Whodunnit?

It wasn't us officer, honest.

Last week a thief broke into the Musée d'Art Moderne across from the Eiffel Tower in Paris and stole paintings by Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Léger and Modigliani worth a reported £85 million. Apparently, the thief simply cut through a padlock, broke a window and was free to roam around the gallery at leisure. The alarm failed to go off and motion sensors were out of order. Three night security guards noticed nothing on their CCTV system.

Of course, art theft is nothing new. The Mona Lisa disappeared from the Louvre in 1911 and Munch's The Scream was snatched in Oslo in 2004. Both paintings were recovered after a couple of years. And there are many other cases of famous art works being stolen.

The latest theft again raises the question of whether works of art are well enough protected. If famous paintings and sculptures are valued at millions of pounds then the galleries and museums must provide and maintain adequate security. But what about works that are privately owned, how can individuals afford the necessary levels of security to protect such valuable items? Or maybe some of these works are not really as valuable as the are made out to be and don't warrant such high security.

In any case, those who are responsible for looking after objects that have historical or commercial value, need to do as much as they can to protect them.


Love Your Art,
Vicky and Vince

Guess Who?

As she gazes out from her frame, her eyes seem to follow you around the room. She poses gracefully, a lady of elegance and beauty. Her enigmatic expression puzzles you - what is she thinking? Is she happy, content, amused?

Sadly we don't have the original Mona Lisa on our living room wall. Not even a copy. But we do have Rosita, our very own Mona Lisa! She languishes in the corner of the living room pondering the everyday comings and goings. Her expression is undefinable. An expression that is sometimes curiosity, sometimes fascination, sometimes disapproval. Like the Mona Lisa, her enigmatic expression makes it difficult to tell what she is thinking. Her aura is both charming and disconcerting.

We discovered Rosita in a charity shop earlier this year. We were looking for a portrait and it's hard to find an attractive one! She looked old and tired behind the dirty glass and distressed frame. We almost passed her by, but her eyes followed us from the moment we entered the shop. We had no choice but to rescue her.

Back home, opening up the frame revealed a modern painting in acrylic on board. The frame is probably old, with traces of old woodworm, chipped areas and rippling glass. Once cleaned up and hung on the wall, she came to life and her true beauty shone out.

She begged for a name; we chose Rosita from her Spanish appearance and the pink roses in her hat. We admire her poise and deportment, her confidence and experience, her slightly un-nerving gaze and her endearing charm. But she remains a puzzling enigma on the living room wall.

Love Your Art,
Vince

Is It Art? (Part 1)

In many shops these days you can find canvases and prints with little more than splashes of colour or swirly shapes. But are these items simply decorative, like wallpaper, or are they art. At the risk of outraging the art aficionados out there, I am going to illustrate this question by comparing a traditional oil painting to "Charity Splash", a typical example of these objects.

"The Corn Harvest" (left hand picture) was painted by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1565. It is currently displayed in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (where it is referred to as The Harvesters). Its place in art history has been well established over the years and I doubt that anyone would argue about whether it is truly art. But what about "Charity Splash" (right hand picture), an anonymous square foot of canvas found at the bottom of a box in a charity shop? Can we reasonably (or unreasonably) describe it as art?

I think it is art. Why? Well, somebody must have created the original, and presumably that person was an artist. Their intention was surely to create something artistic regardless of its ultimate purpose. The picture's abstract style does not stop it from being described as art. Abstract art has been around for over one hundred years and is a recognised art form. I would also argue that it is probably more artistic than some of the piles of rubbish presented as art nowadays!

So, although "Charity Splash" and similar items are used mainly for decorative purposes, they are definitely art.

Love Your Art,
Vince

How To Ruin A Perfect Picture

Last month we bought a lovely picture from a charity shop. It showed a couple of rowing boats lying beside water (not sure if it was a lake or sea inlet). The subject, style and colours made it perfect for our kitchen. It just needed a more substantial frame with a mount to display it to best effect.

When we finally got round to taking the picture out of its ugly frame we discovered that the painting itself (apparently an original in oil) was stuck to the glass around the edges. What could we do now?

Hoping for a simple solution, we checked a web forum, spoke to a local framer, and consulted a professional restoration company. The advice we got ranged from heating the glass with a hair dryer to smashing the glass and removing the pieces one by one (don't try that at home). In the end we warmed the glass against a radiator which helped loosen it a little in some areas.

But the picture and the glass were still firmly stuck together. A final attempt at parting them with a thin knife blade only separated bits of the the paint from the board it was painted on. So we decided to leave them joined, rather than risk further damage.

We still aren't sure exactly what to do but will probably get a frame made to fit the glass and not bother with a mount. Meanwhile the lovely boats are still in their horrible frame. We'll let you know how we get on.

Love Your Art,
Vince