News Fine Arts

ROME (AP).- Italian tax police said Saturday that
they had seized works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Cezanne and other giants of art in a
crackdown on assets hidden by the disgraced founder of the collapsed dairy
company Parmalat. Parma Prosecutor Gerardo Laguardia said that, based
on wiretapped phone conversations, officials believed at least one of the
paintings hidden by Calisto Tanzi, founder of the dairy company
Parmalat was about to be sold. Authorities estimated the 19
masterpieces stashed away in attics and basements were valued at some euro100
million ($150 million). No arrests, as yet,  were announced as part of the
art seizure.

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA.- Through 100 photographs taken
between 1850 and 1880, the exhibition Steps off the Beaten Path:
Nineteenth-Century Photographs of Rome and its Environs encourages a “walking
tour” through Rome with recognizable sites among the out-of-the-way
scenes nineteenth-century Romans and Europeans encountered in their daily lives.
The exhibition opens at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute on
Sunday, October 11th through 3 January, 2010,

WASHINGTON, DC. A group of unusual, illustrated manuscripts called
the Falnama that were once used by sultans, shahs and commoners to explore the
unknown will be on view October 24 through January 24, 2010, at the
Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. “Falnama: The Book of Omens” is the
first exhibition ever to be devoted to these rare works, which were
created in 16th- and 17th-century Iran and Turkey. The Sackler Gallery will be
the sole venue for this international exhibition featuring works of art from
public and private collections.

LONDON.- Rare and important works by two Flemish old
masters, Sir Anthony van Dyck and Sir Peter Paul Rubens, will form the
cornerstone of this year’s December Evening Sale of Old Master & British
Paintings at Sotheby’s in London. The sale, which is scheduled
to take place on the evening of Wednesday, December 9, 2009, will also include
prime examples by the prominent British masters, Sir Edwin Landseer and Samuel
Scott. As previously announced, an outstanding self portrait by
Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) – one of the most important Continental
European artists to have worked in England – comes to auction with exemplary
provenance and an estimate of £2-3 million. The masterpiece, which is the
artist’s last portrait of himself, was painted in London in 1641 in the final
months of his life.

MADRID.- Through the generosity of the Rijksmuseum
in Amsterdam, from 3 December the Prado will be displaying a masterpiece by the
Dutch painter Frans Hals, Company of Captain Reijnier Reael and Lieutenant
Cornelis Michielsz Blaeuw (1633-1637), which was completed by his
fellow-countryman Pieter Codde. This magnificent work by one of the most
important Dutch painters of the 17th century is to be seen at the Museum as part
of its “Invited Work” programme. In 1885 Van Gogh said of it: “Just to see that
painting would make the journey to Amsterdam worthwhile”. The canvas will be
shown in conjunction with the exhibition Dutch Painters at the Prado and will
create a fascinating conclusion to this exhibition of Dutch paintings from the
Museum’s own collection. On view from 3 December through 11 April,
2010.

MIAMI, FL.- From December 3 through 6, 2009, Miami
Beach, Florida, will be home to the 8th edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, the
international art show. More than 250 leading galleries from North America,
Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa will take part. Chosen by
renowned gallerists of the Art Basel Miami Beach Selection Committee, the
galleries will show works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st
centuries. Special sectors are devoted to very recent artworks, curated
exhibits, perfor-mance, and art in public spaces. This year, the layout
of Art Basel Miami Beach will be extensively redesigned, including larger spaces
for many galleries, and an innovative floorplan to improve the visitor
experience inside the Miami Beach Convention Center.

PARIS (AP).- The Louvre Museum and the royal palace
at Versailles were closed Thursday because of a French museum workers’ strike
that appears to be gathering steam. Frustrated tourists gathered
outside the landmark pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre, blocked off by
workers. They are protesting government plans not to replace half of retiring
public servants, which will affect the country’s national museums. The
strike began at the Pompidou Center for Modern Art last month and workers at
other national museums joined in Wednesday.