Depair to delight: lost Rodin 'copy' sells for $1m
"Despair" was originally modelled by Rodin as part of his series of figures for The Gates of Hell.According to the Musée Rodin, the figure is a depiction of sorrow and the French sculptor created other versions after it was positively received.After the family who owned the 28.5cm (11 inches) marble figure – which had sat on their piano for years – approached Mr Rouillac, he and his team spent months investigating the origins of the piece.In March, Mr Rouillac brought the piece to the Comité Rodin, a research group dedicated to studying the works of Rodin, who confirmed its authenticity six weeks later.The committee found that "Despair" had disappeared after being sold at an auction in 1906."We have rediscovered it," Mr Rouillac told the AFP news agency.
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The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Famous faces: Australia's Martin Kantor portrait prize finalists
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Photograph: Ian Kemp From Queen Elizabeth II, Nick Cave, Cate Blanchett, Polly Borland's portraits are unforgettable. Polly costumed as a silhouette beneath a flying cape conjures the super-heroic, the oracle, trickster – all herself. 'This portrait is not a mirror,' says photographer and friend Bronwyn Kidd, 'it is a myth unfolding.' Photograph: Bronwyn Kidd John Gollings is an Australian architectural photographer. This portrait was created in John's final days in his studio building, in front of a photo of his hand taken by his son Gus. Photograph: Suzanne Phoenix 'The night before the shoot, I watched Troye Sivan's music videos with my six-year-old daughter, Sidney,' says photographer Mia McDonald. 'She adored theatricality.' The chosen setup, comprised of just McDonald and her assistant Arnaud gave space to be intimate. Outside, a line of about 150 people were all waiting to catch a glimpse of Troye Sivan. Photograph: Mia McDonald Environmentalist, doctor and former politician Bob Brown stands on the stump of a giant eucalyptus regnant in the southern forests of Lutruwita, Tasmania. Bob has been fighting for the end of native forest logging in Australia for many years, and even in his 80s continues to do so. Photograph: Matthew Newton Anne Zahalka is one of Australia's most highly regarded photo-media artists, with a career spanning 40 years. Her practice deconstructs familiar scenes, re-presenting them to allow alternative narratives that reflect on cultural diversity and the climate crisis. Photographer Joy Mei En Lai's portraits reflect a direct connection with her subjects: intimate, engaged and affirming their accomplished creative careers. Photograph: Joy Mei En Lei Tim Winton is one of Australia's most revered literary voices, whose work's, including Cloudstreet, Dirt Music, Breath and his latest novel Juice have profoundly shaped the nation's cultural and artistic identity. Winton stands as a pillar of contemporary Australian storytelling – introspective, unpretentious, and deeply attuned to place. Photograph: Adam Ferguson Poet and multidisciplinary artist and 2020 NSW Aboriginal woman of the year Kirli Saunders (OAM) alongside musician and illustrator, Mark Chester Harding who have come together to form Cooee. The project brings together Kirli's poetry and Mark's music, with both artists also producing visual works under the Cooee name. Photograph: TW Baker Callum Linnane, a principal artist with the Australian Ballet, was born and grew up in Ballarat and entered the Australian Ballet School at a young age. Callum has gone on to dance so many of the leading roles in the classical and contemporary repertoire and recently premiered the role of Oscar Wilde in a newly created work, Oscar by lauded choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon. 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Times
7 hours ago
- Times
The Times Saturday Quiz: August 2, 2025
1 According to the saying, 'the early bird catches the …' what? 2 Which day happens every four years because of a mismatch between the calendar year and Earth's orbit? 3 Made with steamed milk, a cortado is a Spanish type of which hot drink? 4 In 1974, the meteorologist Barbara Edwards became the BBC's first female what? 5 The Reason Why (1953) is Cecil Woodham-Smith's study of which 1854 military disaster? 6 The chattel form of which practice means that one person has total ownership of another? 7 Born at Wantage in around 849, who is the only English monarch known as 'the Great'? 8 What was the two-word nickname of the legendary Wild West frontierswoman Martha Jane Canary? 9 In November 1978, Blondie became the first cover stars of which British pop music magazine? 10 What shape is something described as 'lachrymiform'? 11 In 2018, Radiohead sued Lana Del Rey over similarities between her song Get Free and which 1992 single? 12 Which French theme park features the rollercoasters Pégase Express, Goudurix and Toutatis? 13 At 852 feet above sea level, Coombe Hill is the highest point in which English hills? 14 Act III of which comic opera by Donizetti features the servants' chorus? 15 Which 1973 Alan Bennett play was first staged with Alec Guinness in the role of GP Arthur Wicksteed? 16 Founder of the Manhattan nightclub Arthur, which Welsh actress was Richard Burton's first wife? 17 Which US filmmaker wrote All Fours (2024), 'the first great perimenopause novel'? 18 In 1955, who set his first world water speed record on Ullswater? 19 Which US footballer gained a world record 354th and final cap against Mexico in a 2010 World Cup qualifier? 20 Which row of three chalk stacks is pictured? Scroll down for answers Answers 1 Worm 2 Leap day or February 29 3 Coffee 4 Television weather presenter or weather forecaster 5 Charge of the Light Brigade 6 Slavery 7 Alfred the Great 8 Calamity Jane 9 Smash Hits 10 Teardrop or tear-shaped 11 Creep 12 Parc Astérix 13 Chilterns 14 Don Pasquale 15 Habeas Corpus 16 Sybil Christopher 17 Miranda July 18 Donald Campbell, with the hydroplane Bluebird K7 19 Kristine Lilly 20 The Needles, Isle of Wight
BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
The Swansea terraced house that looks like a stately home
From the outside, this three-bedroom house on the outskirts of Swansea looks like an ordinary terraced home. But step inside and it reveals a remarkable work of art - a beautifully decorated neo-classical interior inspired by 18th Century Royston Jones, 77, originally from Ceredigion, inherited the house after his father passed away. Over the past five years he and his partner Fiona Gray have transformed it room by room using their own plasterwork and decorative Jones said his love of art and interior design was shaped by his experiences growing up as a foster child, and by visits to grand estates across west Wales and to Heveningham Hall in Suffolk. Mr Jones didn't learn about his past until he was 18 when he discovered relatives in Newquay who had never known of his existence, as his unmarried mother had kept his birth a by various foster families, including the Honourable Lady Aitken, he said he encountered "some really interesting" and "well-connected" individuals who left a lasting impact on his life and artistic Lady Aitken he was introduced to the Van Eyck family of Heveningham Hall, which he described as the "finest neo classical interior in Europe" and his "spiritual home".Mr Jones explained: "It's enormously grand. "It's longer than Buckingham Palace and it stands in the middle of the countryside with a great lake in the valley."His visits sparked a lifelong fascination with King George III's favourite architect James Wyatt, who designed the hall's interiors, and he has since built up an archive of the inside of the the government purchased it in 1970, Mr Jones spent significant time researching and photographing Heveningham Hall - and the entrance hall in his Swansea home is now modelled on its entrance hall. After studying art at Lowestoft in East Suffolk, Mr Jones went on to attend London College of Fashion. However, a serious illness forced him to pause his studies. During his long recovery he turned to academic research on architecture and began crafting his first neo classical models."I just find it incredibly beautiful," he said. "It's almost too delicate to survive - and yet it does. It's everywhere."It was during this period that he met Ms Gray. The two began working together, with their first paid commission in 1985 where Ms Gray assisted him. Since then they have spent the past 50 years creating intricate one-eighth scale models of neo classical interiors, focusing on the period between 1760 and work has been commissioned by a number of high-profile people and has earned them numerous awards. These include models of both Sledmere House's drawing room in Yorkshire and the Painted Room from Spencer House. The latter was originally intended as a gift for Diana, Princess of Wales and was described at the time by Lord Rothschild, who had restored Spencer House, as "a masterpiece, a work of genius".Mr Jones has held major exhibitions in Bond Street, created artwork for Russian palaces, and completed plasterwork in a grand Robert Adam mansion in Portland Square, pair's decades of working together has led to their long-term project; their home in Swansea. Built in 1910, the house on Llangyfelach Road in Treboeth is a two-storey brick property with a low-pitched slate Jones said his father moved from Newquay in Ceredigion after the war and settled in Treboeth with his stepmother, later leaving the house to him and Ms Gray "unexpectedly".The pair moved in from Norwich and began transforming the Jones said: "I thought we were living in this plain old box, and I wanted to bring some beauty into it."He added the house looked "very different" before they took it over as his father and his wife were "very conventional"."I'm sure he'd be amazed if he saw all this now." The pair transformed it room by room, so far decorating six rooms with only one at the back still Jones explained that "hand by hand" they designed every ornament, created the moulds, and cast each piece said the simple ceilings took up to four weeks to complete, while more intricate features like the staircase took much to him, visitors "can't believe it" when they step inside."They all gasp as they come in," Mr Jones said."They call it a Tardis, because on the outside it just looks like nothing and then they walk through the door and they are shocked." Although Mr Jones and Ms Gray are content with life in Swansea, calling it a "lovely place" where "people are so nice", they are considering a move."We're looking for somewhere quieter with bigger rooms, so we can really go wild with even more plasterwork," Mr Jones ahead, they hope to find "someone sympathetic" to buy their home - "someone who truly appreciates what we've done, so it isn't gutted or ripped out."
