The American Leonardo da Vinci

The story of this painting starts in 1919 with the marriage of a car salesman from the midwest of the U.S. named Harry Hahn to a young Frenchwoman, Andree Lardoux. Miss Lardoux's godmother Louise Montaut, gave the painting to the couple as a wedding present. At the time, the painting was thought to be by Leonardo. Even so, the couple decided to sell it to the Kansas City Art Institute for at least $250,000. When a reporter from the New York World got wind of the transaction, he telephoned the notorious art dealer Joseph Duveen. It was one in the morning, and a sleepy Mr. Duveen answered the phone. When asked what he thought of the portrait, he instantly pronounced it a fake without ever having seen it, claiming that the picture "was a copy, where hundreds of these have been made and other Leonardo subjects and offered in the market as genuine." His hasty response set off a much-publicized legal battle between the Hahns and the Duveen. There is a book about it called " The American Leonardo" that was published last year and chronicles the history of the painting. The case went to trial in New York Supreme Court on February 6th 1929 and according to " The American Leonardo" it was a media zoo, with reporters and members of the public lining up each morning to get into the courtroom. On Mr. Duveen's side, were experts who argued that the painting was a fake, while the dealer himself said that his opinion was formed by "his study of all the great pictures of the world". The Hahns tried to prove their point with their own battery of experts and with what scientific tools were available at the time. But the case ended in a hung jury, and Mr. Duveen finally settled out of court, paying the Hahns $60,000 in damages. Last year, the can of worms was opened once again, when the Hahn's daughter, Jacqueline, curious about the painting that has been so much part of her family history, took it to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles so conservators and experts could examine it. The curator at the Getty Museum Scott J. Schaefer said that the painting he had read so much about and thought to be Lucrezia Crivelli, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan- was not what he expected when it was unwrapped. He thought it was much better than what they thought it would be and he said it wasn't just some copy of a painting but a skillful interpretation. Pigment analysis also revealed the use of lead-tin yellow, a colour employed in the 17th century that re-appeared again only in the 19th century. These findings suggest that the painting called : " La Belle Ferroniere " was probably painted before 1750. An expert Mr. Watchter informed the curator of the Getty Museum that after that date, it would have been hard to believe that lead-tin yellow would have been used: " because the formula for it was lost " When learning about the pigments, Mr. Scott J. Schaefer, curator of the Getty Museum said: "Suddenly I had to re-think things. It has been painted earlier than I imagined" still, he said, the mystery of the portrait only adds to its romance. " It's still a conundrum"

Haiti Earthquake

France has accused the U.S. of occupying Haiti on Monday as thousands of American troops flooded into the country to take charge of aid efforts. Medicine Sans Frontiers was warned that is running short of vital medical supplies in the ground after five of its cargo planes were barred from landing in Haiti by the U.S. authorities. The U.S. military who are controlling the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital have agreed to prioritise the landing of humanitarian aid flights, over military reinforcements as the needs for supplies grows ever more desperate. France has critized U.S. relief efforts in Haiti claiming the aid programmes should be about helping the country, not occupying it.

Yupee !

The year is surely starting really well. Has anyone heard the latest news yet ? Jonathan Ross has quit the BBC. About time too ! There is much speculation about what is going to happen to the corporation if there is a change of government this year. Would the Conservatives tolerate the huge, costly bureaucracy, where there are job titles which do not exist in any other broadcasting system in the world?

What the BBC needs really desperately is a Director-General who fulfills the function of an editor, as the job was originally envisaged by founding Director General, John Reith. He/she should be answerable as it was in the past, before Tony Blair tinkered with useless reforms to a chairman and board of governors.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

1st of January 2010, the beginning of the first decade of the new millennium. It is so perplexing looking back to realize the subject of " time flying " as these 10 years feel like if it was yesterday. So where does the time go ? and why does it seem to speed up with every passing year ? Some people say that when we are young, a day is a huge amount of our life.
With each day and year that elapses, however, that day becomes a tiny fraction of one's life.
It sounds simple enough. Perception of time is also distorted when we do out-of-the-ordinary activities. Some neurologists say, to make time seem longer, introduce novelty into our lives. Take a different route to do the shopping or shop at another place, use your other hand to move the mouse in your computer and if you are adventurous travel somewhere different, you could also try writing with the left hand or vise-versa. I hope you all had a really good turn of the year!