One of the most famous works of art from twentieth-century history has greatly moved art lovers. Pablo Picasso’s painting the “Guernica” is sick and its conditions are serious although stable: this was the diagnosis given by experts at the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid, who in these days have been carrying out a last check-up on Picasso’s work. An analysis that will allow to understand more thoroughly its damage, its genes, the hidden curiosities about its life.

Spanish painter Francisco Goya is certainly the artist who anticipated the phases towards which the history of European art was directed. His painting was made of liberty, a kind of poetics that allowed him to express the motions of feelings. The Spanish artist was not influenced by neoclassical schemes, and gave preference to inner descriptions, subjective facts rather than to parameters given by the outside. Francisco Goya began from himself, he questioned himself, he sank into his unconscious to find the answers and the needs of the spirit. The author tried to shed light and awareness on himself through feelings, although he did not fail to criticize the social and political reality of his time.

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If your plans include a visit to the city of Verona, besides the Arena and Juliette’s balcony, a due itinerary is definitely the viewing of one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian Renaissance, the “San Zeno Altarpiece” by Mantegna. It is a shame that to view this work of art by Mantegna, we will have to wait until 21st May 2009, date when the work is scheduled to be placed in the Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore in the Veronese city, in occasion of the saint’s festivity, 550 years after its realization. But where is Mantegna’s “San Zeno Altarpiece” now? It has been at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence for about a year in order to be restored.

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A few days ago Sotheby’s auction house announced that on 1st July, during the “Contemporary Art Evening Sale” that will be held at the London venue in New Bond Street, a very interesting work will be auctioned, a work that is interesting not only for economic-artistic reasons, but also because it has been for years a masterpiece in the hands of the star system world.

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“Photographs”,  held on 17th May 2008 by Phillips de Pury & Co. London auction house, realized takings equal to 1,325,835 pounds. An interesting sale offering some of the most important names of historical and contemporary photography: Man Ray, Henri-Cartier Bresson, Irving Penn, but also Helmut Newton, David LaChapelle, Cindy Sherman and Andres Serrano.

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Recently Italy has been proving to be a rather “sanctimonious” country towards contemporary art. In short, we are before a nation that is shocked ridiculously by old artistic ideas. For instance, the case of the crucifixion theme: inventing a variation on the theme of the Christ’s death is sure to cause a polemic. History is full of this type of examples.

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The ‘Ancient Paintings and Drawings’ exhibition held on 28th Nay 2008 at Christie’s auction house Milan, totaled 3.756.239 euros, with 87% of sales. For the first time, unpublished work by Giacomo Ceruti, also known as Pitocchetto, was presented.

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On 27th May, Sotheby’s Milan housed “Modern and Contemporary Art”, a very interesting auction that totalled 12,368,680 euros. Of the 345 lots presented to the public in the saleroom, during the three rounds, the works of some great artists stood out, pieces that have marked the evolution of the history of Italian art, such as “Achrome” by Piero Manzoni (estimate 500-700 thousand euros, sold for 800 thousand euros, rights excluded) or a beautiful painting executed by Giuseppe Santomaso in 1959, which from a pre-sale estimate included between 120 and 180 thousand euros, achieved 110,000 euros (rights excluded), while another work from 1978, valued at 120-180 thousand euros, sold for 210,000 (rights excluded).