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5 times the Mona Lisa was threatened

<p dir="ltr">Since the <em>Mona Lisa</em> began hanging in the Louvre Museum in Paris in 1804, many have attempted to either vandalise or steal the priceless artwork. </p> <p dir="ltr">Leonardo da Vinci’s <em>Mona Lisa</em> is widely considered one of the most beloved artworks in the world, with millions of people each year flocking to see her elusive smile. </p> <p dir="ltr">This level of fame has left the <em>Mona Lisa</em> vulnerable to threats of vandalism and theft, with five notable attempts leaving the artwork subject to much higher security. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>1911: The <em>Mona Lisa</em> is stolen</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">In 1911, Italian handyman Vincenzo Peruggia and his two accomplices hid in a closet in the Louvre until the museum closed to steal the <em>Mona Lisa</em>. </p> <p dir="ltr">The artwork, which was considered a minor work by da Vinci at the time, was taken by the men and stashed in the floorboards beneath Peruggia’s Paris apartment. </p> <p dir="ltr">Two years after the theft, Peruggia attempted to sell the work to a dealer in Florence, Italy, who inevitably called the police on the thief. </p> <p dir="ltr">Peruggia spent six months in prison and the painting was returned to the Louvre. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>1956: A rock is thrown at the <em>Mona Lisa</em></strong></p> <p dir="ltr">In the year of 1956, the <em>Mona Lisa</em> was vandalised twice by two different assailants. </p> <p dir="ltr">First, the vandal attempted to take a razor blade to the painting, though no damage ended up being inflicted. </p> <p dir="ltr">Then, a Bolivian man named Hugo Unjaga Villegas tossed a rock at the painting. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I had a stone in my pocket and suddenly the idea to throw it came to mind,” he said at the time.</p> <p dir="ltr">Thankfully, the painting was already behind glass, meaning the rock did no permanent damage. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>1974: The <em>Mona Lisa</em> is nearly damaged while on tour in Tokyo</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">When da Vinci’s masterpiece was on display for a limited time at the National Museum in Tokyo, 1.15 million people came to see the painting. </p> <p dir="ltr">One of those people was Tomoko Yonezu, a 25-year-old Japanese woman who tried to spray paint the canvas in red on its first day on view.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the days before the opening, the presentation had been the subject of discussion among disability activists, who claimed that in refusing access to those who needed assistance in the name of crowd control, the National Museum was discriminating against the disabled. </p> <p dir="ltr">In an act of defiance, Yonezu managed to spray between 20 and 30 droplets of paint on the artwork, which was able to be restored. </p> <p dir="ltr">Yonezu was convicted of a misdemeanour and made to pay a fine of 3,000 yen, as the National Museum set aside a day when the disabled could exclusively visit the <em>Mona Lisa</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>2009: The <em>Mona Lisa </em>is hit with a teacup</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">On an otherwise ordinary day at the Louvre, a Russian woman came to the gallery in 2009 and smashed a teacup against the iconic artwork. </p> <p dir="ltr">She had come to the museum with the cup concealed in her bag, with representatives at Louvre claiming she had let loose because she had been denied French citizenship. </p> <p dir="ltr">Thanks once again to her glass case, the <em>Mona Lisa</em> was not damaged. </p> <p dir="ltr">Still, some took the attempted vandalism as proof that greater security was needed, as the Louvre eventually upgraded the glass on the <em>Mona Lisa</em> in 2019. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>2022: The <em>Mona Lisa </em>gets caked</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">In May 2022, the painting was targeted by climate change activists who <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/mona-lisa-gets-caked-in-climate-activist-stunt">smeared cake</a> on the protective glass of the artwork. </p> <p dir="ltr">The 36-year-old man who staged the vandalism had arrived at the museum in a wheelchair dressed as a woman, as some caught the aftermath of the event on video and posted it to social media. </p> <p dir="ltr">“There are people who are destroying the Earth,” the man said in one video, speaking in French. “All artists, think about the Earth. That’s why I did this. Think of the planet.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The man was immediately detained, and the Louvre has filed a criminal complaint, with the <em>Mona Lisa</em> once again remaining intact. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Antarctica without windchill, the Louvre without queues: how to travel the world from home

