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Earlier this year a conservator at the Hamilton Kerr Institute made a surprising discovery while working on a 17th-century painting owned by the Fitzwilliam Museum.  As Shan Kuang cleaned the surface, she revealed the beached whale that had been the intended focus of the composition.  ̽»¨Ö±²¥artwork is now back on display in the Fitzwilliam's newly-refurbished gallery of Dutch Golden Age painting.  

Art historian Dr Meredith Hale reveals that a 17th-century screen, commissioned by the Viceroy of Mexico for a palace designed to impress visitors with the immutability of Spanish rule, is a striking example of a transcultural work of art. In an article for the Burlington Magazine, she traces the many influences that went into its narrative imagery and luxurious embellishment. 

During the First World War artists were widely believed to be spies and, around much of the country, painting became illegal. Research by art historian and broadcaster Dr James Fox reveals how deeply artists were affected, not just by the government’s ban but also by a surge of public paranoia. 

̽»¨Ö±²¥â€˜monuments men’ were a multinational unit of the Allied Forces who operated behind enemy lines during the Second World War to safeguard artistic and cultural treasures. Among them was historian Ronald Balfour, Fellow of King’s College, who lost his life 69 years ago.

An exhibition of contemporary textile art by Deanna Tyson has opened at the Alison Richard Building in response to the unique materials held there collected from all corners of the globe.

In a talk on Monday (20 May 2013) Dr Simon Nightingale will explore how painterly interpretations of the countryside were embedded into the literature of agricultural improvement in a way that might surprise modern readers. 

How her personal library informed the phenomenal talent of the Italian actress Eleonora Duse is revealed in a newly-published book that catalogues the Duse Collection owned by Murray Edwards College.

As voyages of exploration opened up the world from the 15th century onwards, European culture delighted in encounters with exotic items. Dr José Ramón Marcaida, a visiting scholar at Cambridge ̽»¨Ö±²¥, shows how portrayals of the spectacular bird of paradise reflect the intersection between art and science.

Eminent art historian and former director of New York’s Metropolitan Museum, Philippe de Montebello will this week give two lectures that explore the multiple lives of works of art. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

A campaign by the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Art Fund to raise £3.9m to enable the museum to acquire Nicolas Poussin’s masterpiece Extreme Unction (c. 1638-40) has reached a successful conclusion with the help of a substantial grant of £3,021,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the acquisition and outreach work, and almost £1m in donations from members of the public and charitable organisations.