No Money, No Monet

February 22, 2023

Good morning. 🌧️ Is there anything Leonardo da Vinci didn't explore? The latest about the polymath is that he doodled equations about gravity centuries before Isaac Newton was even born. It makes you wonder: What did Leonardo's parents feed him?

Also today, workers at the Minneapolis Institute of Art picket for better pay using the catchy slogan “No Money, No Monet,” the Joan Mitchell estate accuses Louis Vuitton of using the artist's work without permission, and we've got two articles about Ancient Rome: One is a discovery of the secret sauce that allowed Roman buildings to remain standing for centuries, and the second is a review of a new book that tells the history of the empire through infographics.

And finally, Vartan Matiossian explains in an opinion essay why the Metropolitan Museum in New York was wrong to reclassify the Armenian artist Ivan Aivazovsky from "Russian" to “Ukrainian.”

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

The Met Shouldn’t Have Reclassified Ivan Aivazovsky as "Ukrainian"

We should not replace the ignorance shown in the previous identification with a new type of ignorance. | Vartan Matiossian

SPONSORED

Join the Smithsonian American Art Museum for the Virtual Women Filmmakers Festival

This March, the fifth edition of SAAM’s annual festival features screenings and discussions with filmmakers Alison O’Daniel and Vivienne Dick. Learn more.

LATEST NEWS

Workers at the Minneapolis Institute of Art held a picket on Thursday, February 16. (courtesy Jack Linell)

Unionized staff at the Minneapolis Institute of Art took to the picket line to demand salary raises in the face of inflation.

Researchers say the presence of mineral deposits known as “lime clasts” could explain why Ancient Roman structures remain standing.

Joan Mitchell’s estate sends a cease and desist order to Louis Vuitton for its inclusion of three of the artist’s paintings in an ad campaign.

A new analysis of diagrams drawn by Leonardo da Vinci reveals a near-accurate model of Earth’s gravitational pull, predating Sir Isaac Newton’s observations.

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SCAD deFINE ART 2023 Features New Work, Programs With International Contemporary Artists

Mika Rottenberg, Rachel Feinstein, and this year’s honoree Jorge Pardo are among the artists participating in this celebrated event in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia. Learn more.

EXHIBITIONS ON OUR RADAR

Hyperallergic’s Spring 2023 New York Art Guide

A visual guide to the museum exhibitions and art events you should check out this season.

Brenda Goodman, Scars and All

The paradoxical combination of freedom and entrapment animates Goodman’s composition in her latest body of work. | John Yau

Like a Bird on Barbed Wire

Felekşan Onar reimagines refugees as birds in search of utopia. | Lisa Morrow

MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC

The Roman Empire Visualized in Infographics

A new book uses graphic design as a way to tell the story of Roman conquests, economy, and culture. | AX Mina

Seven Stamps to Inspire Letter-Writing

USPS Director of Stamp Services William Gicker shares a selection of standouts over the years. | Taylor Michael

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Why We Need to Start Seeing the Classical World in Color

The equation of white marble with beauty is not an inherent truth of the universe; it’s a dangerous construct that continues to influence white supremacist ideas today. | Sarah E. Bond

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