterpiece could collapse

(Newser) - Michelangelo's David has two bum ankles—and surgery isn't helping the masterpiece. Despite plastering over micro-fractures that have appeared over the years, David's ankles are so bad researchers fear the marble Golaith-slayer could soon collapse under his own massive 5.5-ton weight, reports the BBC by way...

Italy Fumes Over Rifle Ad With Statue of David

ArmaLite sparks row over ad for $3K rifle

(Newser) - Italians are a wee bit upset about an ArmaLite ad that shows a massive $3,000 rifle cradled in the arms of Michelangelo's David, the BBC reports. "The image of David, armed, offends and infringes the law," tweeted culture minister Dario Franceschini. He vowed to take action...

Feud Rekindled Over Long-Lost 'Michelangelo'

New theory traces history of restored 'San Giovannino'

(Newser) - In 1930, a Spanish historian suggested a sculpture of St. John the Baptist was the work of Michelangelo—a long-lost piece said to have been created in the late 15th century. Since then, nearly every expert has dismissed the theory, and the statue was shattered into 14 pieces during the...

'Lost Michelangelo' Found on Oxford Wall

Italian expert spots unknown masterpiece in Jesuit residence

(Newser) - A previously unknown painting by Michelangelo has been hanging on the wall of an Oxford University residence for Jesuit scholars since the 1930s, a respected Italian expert claims. Infrared technology has revealed that the painting at Campion Hall, previously believed to have been the work of Michelangelo's lesser-known contemporary...

New Train Line Could Collapse David

Vibrations from construction of new high-speed train line problematic

(Newser) - Progress could spell major trouble for Michelangelo's David: The construction of a high-speed train line beneath Florence could cause the statue to collapse, reports the Telegraph . The statue is criss-crossed with micro-fissures, especially in the left ankle area and carved tree stump he stands upon. Construction on the tunnel, due...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>