<p>SpaceX’s recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/spacexs-historic-launch-gives-australias-booming-space-industry-more-room-to-fly-139760">Falcon 9 rocket launch</a> proves humanity has come leaps and bounds in its effort to reach other worlds. But now there’s a quicker, safer and environmentally friendlier way to travel to the centre of the galaxy – and you can do it too.</p> <p><a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2020/gcenter/">NASA</a> has co-developed a free virtual reality (VR) adventure providing 500 years of travel around the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. The experience is available to download from two major VR stores, <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1240350/Galactic_Center_VR/">Steam</a> and <a href="https://www.viveport.com/21f8b24c-783b-4af2-8e81-a63a14553721">Viewport</a>, in a non-collapsed star system near you.</p> <p>And this kind of spacefaring may be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of virtual travel and tourism.</p> <h2>The virtual travel bug</h2> <p>Simply speaking, VR refers to technology that immerses users in a computer-generated world that removes them from reality. Augmented Reality (AR), however, aims to superimpose virtual imagery over a user’s view of the real world. Pokémon Go is a popular AR game.</p> <p><span>VR-based tourism has a longer history than you might think. In the 1850s, it involved staring at </span><a href="https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/stereo/background.html">stereographs</a><span> with a </span><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/sterographs-original-virtual-reality-180964771/">stereoscope</a><span>. With this invention, viewers looked at slightly different images through each eye, which were then assembled by the brain to make a new image providing the illusion of spatial depth (in other words, a 3D effect).</span></p> <p>A century later, 1950s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinerama">Cinerama</a> widescreen viewing inspired cinematic travel though its large, curved screens and multiple cameras.</p> <p>The 1960s <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2014-02-16-morton-heiligs-sensorama-simulator.html">Sensorama</a> foretold a shiny future of multimodal immersive cinematic experiences, playing 3D films with sound, scents and wind to immerse users. In <a href="https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/history.html">VR circles</a>, Ivan Sutherland became famous for inventing the head-mounted display, as well as augmented reality (AR).</p> <p>Travel restrictions under COVID-19 <a href="https://www.ft.com/virtualtravel">present an opportunity</a> for virtual reality travel to finally take off.</p> <p>In an era of lockdowns and social distancing, we could use VR to travel to remote, distant or even no longer existing places. Remote tourism is here (the <a href="https://www.remote-tourism.com/">Faroe Islands</a> offers a great example), and interest in VR tourism is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/solrogers/2020/03/18/virtual-reality-and-tourism-whats-already-happening-is-it-the-future/#5b39a26228a6">blossoming</a>.</p> <h2>VR comes in many forms</h2> <p>The word “virtual” can refer to an immersive 3D experience, but also 360° panorama photographs and movies (a <a href="https://wiki.panotools.org/Panorama_formats">cylinder, sphere or cube of photographs</a>).</p> <p>What is deemed “virtual” varies greatly across different devices and platforms. Let’s look at some of the ways this term is applied.</p> <p><strong>Desktop virtual environments</strong>: these are computer-based 3D environments on a flat screen, without the spatial immersion of VR platforms.</p> <p><strong>Cinematic VR</strong>: these are phone-based panoramic environments. Many desktop experiences of 360° movies or images can be conveyed in low-cost <a href="https://arvr.google.com/cardboard/">stereoscopic VR through smartphones</a>. Google Street view can be viewed in <a href="https://www.blog.google/products/google-vr/get-closer-look-street-view-google-earth-vr/">Google VR</a> on Android and <a href="https://3g.co.uk/guides/what-smartphones-work-with-virtual-reality">some Apple</a> smartphones, but it’s not real VR.