Although scholars have long known that the painting belonged to a group of works produced following an eight-year trip to Italy, where Rubens studied pieces by Michelangelo and Caravaggio, a dendrochronological analysis of its panels revealed that the work was created almost immediately upon the artist’s return to Antwerp. The fact that the oak boards are made from sapwood (the outermost, younger wood) has led conservators to speculate that the painting was for the art market. “It was typical for a client to buy panels for the artist, and in doing so, [the client] would normally buy the best quality materials,” says the conservator Kate Stonor, who explains that sapwood is not ideal because it is soft and sweet, making it prone to woodworm. “We think Rubens bought the panels himself and chose the ‘cheap and cheerful’ option, knowing that the work was for the art market,” says the conservator Clare Richardson, who also worked on the piece.

The San Agustin church was rebuilt three times due to man-made and natural disasters. Since then, it has withstood natural disasters and has become the oldest church in the Philippines. It is now recognized by the government and UNESCO as a historical landmark.

The History of the Church

The San Agustin Church was under the auspices of the Agustinian Order. The friars took the cudgels in building the church. Like many structures during that time, the church of San Agustin was built with the use of nipa and bamboo. The building of the church started in 1571, it was then officially named as Iglesia y Convento de San Pablo. 

In 1574, the Chinese pirate, Limahong invaded Manila. The invasion led to the burning of the city and the San Agustin Church was not spared. This led to the first reconstruction of the church a year later. The second church was made of wooden materials. Because of the choice of the structural material used, it remained risky to fire accidents. True enough, another fire caused the destruction of the church in 1583.


 

My father was a generous person when it came to sharing his inborn talent. In fact, he gave some of his artworks to friends. As long as he knew his paintings were valued, kept and appreciated, he was happy seeing them on display in the family  homes.I was the one who initiated publishing a book about Papa. Yes, there has never been a book about him since. He was an extremely good father and provider to his children. There have been hundreds of articles about him and his arts but never a book! Obviously, he was not too keen on publicity. All his life what he always did was to paint, sketch, draw, sculpt and deal with his art patrons. His works were advertised and sold by word of mouth by his friends and

The devil was hidden in the details of clouds at the top of fresco number 20 in the cycle of the scenes in the life and death of St Francis painted by Giotto in the 13th century.

The discovery was made by Italian art historian Chiara Frugone. It shows a profile of a figure with a hooked nose, a sly smile, and dark horns hidden among the clouds in the panel of the scene depicting the death of St Francis.

The figure is difficult to see from the floor of the basilica but emerges clearly in close-up photography.

In the book, “Van Gogh: The Life,” due out next week, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writers Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith present evidence that raises doubts about the source of the gunshot wound van Gogh sustained in or near the town of Auvers-sur-Oise, France, in July 1890.

“No physical evidence of the shooting was ever produced,” they write. “No gun was ever found.” Van Gogh, who “knew nothing about guns,” left no suicide note, and the bullet entered his upper abdomen “from an unusual, oblique angle — not straight on as one would expect in a suicide.” The authors hypothesize that he was shot by a friend’s teenage brother, who carried a gun and “had a history of teasing Vincent in a way intended to provoke him to anger.” (The artist, for his part, “had a history of violent outbursts.”)

Global development, however, exposed the Filipino Muslims to its Middle Eastern roots, who have become their main source of representation of Islam’s art.

The paintings are part of a show at the Gagosian Gallery titled "The Asia Series," billed as "a visual reflection on his travels in Japan, China, Vietnam, and Korea."

According to the Gagosian, the art work, which went on display earlier this month, shows how Dylan "is inspired by everyday phenomena in such a way that they appear fresh, new, and mysterious."

But Dylan watchers and an article in The New York Times highlight another mystery behind the exhibition: that several paintings supposedly reflecting Dylan's globe-trotting artistic career are nearly identical to already published photographs.

The works, owned by the art dealer Carlos Noyola and his wife, had been on exhibit at a gallery in San Miguel Allende in central Mexico.

But experts said there was no chance that the works could be genuine.

"The works in question are not authentic," Hilda Trujillo, director of the Frida Kahlo museum, told AFP.

"All of the pieces are signed exactly the same way, while Frida used different signatures," she said.

"Nowhere is this trove of works documented -- much less a reserve of this size," said Carlos Phillips Olmedo, another expert affiliated with the Kahlo Museum.

The couple who owns the pieces, which include oil paintings, sketches, letters and other documents, claim to have purchased them in 2005.

Law enforcement officials said no criminal charges had been filed against the couple, because they are alleged simply to have claimed that the works were by Kahlo, and not to have actually created the forgeries.

Initially, my plan was to train formally but Saulog scoffed at the idea and suggested that I attend art workshops instead since he had an opinion that attending school is a waste of time and money. For a while, this confused me as he sounded bitter but soon I realized that he made some sense. For a man of innate talent, school might have bored him.

Back in his hometown in Imus, Cavite, Simon Saulog chose to adopt a group of hobbyists that included myself and he went on to regularly tutor us. This informal school later adopted a structured module with lessons on freehand drawing, pencil drawing, color rendering, portraits, landscape, still life done in various media. Our group, which later became a socio-civic club called Malayang Sining, was fortunate because we had the opportunity to closely work with Saulog and learn directly from him. The ideas we have learned were simply out of the box since we frequented galleries that ceased to exist now and interacted with Saulog’s former acquaintances and patrons.

