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ROYAL REOPENING. The Royal Paintings Museum at El Escorial, housed in what is thought to be the largest Renaissance building in the world, designed as a royal residence and monastery by Spain’s 16th-century King Philip II, reopens today after over a decade, reports the Times of London. For their exclusive visit, the Times toured nearly 100 newly unveiled paintings by European masters, such as Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, and more. Over 20 artworks have been added to the permanent exhibit, located in the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, and many have been restored. “This is a new discourse,” said curator Carmen Garcia-Frías. “It is a complete vision of the collecting of our kings, the formation of those collections and the history of El Escorial.” That history importantly includes turning the building “into one of the great artistic centers of Europe,” she added. Related Articles Puerto Rican Musician-turned-Artist Rafael Ferrer Has Died, Preliminary Trial Opens Against Museum and City Officials for Alleged Negligence Leading to Villena Treasure Theft, and More: Morning Links for September 30, 2026 Kehinde Wiley Wants to Buy Back Denigrated US Embassy Painting, UK National Museums Stay Free, and More: Morning Links for September 29, 2026
POLICING MONA LISA. Louvre president Christophe Leribault is building a “culture of security” at the museum, following the theft a year ago of the country’s crown jewels, reports the Financial Times. “Museums once assumed that the most famous works of our heritage were essentially unsellable and untouchable,” he said. “Now, we know we must be extremely vigilant … urgent renovations have begun and continue. Security must be integrated from the outset into all our choices.” Now, he said, a senior police officer has been brought in to oversee security. Leribault took over after Laurence des Cars stepped down in the wake of the theft, which revealed the museum’s security system was outdated and faulty. He is also seeking additional fundraising for a €1.1 billion ($1.24 billion) renovation project Des Cars initiated, which will encompass security upgrades, along with the building’s aging infrastructure and a separate new gallery for the Mona Lisa. For now, remaining jewels typically kept in the Galerie d’Apollon, where the crown jewels were stolen, have been secured elsewhere. “We did not want a morbid type of tourism where people come to the gallery only to see the scene of the crime,” said Leribault.
A marble sculpture bought for about $400 in a UK salvage yard was authenticated as a rare Pietro Bracci maquette for a statue of Pope Clement XII, made in the 18th century, and estimated to be worth about $13,000. [Artnet News]
Hedge fund founder George Weiss has agreed to auction 16 artworks from his collection, which is known to include paintings by Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, and Francis Bacon, in a bid to pay back a loan secured via his collection, and after filing for bankruptcy last year. [Bloomberg]
The Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM) in São Paulo has reopened following a two-year renovation with the 39th Panorama of Brazilian Art, titled “Depois Que Tudo Foi Dito (After It’s All Said),” on view until January 24, 2027. [The Art Newspaper]
Stephanie Rosenthal, former director of the Gropius Bau in Berlin, and currently director of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project, has been named the next artistic director of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. [Monopol Magazine]
Tatia Starkey, the granddaughter of Ringo Starr, drummer for The Beatles, is showing her new artworks that use her body to paint on canvas in an exhibition at Kaizen Fine Art gallery in Surry until October 10. [BBC]
CLOUDS FROM BOTH SIDES. On Saturday, a two-part Alexander Caldersculpture in the Hart Senate Office Building got its clouds back, reports the New York Times. As ARTnews previously reported, for about 12 years, following earthquake-related safety concerns, the 51-foot steel sculpture Mountains and Clouds had been missing its other half—the four suspended black aluminum clouds above the triangular mountainous slopes anchored below. But thanks to donations from collectors Jon and Kim Shirley, as well as bipartisan support from legislators, $12 million was raised for the sculpture’s reunification. New clouds were built out of carbon fiber composite, which is about half the thickness of the original aluminum Calder used, and safer. The cloud removal almost overnight “was a mutilation of his final masterpiece,” before Calder died in 1976, Christian Quilici told the Times. He was among those who successfully advocated for the work’s restoration. “Now that you see it together, you realize how incomplete it was and, really, fundamentally so disappointing,” said Kim Shirley, a retired attorney and trustee at the Seattle Art Museum.