Sculpture Thieves Seek Scrap Metal

12-inch sculpture was covered with tape

(NEWSER) - A US art historian says he’s found the model for Michelangelo's great statue the Pieta at the Vatican, the Daily Telegraph reports. An Italian art collector picked up the 12-inch terracotta model at an antiques shop; before restoration, it was covered in paint and dotted with Scotch tape. But long analysis has led Roy Doliner to believe it is indeed the work of the Renaissance artist. More»

'Poppy Flowers' was taken from museum in Egypt

(NEWSER) - Despite reports of a quick recovery , a $50 million Vincent van Gogh painting is still missing from Egypt's Mahmoud Khalil Museum. The minister of culture said police confiscated the artwork, known as Poppy Flowers or Vase With Flowers, at an airport in Cairo from an Italian couple just hours after it was stolen, but he has now backtracked and says that announcement was based on "false and incorrect" information. Faulty surveillance cameras (only 7 of 43 were working), lax security, and a busted alarm system helped enable the theft, the AP reports . More»

Government considers covering female figure's legs

(NEWSER) - Senegal's government is considering taking action against one of its most prominent women for a hemline that's too high—by about 30 feet. Having spent $30 million on a giant statue of an African family meant to tower over the capital Dakar, President Abdoulaye is considering a costly revision because the female figure in the sculpture shows too much thigh for the Muslim country. More»

(NEWSER) - Controversial artist Banksy has mounted a huge show at his hometown Bristol City Museum—but the secretive vandal is nowhere to be seem, the Times of London reports. The exhibition was planned in secret through Banksy’s representatives. “We couldn’t even tell the council and the whole thing could have been a huge hoax,” the museum’s director said. The show includes paintings and sculpture. More»

(NEWSER) - Did Michelangelo actually create a small (16-inch) wooden carving of a crucified Jesus or did the Italian government get taken for a $4 million ride? Some experts believe passionately that the piece, now on exhibit in Naples, is the work of the master. But as the BBC reports, others blast the label as a deliberate ploy by the government to use the religious carving to curry favor with the Catholic church and religious conservatives. More»