#renaissance

#renaissance

The Virgin and Child by Albrecht Dürer: $30 Drawing Bought at a Yard Sale could be worth $10 MillionA long-lost work by one of the most important sixteenth-century German artists, Albrecht Dürer, has been valued in excess of $10 million. The drawing, titled “The Virgin and The Child'', was rediscovered by accident by a Boston-based art collector Clifford Schorer at a Massachusetts bookstore that happened to sell collectible items. He was asked to look into the drawing’s authenticity and reluctantly agreed to do so (such an impressive discovery almost never occurs, after all) unaware of what was awaiting him. But when he began to examine the artwork, he was taken aback by the staggering quality he saw. He then began a three-year journey to verify the artwork, which involved taking 17 international flights around the world to consult experts. And thus “The Virgin and The Child”, which the bookseller had obtained at a yard sale for $30, was back in the spotlight, and this time with a $10 million price tag.Image: Agnews Gallery#AlbrechtDurer #art #artcollector #Renaissance

Hidden Madonna and Child Painting Found Underneath Botticelli's Painting of Jesus Christ, "Man of Sorrows"Infrared images of Botticelli's $40 million painting Man of Sorrows revealed that underneath its layers there is a different image entirely—an abandoned composition of a type of Greek icon called the "Madonna of tenderness" cradling the Christ Child.Chris Apostle, senior vice president of Sotheby's in New York, discerned an upside-down drawing of Madonna and Child with some white underpainting. Such under-drawings were not unusual, as panels could be quite costly in the Renaissance. It was possible that Botticelli recycled the panel to paint the extraordinary Man of Sorrows.The 16th century Man of Sorrows is unusual; Christ is off-center with his head tilted slightly, projecting not an iconic rigidness, but a profound emotional charge. Perhaps this will make it stand out when it is due to be sold at Sotheby's later this month.Images: Sotheby's#Botticelli #ManofSorrows #Madonna #MadonnaAndChild #MadonnaofTenderness #Renaissance #painting #infrared

Historians Traced Leonardo da Vinci's Family Tree Across 690 Years and 21 Generations and Found 14 Living DescendantsHistorians Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato spent a decade piecing together the family tree of Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci.Although Leonardo had no children himself, he did have 22 half-brothers. Vezzosi and Sabato managed to trace cross 690 years and 21 generations to find 14 living relatives of the Renaissance legend. They include farmers, office workers, an upholsterer, porcelain seller and an artist.From the Daily Mail:Below the 15th generation of the family, the researchers have collected data on more than 225 different individuals making up the da Vinci family tree.Dr Sabato said the elderly are retired, the youngest are employed and one of those they found is currently working as a freelancer.None of the living descendants live in Vinci, the Tuscan town where Leonardo came from, but do reside in various Tuscan municipalities - from Montelupo Fiorentino to Lastra a Signa and Versilia.The family is now known as Vinci - having dropped the 'da', with 85-year-old Paulo Vinci describing the news as a surprise and a 'source of great pride'.#LeonardoDaVinci #DaVinci #familytree #renaissance #genealogy