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Fake Images Are Getting Harder To Spot. Here’s How To Tell What’s Real

Try it the next time you get a weird feeling about a photo. Just be sure not to focus on the wrong things. To help, we’ve created this (slightly exaggerated) sample image to highlight some common signs of image manipulation. - Washington Post

Professor Fired For Showing Medieval Persian Image Of Muhammad Settles With University That Fired Her

"Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, has reached a settlement in its religious discrimination case with former art history professor Erika López Prater." The terms of the agreement are confidential. - Artnet

The Original Climate-Protesting Art Vandals Are Convicted And Will Go To Prison

On October 14, 2022, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland started the protest-fossil-fuel-subsidies-and-call-attention-to-climate-change-by-vandalizing-artworks phenomenon by throwing tomato soup at van Gogh's "Sunflowers" at London's National Gallery. The judge in their case told them to prepare themselves for prison when they are sentenced on September 27. - BBC

A Performance Artist Steals A Coin From The British Museum. Is It Art?

The central focus of the project was the coin, its removal from its display and its deposition in a donation box at the museum. Sartuzi has described the practicalities of the project, which included preparing a replica of the coin to replace the original, and the focus of reporting has been on the objects. - The Conversation

Bernini, The Sculptor Who Slashed His Mistress’s Face When He Was Done With Her

“Just months after lovingly carving Costanza’s face in marble, Bernini ordered it to be slashed with a knife by one of his servants.” - The Observer (UK)

The University Of Iowa Paves A Path For Restitution With Benin Bronzes

Representatives from the U of I's Stanley Museum of Art met with the ceremonial leader of the Edo people "and officials of the Benin Royal Court earlier this month to officially restitute two artworks that have been in its collection since 1986 and 2001.” - Hyperallergic

Italian Officials Ask That Tourists Not Use Public Statues For Erotic Enjoyment

Grinding on a statue of Bacchus might sound fun (and, well, perhaps it was?), but the young woman who experienced that joy in Florence will be banned for life from the city - if the police find her. - Hyperallergic

A Dublin Wax Museum Is Rebooting Its Newly Unveiled Sinead O’Connor Figure

Just before the anniversary of the Irish singer’s death, the museum revealed the figure to a swift and furious reception. O’Connor’s brother John said "that the figure looked ‘between a mannequin and something out of the Thunderbirds.’” - BBC

Brazil Has Restored Nearly All The Art Damaged In Bolsonaro’s 2023 Insurrection

"The collection, which includes contemporary and historical artworks, design objects, and artifacts, was targeted on January 8, 2023, when riots erupted in Brasília following the defeat of then-president Jair Bolsonaro by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the general election." - ARTnews

Ordinary Tweet Leads To Discovery Of 16th-Century Portrait Of Henry VIII

In the background of a tweet from the regional government in the English county of Warwickshire, an art historian recognized what turned out to be a portrait of the king painted for famous tapestry-maker Ralph Sheldon in the 1590s. - BBC

Metropolitan Museum’s Attendance Numbers Are Getting Back To Normal — With One Exception

For the fiscal year just ended, US visitors totaled 5.5 million, slightly above the (pre-pandemic) figure for 2019. What's more, just over half of those visitors were nonwhite, the highest level ever. The attendance totals for those from abroad, however, are still half of what they were before COVID. - Hyperallergic

Barnes Foundation Lays Off 12 Staffers, Including Senior Execs

The Philadelphia museum has eliminated a dozen positions, about 6% of its staff, over six months, despite the fact that it has a budget surplus. One ex-staffer, in the new position of Assistant Curator for Art of the African Diaspora, maintains that he was personally fired by the Barnes's director. - ARTnews

US Authorities Recover Picasso Drawing Involved In 1MDB Scandal

"The US Justice Department has reached an agreement with Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, the former general counsel of Malaysia’s sovereign investment development fund (1MDB), to recover a $1.27 million drawing by Pablo Picasso … (purchased) using misappropriated 1MDB funds from a bond sale underwritten by Goldman Sachs." - ARTnews

Tourist In Florence Filmed Grinding Herself On Nude Statue Of Bacchus

The sculpture, a replica of the 16th-century original (kept in the Bargello Museum) by Giambologna, is on a street corner near the Ponte Vecchio. Bacchus appears to be undamaged from the moment of passion, which, of course, the amorous young lady posted on social media. - CNN

Paris Art Galleries Abruptly Shut Down For Olympics Security

Many galleries in Paris’s Saint Germain des Près area, one of the city’s major art hubs, were unexpectedly forced to close on Thursday, due to security measures put in place for the upcoming Olympic Games. - ARTnews

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