</p> <p><strong>Head-mounted displays</strong>: HMDs such as <a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-Google-Cardboard/">Google Cardboard</a> and <a href="https://arvr.google.com/daydream/smartphonevr/">Google Daydream</a> are what many people think of when they hear “virtual reality”. Some HMDs are self-contained, not requiring connection to a computer or console. Arguably, the market is <a href="https://3dinsider.com/oculus-vs-htc-vive-vs-psvr/">dominated</a> by the Oculus range owned by Facebook, the HTC Vive range, and PlayStation VR.</p> <h2>VR in a pandemic</h2> <p>In a post-coronavirus age, device sharing is problematic. HMDs aren’t easy to clean and VR software can quickly become obsolete, with new headsets sometimes not running two-year-old software. Users also have to deal with costly updates, eyestrain, and having to share displays that sat on someone else’s face.</p> <p>Developing and sharing content across different devices can be a nightmare but there are increasingly <a href="https://www.vrtourviewer.com/">simple</a> and effective ways to create <a href="https://www.pocket-lint.com/ar-vr/news/google/142054-google-arcore-android-s-equivalent-to-apple-arkit-explained">AR</a> and VR content, despite a bewildering range of platforms and equipment (there are more than <a href="https://www.archives.gov/files/applied-research/ncsa/8-an-overview-of-3d-data-content-file-formats-and-viewers.pdf">140 3D file formats</a>).</p> <p>Despite this, many VR projects are not preserved – including <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/8/2425">virtual heritage</a>projects! Even for the largest HMD companies, supplies can be <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21177442/half-life-alyx-vr-headset-compatible-valve-oculus-rift-quest-htc-steamvr-available">limited</a>.</p> <h2>Places you can virtually visit now</h2> <p>Nonetheless, there are plenty of VR programs available to help relieve lockdown boredom, with many sites <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/virtual-reality/best-virtual-reality-apps/">offering</a> <a href="https://www.lifewire.com/virtual-reality-tourism-4129394">lists</a> of their favourite picks.</p> <p>The Street View app for Google Daydream and Cardboard provides a “virtual tour” of <a href="https://chernobyl-city.com/virtual-tour/">Chernobyl</a>. <a href="https://earth.google.com/web/@-10.50049963,35.75744511,1062.93460117a,116.59974009d,35y,0h,0t,0r/data=CisSKRIgMzczNGFmOTk5MTIzMTFlOTliOTNjYmE2MDYxMWYzYzMiBXNwbC0w">Google Earth</a> and <a href="https://earth.google.com/web/@-10.50049963,35.75744511,1062.93460117a,116.59974009d,35y,0h,0t,0r/data=CgQSAggB">Google Earth Voyager</a> feature travel sections, too.</p> <p><a href="https://arvr.google.com/earth/">Google Earth VR</a> is available on the <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/348250/Google_Earth_VR/">HTC Vive</a> and <a href="https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1513995308673845/">Oculus Rift</a>. <a href="https://www.vrfocus.com/tag/tourism/">VRfocus</a> also has an interesting travel section. You can virtually explore <a href="https://grandtour.myswitzerland.com/">Switzerland</a> or <a href="https://www.virtualyosemite.org/">Yosemite</a>.</p> <p>Or you may want to stay in Australia. Australian company <a href="http://whitesparkpictures.com.au/">White Spark Pictures’</a>Cinematic/360 experience of <a href="https://www.dneg.com/antarctica_vr/">Antarctica</a> tours museums. Melbourne-based company <a href="https://www.lithodomosvr.com/">Lithodomos</a> brings “the ancient world to life” and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=no.hallingdata.hiddenar&amp;hl=en_AU">Hidden AR</a> offers mythical augmented reality.</p> <p>Other links to check out include:</p> <ul> <li>the Guardian’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/mar/23/10-of-the-worlds-best-virtual-museum-and-art-gallery-tours">review</a> of the world’s best virtual museum and art gallery tours</li> <li><a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/">Google Arts and Culture’s</a> virtual tours and online exhibits from myriad <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/partner?hl=en">museums and galleries</a>, as well as scavenger hunts – including at <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/project/virtual-tours">the British Museum</a></li> <li>the Louvre’s <a href="https://arts.vive.com/us/articles/projects/art-photography/mona_lisa_beyond_the_glass/">Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass</a></li> <li>the <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/515020/The_VR_Museum_of_Fine_Art/">VR Museum of Fine Art</a>.