A portrait, painted around 1560 is believed to be the oldest painting featuring a depiction of a modern watch. The painting has the Medici coat of arms on the back, and the subject is thought to be of Cosimo I de Medici, Duke of Florence. The painting was sent to the Uffizi to undergo a thorough inspection. Join discussion...

At the Whitney Museum of American Art, artist Steve Wolfe has a exhibit of painting and drawings that are all copies of covers of books or old vinyl records. They are trompe l'oeil pieces, and, according to the author of this article, Ken Johnson, they are very realistic looking. As he says, "With creases, cracks, abrasions, tears and stains reproduced..., the paintings are curiously confounding." Join discussion...

In the Detroit Institute of Art, a 12-year-old boy stuck a wad of chewed gum on an abstract painting by Helen Frankenthaler. The painting, called "The Bay" has been left with a small stain, but according to the curator of the Detroit Institute of Art, it will not be permanently damaged. Join discussion...

At the Courtauld Gallery in London, research has revealed that what was once thought to be a forgery by the notorious Han van Meegeren (1889-1947) is an actually an authentic Dutch Golden Age piece. The painting, called The Procuress, is now believed to be a 1622 scene from the Baburen brothel. There's posibility that the piece could have once hung in Vermeer's home. Join discussion...

Surfboard artist/designer Phillip George has created surfboards bearing intricate Islamic art for the Basil Sellers Art Prize. The contest urges contemporary artists to incorporate sport into their works of art. A few of the boards have the words "Insallah" inscribed upon them, which means "God willing". It would be a sin to place these boards in water or even step on them so they will never be used. They are displayed above the ground in a sanctified site with the boards facing Mecca. George, who is a veteran surfer from Bondi figured that designing the boards "Was a way of bringing the Middle East to Australia, and Australia to the Middle East". Join discussion...

Apparently, the Mona Lisa had left the Louvre for America and first arrived in the National Gallery of Art in 1963. Then, it had arrived in New York in the Metropolitan Museum. Dr. Hoving, a curator, had one day noticed the people in charge of the Mona Lisa running around the place with towels, and later that night it had been found that the sprinklers on the ceiling had managed to break the glass barrier and reach the painting. The museum declined to comment regarding the incident. Join discussion...

Three men named Hugo Merino, Ramón Penilla and Cesar Gapa are a part of this group called D.A.T.A., whose name is an acronym that stands for Diseño, Arte y Tecnología Aplicada (Design, Art and Applied Technology).They paint murals as well as multimedia projects that portray current social and personal subjects. They all have their own talents as far as art goes, and they get their inspiration from constantly creating art all the time. They have become quite famous in their town of Guadalajara, Mexico. Join discussion...

"The Triumph of Marriage: Painted Cassoni of the Renaissance" is on display at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in Boston, through January 19th. It features 15 painted panels from 15th century Florence. Cassoni were the marriage chests used to transport a bride's belonging's to her new home. The panels in this exhibit were taken from these trunks, and which were elaborately decorated for the marriage parade. Some are decorated with moral imagery, used to teach the bride her proper role and behavior, touching on chastity, death, fame, time, and eternity. Others depict military imagery, with battles and military parades. These represent the groom's victory in winning a well-endowed wife, and the women who secured these cassoni must have been from wealthy families. Though they aren't the famous Renaissance pieces that everyone knows about, they were painted by well-known artists like Botticelli. The elaborate and beautifully painted scenes show something of how much was invested in the marriage ceremony. The themes of the cassoni show that marriage in that time was not about love, but about power, money, and political connections. Join discussion...

The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art has put up a show of over 100 Sol Lewitt ink-painting murals, scheduled to run for the next 25 years. Lewitt had worked closely with the Yale University Art Gallery to conceive this project. Unfortunately, he died last year and could not see it followed through. These pieces are abstract, with a focus on lines, colors, and clean surfaces. Lewitt Designed all the pieces and wrote instructions for them, but hired and trained other artists to actually produce the work, in hopes that they would then train others to do it also. Lewitt kept this impersonal touch to this work, never even signing it and keeping the art at a level where someone with very little skill could produce it. He designed the pieces between 1969 and 2007. His work is very conceptual. The pieces in this show and the process that went into making them show that the idea behind the piece is really what makes the art. Join discussion...

Robert Johnson, creator of BET, takes pride in his private collection of artwork. His collection is composed of paintings done by African-Americans. It includes the work of some of the most prominent names in the genre, like Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, and Henry Ossawa Tanner. One of the pieces is by Palmer Hayden. On the subject of this painting, Johnson said, "That painting represents pride and dignity. I identify personally with this work." Johnson has assembled about 250 pieces for his unique collection. Join discussion...