Miramax Studios, a Lost Caravaggio and Jonathan Harr

Variety reports that Miramax is looking to produce a film version of Jonathan Harr's The Lost Painting.

Harr's book is a nonfiction account of the finding of one of the master's works. The story is a rich one. The painting was known but believed lost. Hanging in a dining room of a Jesuit house was what everyone believed to be a copy by the Gerard von Honthorst, a follower of Caravaggio, from the Netherlands.

But in the 1990's, the unknown provenance of the Jesuit painting was beginning to make the light of day and finally, Sergio Bendetti, the National Gallery of Ireland curator, identified the painting as the original.

Controversy was sure to follow. And it did. There is a "Taking of Christ" in Rome. So one had to be a copy. Many claimed that the Roman one was the original and the Dublin the copy. But others, naturally, held the other opinion.

For now, it is conceded that the Dublin painting is the original.

Harr's book, The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece, tracing the story of the painting, its loss, and the finding of the treasure. The book is gripping with just a nice mix of history, art lingo and fun.

Read more at Circa Art Magazine, Dublin. The painting, on permanent loan from Irish Jesuits to the National Gallery of Ireland, is on loan to the National Gallery, Washington, DC.

I am adding the visit to Dublin to my list to see one more Caravaggio! (No production date for the film has been set.)

Tom

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Italian Renaissance Painter, Luini, on Stamp

The United States Postal Service has announced that among its commemorative stamps, the Italian Renaissance painter, Bernadino Luini's Madonna of the Carnation will appear.

The oil painting, showing the Madonna with a Christ Child on her lap, holding a small carnation, was painted in about 1515.

Luini (b. c.1470, d. c.1530) from Luino, a small village on Lago Maggiore, near Torino, was a member of the Lombard school. The Lombard school emulated Leonardo da Vinci. Since many of Luini's paintings are so daVinciesque, many have been falsely attributed to da Vinci.

The Madonna of the Carnation was painted when Luini was already well on his way to becoming a master. The painting is now in the Samuel H. Kress collection at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

More of Luini's work can be seen on Art.com.

Tom
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Pompeii Brothel reopened to the Public

In a previous post on Pompeii (House of the Flying Cupids open in Pompeii), I talked about the reopening of house with the amazing garden named after the so-called flying cupids. Now, visitors to Pompeii are treated to another reopening.

The famed brothel called the Lupanare has finally reopened a year of restoration work. The frescoes are lit up with special lighting and, among other things, the roof is free of leaks.

Read the Times article: Erotic frescoes put Pompeii brothel on the tourist map.

The Lupanare is not the only brothel in Pompeii, but it is one of the largest, the most interesting and one that has given a significant number of artifacts to research.

Tom
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Radicals among Us: Girolamo Savonarola

These days, it seems easy to throw around the word 'radical', accusing just about anyone of being radical in some way or another.

Of course, being radical means being annoying to some group of people, challenging to another and inspirational to still others. But no matter what it is, being radical can also bring more attention than one might hope.

Of the many radical characters in history, one is particularly fascinating. Not, perhaps, so much for his message but how powerful he was with his message.

In the days of Lorenzo de' Medici (the Magnificent), Michelangelo and Botticelli, there came a 'voice' of sorts 'out of the wilderness' (of sorts).

Girolamo Savonarola joined the Dominican order at Bologna. Sometime around 1490 Lorenzo himself insisted that Girolamo come to Florence. This may have been the beginning of the end.

Savonarola was fiery. He insisted on the strictest of cleanliness and purity. He preached against abuses in the church, gaining excommunication under Pope Alexander VI. And he preached against the vanities seemingly bred in this world of hypocrisy, domination and greed.

Perhaps the most disastrous moment from our historical hindsight was not that Savonarola was ultimately burned at the stake but that he called for the burning of works of art, books and whatever else might turn the faithful away from a pure and holy life. Sandro Botticelli, whose wonderful "Portrait of a Lady", "La Primavera", "Birth of Venus" and other works survive, succumbed to Savonarola's passionate preaching.

During Carnevale 1497, Savonarola's disgust at all those things that, for him, proclaimed vanity--masks, gowns, gluttonous consumption, art that portrayed nudity--were brought to a conflagration so great that it took up a large part of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. There, even Botticelli threw what might have been some of his greatest works onto the "Bonfire of the Vanities". Michelangelo, though seemingly an interested follower did not succumb to this purging extravagance.

Ultimately, Savonarola accused, belittle, condemned and berated too many people and the wrong ones. While evidence of heresy was lacking in Savonarola's preaching and prophecies, nevertheless he and two fellow monks met there own bonfire in the same square on May 23, 1498. Perhaps this was his own "Bonfire of Vanity"--for presuming that he might change the world.

Tom
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Travel Tips: Passports and PASS Card

In several previous posts (RFID Passports and Protection, Traveler Tips: RFID Passports (Update)), I have discussed the changes in US Passport rules, including the introduction of the RFID chip.

Some important date changes have been announced that should be kept in mind.

Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), all US citizens traveling into or out of the US to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda by air will be required to have a valid passport by January 8, 2007.

The rule is to be applied to travel by sea and land, but there are few criteria that Congress is requiring the Department of State and Homeland Security to meet before that rule can go into effect. As of now, the rule will be applied to sea and land travel on June 1, 2009. However, Congress has also allowed the departments to meet their criteria and move that date back.

While having the passport seems fairly cut and clear, the waters have become slightly muddied. Instead of having a passport, the departments are developing a so-called PASS Card that could be used in place of a passport for western hemisphere travel.

As of yet, there are few details about this new card, but the primary motivation seems to be offering a 'more economic' alternative to the passport.

Most of you have probably been to Mexico or Canada with only your driver's license. Those days are over. Visit the US Department of State passport site to learn more.

Tom
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Latin Lives: Finland, the Weather and Wikipedia

You have probably heard or even recited that ditty:

Latin's a dead language,
As dead as dead can be.
First it killed the Romans,
And now it's killing me.

If you did recite it you probably also delighted in your Latin teacher's reluctant laugh and attempt to convince you that Latin is not dead.

Were you convinced?

It seems that Latin, while unlikely to ever be the common language of the world again, is not really dead.

Most people cite the use of it as an official language by the Vatican. But there are plenty who discount that use.

Now however, if you do a search or rather a trawl through the internet you will find that in fact, Latin is thriving.

The biggest boost it has received in the secular realm is the decision by Finland to promulgate its EU Presidency newsletters in Latin. One example is here: Conspectus Rerum Latinus 6/2006. From there you can go back to the main page and find more newsletters.

As if that were not enough, you can also now check the weather in Latin. The entire site is not in Latin but key words having to do with the weather are. Check out the Weather Underground in Latin.

If none of this has convinced you then you may not ever be convinced. But what is a curious thing is how many people remember their lost Latin. And though some of them may have harsh memories of some overly firm nun or too strict a priest form their Latin learning days, almost everyone seems to relish having learned Latin and trying to put it into every day use.

Besides the usual recitation of fields that use Latin (any science field, medicine, law, etc.), fields such as automotives have Latin everywhere (e.g., ignition, transmission, the very word automobile).

Perhaps more indicative of the current living status of Latin, the fast growing Wikipedia is now appearing in Latin. Yes, it is: Vicipaedia.

My point: Latin is a language worth learning. It is worth learning because it is so pervasive. It is not the only language to learn in the world. It is not the oldest or most widespread but it has a formidable history and despite its seeming disappearance has continued to thrive.

Why not learn some? Ask me how.

Tom
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