</li> <li>Europeana’s <a href="https://teachwitheuropeana.eun.org/stories-of-implementation/implementation-of-vintage-vr-soi-hr-109/">vintage stereo VR</a> and <a href="https://pro.europeana.eu/data/vintage-stereoscope-cards">examples</a> of how to create stories and <a href="https://teachwitheuropeana.eun.org/learning-scenarios/vintage-vr-ls-es-14/">lessons</a> with stereosonic VR prints</li> <li>The Smithsonian’s <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour">virtual tour</a> and downloadable <a href="https://3d.si.edu/">3D artefacts</a>, including a tour of a <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/vrhangar">hangar</a> from the National Air and Space Museum</li> <li><a href="https://sketchfab.com/museums">Sketchfab</a>’s cultural heritage section which can be accessed through <a href="https://sketchfab.com/virtual-reality">VR headsets or Google Cardboard-enabled smartphones</a>. There’s also a places and travel <a href="https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/categories/places-travel?date=week&amp;sort_by=-likeCount">section</a>.</li> </ul> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/antarctica-without-windchill-the-louvre-without-queues-how-to-travel-the-world-from-home-140174" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

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Antarctica without windchill and the Louvre without queues: How to travel the world from home

<p>SpaceX’s recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/spacexs-historic-launch-gives-australias-booming-space-industry-more-room-to-fly-139760">Falcon 9 rocket launch</a> proves humanity has come leaps and bounds in its effort to reach other worlds. But now there’s a quicker, safer and environmentally friendlier way to travel to the centre of the galaxy – and you can do it too.</p> <p><a href="https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2020/gcenter/">NASA</a> has co-developed a free virtual reality (VR) adventure providing 500 years of travel around the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. The experience is available to download from two major VR stores, <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1240350/Galactic_Center_VR/">Steam</a> and <a href="https://www.viveport.com/21f8b24c-783b-4af2-8e81-a63a14553721">Viewport</a>, in a non-collapsed star system near you.</p> <p>And this kind of spacefaring may be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of virtual travel and tourism.</p> <p><strong>The virtual travel bug</strong></p> <p>Simply speaking, VR refers to technology that immerses users in a computer-generated world that removes them from reality. Augmented Reality (AR), however, aims to superimpose virtual imagery over a user’s view of the real world. Pokémon Go is a popular AR game.</p> <p>VR-based tourism has a longer history than you might think. In the 1850s, it involved staring at <a href="https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/stereo/background.html">stereographs</a> with a <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/sterographs-original-virtual-reality-180964771/">stereoscope</a>. With this invention, viewers looked at slightly different images through each eye, which were then assembled by the brain to make a new image providing the illusion of spatial depth (in other words, a 3D effect).</p> <p>A century later, 1950s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinerama">Cinerama</a> widescreen viewing inspired cinematic travel though its large, curved screens and multiple cameras.</p> <p>The 1960s <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2014-02-16-morton-heiligs-sensorama-simulator.html">Sensorama</a> foretold a shiny future of multimodal immersive cinematic experiences, playing 3D films with sound, scents and wind to immerse users. In <a href="https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/history.html">VR circles</a>, Ivan Sutherland became famous for inventing the head-mounted display, as well as augmented reality (AR).</p> <p>Travel restrictions under COVID-19 <a href="https://www.ft.com/virtualtravel">present an opportunity</a> for virtual reality travel to finally take off.</p> <p>In an era of lockdowns and social distancing, we could use VR to travel to remote, distant or even no longer existing places. Remote tourism is here (the <a href="https://www.remote-tourism.com/">Faroe Islands</a> offers a great example), and interest in VR tourism is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/solrogers/2020/03/18/virtual-reality-and-tourism-whats-already-happening-is-it-the-future/#5b39a26228a6">blossoming</a>.</p> <p><strong>VR comes in many forms</strong></p> <p>The word “virtual” can refer to an immersive 3D experience, but also 360° panorama photographs and movies (a <a href="https://wiki.panotools.org/Panorama_formats">cylinder, sphere or cube of photographs</a>).</p> <p>What is deemed “virtual” varies greatly across different devices and platforms. Let’s look at some of the ways this term is applied.