Daily art news

Art Historian Silvano Vinceti Claims Male Model Behind Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.   ROME (AP).- A male apprentice, longtime companion and possible lover of Leonardo da Vinci was the main influence and a model for the "Mona Lisa" painting, an Italian researcher said Wednesday. But the researcher, Silvano Vinceti, said the portrait represents a synthesis of Leonardo's scientific, artistic and philosophical beliefs. Because the artist worked at it at various intervals for many years, he was subjected to different influences and sources of inspiration, and the canvas is full of hidden symbolic meanings. "The 'Mona Lisa' must be read at various levels, not just as a portrait," Vinceti said. This is one of many theories that have circulated over the decades about the identity of "Mona Lisa" and the meaning for her famously enigmatic smile. Others have said the painting was a self-portrait in disguise, or the depiction of a Florentine merchant's wife — the latter drawing a consensus among scholars. 

National Gallery Presents Historical and Scientific Studies on Degas Sculpture Collection.   WASHINGTON, DC.- The National Gallery of Art's holdings of works by Edgar Degas (1834–1917) include the world's greatest collection of the artist's lifetime sculptures, which is the focus of a new publication: Edgar Degas Sculpture. The 19th volume in the Gallery's Systematic Catalogue of the permanent collections, this lavishly illustrated book presents the Gallery's unique collection. In 1956, the American collector Paul Mellon purchased the entire group of original Degas sculptures and gave the lion's share to the National Gallery of Art between 1985 and 1999. 

Homage to Yosl Bergner: Illustrations to Franz Kafka's Oeuvre at Tal Aviv Museum of Art.  TEL AVIV.- This exhibition, held to mark Yosl Bergner's 90th birthday, includes drawings lent by the artist, which were made during the 1950s and document the first phase of his Kafka work. They depict scenes from the novels The Trial and The Castle and from the stories "The Judgement," "The Metamorphosis," "A Country Doctor" and "The New Advocate." They are careful sketches, with a frenetic, vigorous line, expressing emotional turmoil. The exhibition is on display at the Tal Aviv Museum of Art.