Naturally, we developed certain closeness with Saulog and soon called him Tata Simon, an expression of respect to elders among barrio folks. Since I was the writer on this group of students, I was requested to write about him. 
 

Shortly, he went to Malolos high school for two years.  Then hearing from his cousin that there is an art school in Manila, he transferred to the Manila high school in Intramuros.  In the afternoons, he attended classes at the School of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines.  He took drawing classes under Vicente Rivera.  Later on, he decided to take lessons in sculpture too, under Vicente Francisco.  Soon, he was more interested in scuplture than in painting. In 1911, while he was still in high school, he made a group of drawing of Rizal, Burgos, Antonio and Juan Luna, Regidor and others.  His Tata Pepe, with whom he was living, succeeded in interesting Severino Reyes to have the drawing lithographed.  It was then published in Liwayway, whose editor was Reyes, under the title Grupo de Filipinos Ilustros.  Although Tolentino never made a centavo out of the drawing, he was pleased to see his work in people’s homes everywhere.

Like any young artist exposed to the scene, I was a eager to learn. I wanted to meet everybody and circulate around different art circles, sit and talk with senior or emerging artists about their philosophies. I spent most of my time regularly attending openings, reading books, and drawing almost everything and anything. I did not employ myself after college, I did freelance work as an illustrator and held exhibits every year. I was trying everything from animation to volunteerism but they are mostly for environmental non-government offices.
 

Over the years, crowd has become a theme, in which Coquilla particularly excels for he sees himself an insider in the midst of this boundless human mass. His mature style is characterized by vigorous brushworks, cluttered compositions in top down projection, animated poses of figures with cockeye, open mouths and bulbous heads, appearing like pantomime of fixed postures. Devoid of any flattery, there is no sarcasm and deceit in his works but reflections of the everyday street culture in the Philippines. In this interview, Dansoy Coquilla provides a run through of his childhood, his family and educational background, his thoughts and opinions on certain issues, his various influences and the environment that made his works possible.
 

An Italian art historian, Silvano Vinceti, believes the model for the "Mona Lisa" was a man named Gian Giacomo Caprotti, better known as Salai, a male apprentice (and possible lover) of da Vinci.

At a press conference in Rome on Wednesday, Vinceti explained his theory. "Salai was a favorite model for Leonardo," Vinceti said. "Leonardo certainly inserted characteristics of Salai in the last version of the 'Mona Lisa.'" Vinceti pointed out the similarities between the noses and mouths as examples.

Following the press conference, Web searches on "da vinci salai" and "gian giacomo caprotti" both soared.

Earlier this year, Vinceti remarked that he discovered some objects in the eyes of the "Mona Lisa." He says he has found the letter "S" in the woman's left eye, the letter "L" in her right eye, and the number "72" under the bridge in the background. The images are not visible to the naked eye. Scientific equipment was used.

Vinceti doesn't necessarily believe that Salai was the only inspiration for the world's most famous painting. At the press conference, the historian said, "the 'Mona Lisa' must be read at various levels, not just as a portrait." In other words, according to Vinceti, there were likely multiple inspirations for the painting.

Measuring 74.5 inches (189.2 cm), "Nu de dos" was the star of the auction at Christie's. It went under the hammer just a day after rival Sotheby's auctioned an Amedeo Modigliani painting for a record 69 million dollars.

The audience had a warm and unforgettable moment that Tuesday evening. Artists and distinguished guests from the business, arts and society stood in lines to meet and have a chat with Washington SyCip, Hans Sy, David Consunji, Joey de Leon, Napoleon Abueva, Charlie Cojuangco, Joel Jimenez, Eddie Chua, Patrick Reyno, Mark Villar, Julius Babao, Arsenio Tanco, Jovenal Santiago, Manny Zialcita, Gilbert Santos, Wilmer Hontiveros, Louie Ojeda, Mikee Romero and Alexander Tan, who were recognized and honored that night.

Private Collections is available online and at Fully Booked and Powerbooks.

Written and designed for a general readership, each of the thirty collectors is devoted ten to fourteen pages and contains representative examples of their art collections. Distinguished patrons of the arts and private art collectors covered in this book include George Ty, Hans Sy, David Consunji, Washington SyCip, Joey de Leon, Charlie Cojuangco, Julius Babao, Mikee Romero, Napoleon Abueva and leading businessmen and professionals in the Philippines including Sonny Dominguez, Arsenio Tanco, Jose Maria Esteban, Eddie Chua, Cesar Duque, Manny Zialcita, Saul Hofileña, Ramon Cardenas, Louie Ojeda, Joven Santiago, Gilbert Santos, Joel Jimenez, Manolet Salak III, Wilmer Hontiveros, Joel Butuyan, Alexander Tan, Norman Crisologo, Mark Villar, Patrick Reyno and two other noted female collectors, Ester Gabaldon and Evelyn Dy.

Experience Filipino creativity as the Metrobank Foundation showcases to the public the 2009 Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) semi-finalists in the painting and sculpture competitions, as well as the entries for the architecture and interior design competitions. The public viewing is scheduled on June 5 and 6 (Friday and Saturday), 9 am until 6 pm, at 6F Manila Doctors College, Diosdado Macapagal Blvd., Metropolitan Park, Pasay City.

Interested parties can call the Metrobank Foundation at 898.8856 or the United Architects of the Philippines at 412.6403. Entry forms are available in select Metrobank branches or download at www.MBfoundation.org.ph.

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