</p> <p><strong>Desktop virtual environments</strong>: these are computer-based 3D environments on a flat screen, without the spatial immersion of VR platforms.</p> <p><strong>Cinematic VR</strong>: these are phone-based panoramic environments. Many desktop experiences of 360° movies or images can be conveyed in low-cost <a href="https://arvr.google.com/cardboard/">stereoscopic VR through smartphones</a>. Google Street view can be viewed in <a href="https://www.blog.google/products/google-vr/get-closer-look-street-view-google-earth-vr/">Google VR</a> on Android and <a href="https://3g.co.uk/guides/what-smartphones-work-with-virtual-reality">some Apple</a> smartphones, but it’s not real VR.</p> <p><strong>Head-mounted displays</strong>: HMDs such as <a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-Google-Cardboard/">Google Cardboard</a> and <a href="https://arvr.google.com/daydream/smartphonevr/">Google Daydream</a> are what many people think of when they hear “virtual reality”. Some HMDs are self-contained, not requiring connection to a computer or console. Arguably, the market is <a href="https://3dinsider.com/oculus-vs-htc-vive-vs-psvr/">dominated</a> by the Oculus range owned by Facebook, the HTC Vive range, and PlayStation VR.</p> <p><strong>VR in a pandemic</strong></p> <p>In a post-coronavirus age, device sharing is problematic. HMDs aren’t easy to clean and VR software can quickly become obsolete, with new headsets sometimes not running two-year-old software. Users also have to deal with costly updates, eyestrain, and having to share displays that sat on someone else’s face.</p> <p>Developing and sharing content across different devices can be a nightmare but there are increasingly <a href="https://www.vrtourviewer.com/">simple</a> and effective ways to create <a href="https://www.pocket-lint.com/ar-vr/news/google/142054-google-arcore-android-s-equivalent-to-apple-arkit-explained">AR</a> and VR content, despite a bewildering range of platforms and equipment (there are more than <a href="https://www.archives.gov/files/applied-research/ncsa/8-an-overview-of-3d-data-content-file-formats-and-viewers.pdf">140 3D file formats</a>).</p> <p>Despite this, many VR projects are not preserved – including <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/8/2425">virtual heritage</a> projects! Even for the largest HMD companies, supplies can be <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21177442/half-life-alyx-vr-headset-compatible-valve-oculus-rift-quest-htc-steamvr-available">limited</a>.</p> <p><strong>Places you can virtually visit now</strong></p> <p>Nonetheless, there are plenty of VR programs available to help relieve lockdown boredom, with many sites <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/virtual-reality/best-virtual-reality-apps/">offering</a> <a href="https://www.lifewire.com/virtual-reality-tourism-4129394">lists</a> of their favourite picks.</p> <p>The Street View app for Google Daydream and Cardboard provides a “virtual tour” of <a href="https://chernobyl-city.com/virtual-tour/">Chernobyl</a>. <a href="https://earth.google.com/web/@-10.50049963,35.75744511,1062.93460117a,116.59974009d,35y,0h,0t,0r/data=CisSKRIgMzczNGFmOTk5MTIzMTFlOTliOTNjYmE2MDYxMWYzYzMiBXNwbC0w">Google Earth</a> and <a href="https://earth.google.com/web/@-10.50049963,35.75744511,1062.93460117a,116.59974009d,35y,0h,0t,0r/data=CgQSAggB">Google Earth Voyager</a> feature travel sections, too.</p> <p><a href="https://arvr.google.com/earth/">Google Earth VR</a> is available on the <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/348250/Google_Earth_VR/">HTC Vive</a> and <a href="https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1513995308673845/">Oculus Rift</a>. <a href="https://www.vrfocus.com/tag/tourism/">VRfocus</a> also has an interesting travel section. You can virtually explore <a href="https://grandtour.myswitzerland.com/">Switzerland</a> or <a href="https://www.virtualyosemite.org/">Yosemite</a>.</p> <p>Or you may want to stay in Australia. Australian company <a href="http://whitesparkpictures.com.au/">White Spark Pictures’</a> Cinematic/360 experience of <a href="https://www.dneg.com/antarctica_vr/">Antarctica</a> tours museums. Melbourne-based company <a href="https://www.lithodomosvr.com/">Lithodomos</a> brings “the ancient world to life” and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=no.hallingdata.hiddenar&amp;hl=en_AU">Hidden AR</a> offers mythical augmented reality.