Art and Artifice
Last updated October 11, 2021
Art Institute of Chicago fires all the volunteer Docents
Why were they fired?
Despite the lack of remuneration—they do this to be helpful and because they love art—their training to be docents is extremely rigorous. First, they have to have two training sessions per week for eighteen months, and then “five years of continual research and writing to meet the criteria of 13 museum content areas” (quote from the docents’ letter to the Director of the AIC). On top of that, there’s monthly and biweekly training on new exhibits. Then there are the tours themselves, with a docent giving up to two one-hour tours per day for 18 weeks of the year and a minimum of 24 one-hour tours with adults/families. Their average length of service: 15 years. There are other requirements listed by the Docents Council in the ChicagoNow column below (first screenshot). Many of the volunteers—though not all—are older white women...
Story at Chicago Tribune [Paywall]
And at Evolution is True
In the Sea by Arnold Bocklin, 1883
More about In The Sea - Arnold Bocklin
Chicago Art Institute has a page about the painting here
At the VMFA Museum
"Invisible sculpture" by Italian artist Salvatore Garau sells for $18K
It is literally invisible. Story at Protothema
Detail from A Light in the Sea, 1897. Winslow Homer, oil on canvas.
Winslow Homer – Kissing the Moon
Winslow Homer – A Light on the Sea, 1897
Museums open list:
Louvre Museum - Paris
All visitors aged 11 and up must wear a mask. All visitors, including those entitled to free admission, all must book a time slot.
Address: Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France
Tate Modern in London
Timed tickets are required for all visitors
Address: Bankside, London SE1 9TG, UK
OPENING TIMES Monday to Sunday 10.00–18.00
Uffizi Gallery - Florence, Italy
The rules for visiting the museum are at their website in a PDF
Addresss: Piazzale degli Uffizi, 6, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Rijksmuseum Museum – Amsterdam, Netherlands
"Home of the Dutch Masters"
Address: Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands
The rules for visiting the museum , booking an appointment, and prices.
Prado Museum – Madrid, Spain
Velazquez, Goya, El Greco, Picasso, Titian, Bosch +
Address: Calle Ruiz de Alarcón 23 28014 Madrid – 913 30 28 00
If you ever wanted to own a Da Vinci, here's your chance
July 8, 2021: Leonardo da Vinci's drawing of "Head of a Bear" will sell in London on Thursday.
Article about Da Vinci "Bear" – NBC News
Auction page at Christies
More art pages in the Archives
Classical Painting Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice - AMAZON Published by Watson-Guptill, 256 pages
