Quantum physics and ancient Chinese statues?

I'm not sure I understand the whole "propagating in two dimensions only once it gets under one degree Kelvin" part, but I think this says that ancient Chinese artists used a very special purple pigment that we are only just beginning to understand on a molecular level. I think.

Not all museums are created equal

This one, for example, sold off original works and replaced them with fakes.

Want to punch a Monet?

Last week a man was sentenced to six years in jail for punching a Monet painting. Punching. Here are two responses: a video game that lets you punch the painting (it even shows you the dollar amount of the damage!) and a calling out from The Toast. Enjoy!

An uplifting tale of theft and art

Here's a really sweet story about a 70 year-old retiree who gets to keep his stolen paintings by Gaugin and Bonnard. He plans to sell one for about $40 million, but he's keeping the other, which has been hanging on his kitchen wall for decades.

Alcatraz Blossoms

I knew that Ai Weiwei had an exhibit at Alcatraz in San Francisco, but I hadn't yet seen any photos from it. Blossoms--porcelain flowers in the tubs, sinks, and toilets of the medical wards--is the first I've come across, and it's eerily beautiful.

When parchment goes bad

In Art History, we look at perhaps one or two pages from a dozen books. But there were lots more books, and lots more pages. And not all those pages were perfect. A medieval book scholar has a blog post on the creative solutions scribes had for rips, tears, and imperfections in their parchment.

Mice at Sotheby's

Can you spot the Rothko? Can you spot the mice?
(photo)

Even rich people can get pests in their home(s). But you have to really rich to accidentally pass the pests on to one of the largest and most prestigious auction houses in the world. Oops!

Breasts get so much attention in Las Vegas

A giant sculpture in the lobby of The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas has been hiding a secret surprise. After years, the hotel staff finally looked behind a mermaid's breasts to find the hidden art work.

Weird headline of the week

"Drunk German soccer fans steal Email Nolde painting worth millions."

Remember: friends don't let friends drink and drive try to steal art. Even if your team wins the World Cup.

On Seduction and categorization

The Toast has a funny and thoughtful lineup of paintings they say are "inaccurately categorized as 'seduction in art'" on Wikimedia Commons.

I get the point, and I'm glad they make it. But I have to say to The Toast: pretty much anyone over the age of 20 can tell you that "seduction" and "failed seduction" are related. Just because the person pushes you away, even physically, doesn't mean it wasn't a seduction. It was just a failure. I imagine a lot of these paintings would more accurately be called "failed seductions," but that doesn't make them not-seductions, does it? Or has The Toast only experienced successful seduction? Good for them.