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After a decade-long search, the Greek police last month recovered two artworks stolen from the Greece's National Art Gallery in 2012. One of the paintings, "Head of a Woman" by Pablo Picasso was donated to the Greek people by the Spanish painter himself, while the other painting was made by the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. While the recovery of the paintings has created a buzz in the art world, here's a look at some of the world's most famous paintings, which were stolen but are yet to be found...

Picasso

Believe it or not more than 1,000 of Picasso's artworks have been reported missing from all over the world. One of his masterpieces, the "Harlequin Head" was stolen from the Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in 2012. The thieves walked away with seven masterpiences by some of the biggest names in art history, including Monet and Gauguin. While the thieves were later caught, the paintings could not be recovered. It was alleged that the paintings were burnt by the culprits. Another of Picasso's paintings, "Le Pigeon Aux Petit Pois" (The Pigeon with Green Peas) was stolen in May 2010 from the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in France. When the thief was arrested, he claimed that he threw the painting in the dustbin. However, this claim remains unverified.

Rembrandt and Vermeer

The night of March 18, 1990 is one that the art world is unlikely to forget. "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee" by Rembrandt and 'The Concert" by Johannes Vermeer were stolen, along with 12 other masterpieces, from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston by two men in the guise of Boston police officers. Both the paintings are extremely valuable. "The Storm on the Sea of Gallilee" is believed to be Rembrandt's only sea scape, while "The Concert" by Vermeer depicting a musical performance, is prized at an estimated $200 million. So, this is considered one of the largest art-heists in history, and what's more, the museum still displays the empty frames of the paintings!

The missing panel

One of the panels of the 12-panel Ghent Altarpiece at the Saint Bavo's Cathedral in Belgium was stolen in 1934. The thieves left a note stating. "Taken from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles". Interestingly, a local Belgian politician Arsene Goedertier allegedly confessed on his deathbed that he knew the location of the painting, but refused to reveal it. In 1945, the missing panel was replaced with a copy by Jef Van der Veken, a Belgian restorer. But the whereabouts of the original panel still remain unknown.

The perils of war

A 16th Century painting by the Italian Renaissance master Raphael titled "Portrait of A Young Man" went missing during World War II. It belonged to a Polish noble family. When the Nazi invaded Poland, they stole the painting along with several others. It was supposed to be displayed at Hitlers Fuhrermuseum, but it went missing in 1945 from the residence of one of his officers. No one knows what happened to the painting.

Picture Credit : Google

One of the most famous artworks in the world, the "Night Watch" by Rembrandt has captured the imagination of people for centuries. And now, for the first time in 300 years, the painting has been displayed in its full size with the help of artificial intelligence.

What is the Night Watch?

Painted by Rembrandt in 1642, the "Night Watch" depicts an Amsterdam captain ordering his men into action. It is famous for its enormous size of 363 cm x 437 cm. Years after its creation, the painting had to be trimmed in 1715 on all four sides, when it was moved from Kloveniersdoelen, the headquarters of the Kloveniers militia, to the Town Hall of Amsterdam. In order to fit its new location between two marble columns, this painting was cut two feet from the top, two feet from the left, and inches from the right and the bottom, which drastically altered its appearance and effect.

We know what the original painting looked like because of copies made at the time. Although the original strips have not been found, recently researchers were able to restore the painting to its original size by recreating the missing parts with the help of Al.

New discoveries

The painting has been displayed temporarily at an exhibition at the Amsterdam museum. Expanding the photo to its original dimensions has given researchers and viewers insights into the masterpiece. For instance, Captain Frans Bannik Cocq, the central figure in the painting, now appears to be a little off centre, as Rembrandt had originally intended. This changes the tone of the picture, as the militia led by Cocq now appears to be marching towards their destination.

The restoration has also brought to light some figures that had been cut out of the original. These include three onlookers on a bridge, two militia and a young boy. Also, a boy in the left foreground can now be clearly seen running away from the militia. The figure of a drummer entering the frame from the right side has also been restored. The drummer now confidently marches onto the scene, prompting a dog to bark.

How it was restored

First, both "The Night Watch" and the much smaller copy by Gerrit Lundens produced around 1655, had to be carefully photographed. Then researchers scaled the images to the original size, and the Al made repeated attempts at replicating Rembrandt's style and colours closely and restoring the painting.

Technology in Art

In April, 2021, a team of engineers created a 3D printed copy of Michelangelo's sculptural masterpiece "David". The iconic 17-foot copy, as tall as the original, which stands in Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia, is the most faithful replica of the statue ever made.

Did you know?

• The painting was originally called "Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Bannick Cocq", but it got its nickname, "The Night Watch" because the multiple layers of varnish applied to the painting had darkened it to such an extent that it gave an incorrect impression of a night scene. The varnish was removed in the 1940s, but the nickname remains.
• Despite his fame as an artist, Rembrandt descended into abject poverty in the latter half of his life. There are several conspiracy theories that "The Night Watch" led to his downfall. One of the theories dramatically proposes that the painting holds clues to a murder conspiracy. However, scholars dismiss such theories.

Picture Credit : Google

We are in that month of May, a month that can be quite frustrating. The long holidays, accompanied with the sweltering heat, can sometimes be really annoying and boring. With nowhere to go in the hot, sticky afternoons, how about engaging in a therapeutic and creative hobby? Let’s try origami – the art of folding objects out of paper!

The word ‘origami’ comes from the Japanese oru or orizuru which means “to fold”. That perfectly sums up what origami i4s. It is the traditional Japanese art or technique of folding paper into a variety of decorative and representational forms of animals, flowers or any other living thing. What makes origami unique is the fact that it simply requires a piece of paper and a bit of creative imagination!

Many people get confused between origami and ordinary paper-folding. The two crafts are similar in that they both involve the folding of paper to achieve a desired result. But usually paper-folding is done to serve a specific purpose whereas origami is an artistic expression of folding a single sheet of paper into a model without the use of tape, glue, scissors or other tools. We also do not decorate the model after it is complete.

Types of origami

Origami can be created in both 2D and 3D subjects, and has expanded and evolved beyond birds and boats. It has come a long way since Buddhist monks carried paper to Japan during the 6th century. Since the first Japanese origami dating from this period, which was used for religious ceremonial purposes only, origami enthusiasts have come up with over 80 different types of origami!

How to create an origami

Origami doesn’t have to be difficult and frustrating. There are many figures that are easy and fun to do is regular 8  x 11 inch paper. Take the left corner and fold it down to the right side. Make sure the right corner is ceased at the very tip. Take the upper right corner and fold it down to the left, connecting the corner to the left corner where the original fold was made.

Most popular form of origami

The traditional origami crane is perhaps the most popular example of origami. It uses a bird base, which is a square base plus two petal folds. Folding a thousand paper cranes is said to grant you to right to make one special wish. This tradition is popular in Japan and around the world.

Origami paper

Origami paper comes in several sizes, but standard sizes include 75 x 75 mm (about 3 x 3 inches), 6-incch squares, and 10-inch squares. It is handmade, just like regular mulberry paper, but is much thinner, around 25 GSM, and easier to fold. To begin with, instead of using the original origami paper, we can also try other easily-available options: Newspaper, Old lottery tickets, Wrapping paper, Book pages, and Letters.

Picture Credit : Google