Van Gogh’s Stolen Paintings Found

September 9, 2016 Derrick Barks Arts And Entertainment Gogh's Stolen Paintings No Comments

The Italian police were in the midst of investigating cocaine trafficking by Italian mobsters when they discovered a surprise find- Two paintings of Van Gogh which were hidden near Naples in a farm house! These paintings had been stolen in 2002 from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

These paintings were one of the most searched for artworks and were on the list of the top 10 art crimes on the list of the FBI as per Angelino Alfano, the Interior Minister.

These paintings were found near Castellammare di Stabia, in a farmhouse. From here the police also seized around 20 million euros of assets and these included the villas, farmland, apartments and even a small plane. As per the investigators, these assets had links to the drug kingpins of Carmorra who are Mario Cerrone as well as Raffaele Imperiale.

These paintings which were recovered were on easels so they could be unveiled for reporters. Despite their odyssey, they were in relatively good condition, even though their frames were removed and they were covered by cotton cloths.

One of these paintings was the Seascape at Scheveningen. This is one of the first works of Van Gogh, and it shows a boat that has been set off on a stormy sea. The other painting is a work done between the years 1884-1885, and this is named The Congregation leaving the Nuenen Reformed Church. This shows a Netherland church were Van Gogh’s father was a pastor. Various experts have considered this painting could have been done for Van Gogh’s mother.

There are also investigations as to whether the stolen artwork was part of the Camorra crime syndicate or whether these came by this artwork later on. In fact, there are three large crime syndicates in Italy, and they are The Calabria, the Camorra as well as the Campania.

Frida Kahlo’s First Painting Sold To The Boston Museum

January 16, 2016 Derrick Barks Arts And Entertainment Boston Museum No Comments

There is a Mexican artist known as Frida Kahlo, and till now there were 12 paintings done by her which were up for public display. However, now there is one more as the Boston Museum has possession of Dos Mujeres which is the first painting done by the painter which was ever sold.
Kahlo is an artist who is known for creating fantastical self-portraits. However, in Dos Mujeres, there are two other women who are shown.

The people in the painting are believed to be the maids of the artists and the ones who worked for her family during her childhood.
The paintings show the women who are Mexicans. It also shows one who has olive skin and features which are very Indian. The other has paler skin and has a hoop of gold in her ear. There is dense foliage which surrounds them, and this has fruits as well as butterflies.

As per MacBeth, this painting was done during the start of her career, and this was after the car crash which damaged her pelvis and spine permanently. When she created this painting, she was 21 years old as she met with the crash in 1925 and painted this in 1928.

At a party where the sale was probably being celebrated, the artist signed it and dated it 1929 July which is a month before she got married to Diego Rivera and a year after she painted the painting. This was also signed by Diego Rivera and also the person who bought the painting who was an American Industrialist named Jackson Cole Phillips. In fact, it was in the family till his heirs put it up for sale at a gallery in New York City.

The museum acquired the painting for an undisclosed sum, even though the record for a Kahlo at an auction is $5.6 million.