Check this fascinating story out!
http://www.npr.org/2012/02/02/146288063/painting-sheds-new-light-on-the-mona-lisa
"The original Mona Lisa in the Louvre is difficult to see — it's covered with layers of varnish, which has darkened over the decades and the centuries, and even cracked," Bailey says. "What is wonderful about the copy is how vivid it is, and you see Lisa in a quite different light. I thought her eyes are enticing. And you see her enigmatic smile in a way that you don't quite get in the original." Martin Bailey, correspondent with The Art Newspaper in London.
This is what I love about the study of art history. It is a continually changing and fluid occupation, as are many others where new discoveries casts new light on current theories, thoughts and interpretations. The iconography (interpretation, symbolism, meaning of a work of art) can change dramatically with the discovery of a long lost letter or some notes in a sketchbook. The word
iconography comes from the Greek εἰκών ("image") and γράφειν ("to write").
There is a field known as 'art forensics' which has led to some other exciting revelations and discoveries.
This story from Time Entertainment explains how a 500 year old fingerprint led to a discovery of a new Leonardo.
Rembrandt's "Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenhurch" was formerly known as simply the "Nightwatch" before it underwent a drastic cleaning. When I took AP Art History in high school, the painting had two central figures who were conversing in the middle of what was thought to be a long 'watch' over something(?) at night. After the extensive cleaning, about 16 other figures were revealed under the grime that had accumulated over the years. The painting was promptly renamed the "Day Watch" until further investigation revealed that it was a portrait of a company moving out under the direction of said Captain. Now one of the world's most well-known paintings, it is colossal at 10' by 14'. It employs a wonderful use of chiaroscuro (light and dark) to catch your attention and to spotlight the primary figures. There is also a sense of motion in a portrait that could otherwise be quite staid and still. The
Google Art Project site allows you to zoom in on this painting so that you can be closer than you could ever be in real life: you can see the brush strokes of the inner eye and get up close and personal with the
craquelure! (I love that word!)
Other recent major discoveries in archaeology have cast new light on the Romans that could lead historians to "rewrite the history of the Romans in Britain"
Click here to read more.
Do you want to know what the top 10 archaeological finds in 2011 were?
Check it out here. Exciting stuff! Read on to learn about the world's oldest building, domesticated dogs, and a 1000 year old buried viking and more.
Art history is by no means a boring, stuffy profession where grey-haired old farts sit around in musty libraries and write dreary studies of matters of little interest to anyone. Ok, I am sure plenty of that
does happen, but enough of the exciting substantial research and discovery is really happening every day to ensure continuous education, clarification, and rewriting of the art history books. What thrills me as a teacher is when I can say "I USED to tell students this....., but now researchers have discovered that it means
this..." I love being able to show my students that as a teacher I certainly don't claim to stand in front of them with all of the knowledge and all of the answers. Many times, we discover new things together.
It's SO EXCITING!
