Shakira Statue Unveiled in Colombia, Art Dealer Runs for Senate, Cyberattack in Museums, and More: Morning Links for January 4, 2023

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The Headlines

LOST & FOUND. A lost treasure from Pompeii has been discovered in a Belgian home, where it served as an ornament. It all started when Geert De Temmerman decided to sell his father’s house in Herzele, west of Brussels. Eager to have more information on the bas-relief, he e-mailed pictures to archaeologist Bart de Marsin, who immediately suspected it to be part of the remains of the Roman city destroyed by the violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79. The artifact records the earthquake that took place in Pompeii 62, which makes it one of the “two material pieces of evidence” of the catastrophe. The sculpted slab will return to Italy to be displayed in a museum. Far from fearing accusations for theft, the family is hoping to be financially compensated for keeping the piece intact for 50 years.

IN THE RACE. Headline-making art dealer Stefan Simchowitz, who was born in South Africa and is based in Los Angeles, has revealed via an Instagram story that he is running for US Senate. The gallerist, also known as the “patron Satan” of the art world, is competing as one of fifteen Republicans aiming for the title against Democrats, such as Barbara Lee, Katie Porter, and Adam Schiff. However, he doesn’t think that he has a real chance of winning. “I’m a Don Quixote character,” he told The Art Newspaper. “I’m running to basically build a platform that I believe is correct and fair.”

The Digest

A large collection of ancient arms and armor from the Mougins Museum of Classical Art in France, which was founded in 2011 by trader and art collector Christian Lovett, is being sold at auction to fund the private institution’s rebrand. The sale, which is estimated to rake in between $3.4 million and $5.1 million, is scheduled for 30 January at Christie’s New York and will include 40 lots. [Artnet]

A new X-ray analysis of Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, which has been the subject of a conservation project called Operation Night Watch since 2019, has revealed that the 1642 oil painting contains a hidden base layer of lead. This new discovery will help conservators better take care of the work. The only hypothesis that has been made so far is that lead may have been used to shield the pictorial surface from humidity. [Smithsonian magazine]

The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Rubin Museum of Art in New York and the Crystal Bridges have encountered technical difficulties lately. The service provider Gallery Systems, that helps hundreds of cultural organizations display their works online and manage internal documents, suddenly became encrypted and could no longer operate. Measures have been taken and cybersecurity experts hired. [The New York Times]

Françoise Bornet from Robert Doisneau’s iconic black and white picture The Kiss, featuring two young lovers smooching by Paris’s Hôtel de Ville, has died at age 93. In the spring of 1950, the drama student was spotted with her classmate and boyfriend in a café by the French photographer, who had been commissioned to produce a series of love scenes for the American magazine Life. [The Guardian]

British Pop artist Pauline Boty painted Marilyn Monroe in a more empathetic manner than her male counterparts, including Andy Warhol, who only saw the actress as a sex symbol. The female artist died 4 years after her model. She had fallen into oblivion but is currently “having a moment”, breaking her own auction record, being the focus of a book and a documentary. [Artsy]

The Kicker

WHENEVER, WHEREVER. A monumental statue of Shakira, one of the bestselling female Latin artists of her time, has just been unveiled in the port city of Barranquilla, in Colombia. The bronze effigy, which towers at some 21 feet, captures the musician’s signature belly dance. Her arms, raised above her head, will be a source a light. A plaque at the base of the monument reads in Spanish: “A heart that composes, hips that don’t lie, an unmatched talent, a voice that moves the masses, and bare feet that march for the good of children and humanity.” Shakira has expressed her gratitude and posted on Instagram: “I am very excited about this tribute to Colombian women and Barranquilleras inside and outside my land!” [Artnet]