</p> <p>Other links to check out include:</p> <ul> <li>the Guardian’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/mar/23/10-of-the-worlds-best-virtual-museum-and-art-gallery-tours">review</a> of the world’s best virtual museum and art gallery tours</li> <li><a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/">Google Arts and Culture’s</a> virtual tours and online exhibits from myriad <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/partner?hl=en">museums and galleries</a>, as well as scavenger hunts – including at <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/project/virtual-tours">the British Museum</a></li> <li>the Louvre’s <a href="https://arts.vive.com/us/articles/projects/art-photography/mona_lisa_beyond_the_glass/">Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass</a></li> <li>the <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/515020/The_VR_Museum_of_Fine_Art/">VR Museum of Fine Art</a>.</li> <li>Europeana’s <a href="https://teachwitheuropeana.eun.org/stories-of-implementation/implementation-of-vintage-vr-soi-hr-109/">vintage stereo VR</a> and <a href="https://pro.europeana.eu/data/vintage-stereoscope-cards">examples</a> of how to create stories and <a href="https://teachwitheuropeana.eun.org/learning-scenarios/vintage-vr-ls-es-14/">lessons</a> with stereosonic VR prints</li> <li>The Smithsonian’s <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour">virtual tour</a> and downloadable <a href="https://3d.si.edu/">3D artefacts</a>, including a tour of a <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/vrhangar">hangar</a> from the National Air and Space Museum</li> <li><a href="https://sketchfab.com/museums">Sketchfab</a>’s cultural heritage section which can be accessed through <a href="https://sketchfab.com/virtual-reality">VR headsets or Google Cardboard-enabled smartphones</a>. There’s also a places and travel <a href="https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/categories/places-travel?date=week&amp;sort_by=-likeCount">section</a>.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Escapism through gaming</strong></p> <p>There are also VR games with which you can:</p> <ul> <li>escape inside a physical exhibition of Assassin’s Creed – <a href="https://uploadvr.com/preview-e3-2018-assassins-creed-vr-wireless/">Temple of Anubis VR</a></li> <li>travel through New Orleans, <a href="https://store.playstation.com/en-au/product/EP2397-CUSA18498_00-TWDSSSTDEDITION0">but with zombies</a></li> <li>tour medieval fantasy worlds via <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B072MZ3NLC?tag=georiot-au-default-22&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1&amp;ascsubtag=trd-3438856826073335000-22">Skyrim VR</a></li> <li>explore alien worlds with <a href="https://www.playstation.com/en-au/games/no-mans-sky-ps4/">No Man’s Sky</a> on PlayStation VR</li> <li>watch Amazonian <a href="https://www.viveport.com/6792ef3d-0775-4ab4-b3d3-3d9c15b64d47">shamans</a>, or</li> <li>explore <a href="https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/vr/">Minecraft</a> in VR.</li> </ul> <p>VR can show your outer space, and also convey interpretations of <a href="https://www.viveport.com/1edac723-2fed-4e56-b509-b0b8e796ba81">time and space</a>. With it, there is vast potential for travelling to infinity and beyond.</p> <p><em>Written by Erik Malcolm Champion. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/antarctica-without-windchill-the-louvre-without-queues-how-to-travel-the-world-from-home-140174">The Conversation.</a></em></p>

Cruising

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Where is Da Vinci’s $450m Jesus painting?

<p>A highly anticipated exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s works at the Louvre is set to open on October 24.</p> <p>Nearly 120 of the Italian artist’s most famous art pieces will be brought together with <em>Mona Lisa</em> at the Paris museum to commemorate the 500<sup>th</sup> anniversary of his death.</p> <p>However, with less than two weeks to go before the show opens, there are doubts as to whether the popular <em>Salvator Mundi </em>– the first Leonardo to be found for more than a century – will be featured.</p> <p>The painting, which depicted Jesus in Renaissance dress, emerged as the world’s most expensive after it sold at a 2017 auction for US$450.3 million to Prince Badr bin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.</p> <p>The painting’s whereabouts is currently not known. New York art historian and dealer Robert Simon claimed he had heard that it was “being kept in a secure art storage facility in Switzerland” as of months ago, while <em><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-10/da-vinci-s-450-million-masterpiece-kept-on-mbs-s-yacht-artnet">Artnet.com</a> </em>alleged it was stored on a superyacht owned by Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.</p> <p><em><a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/salvator-mundi-set-to-be-a-no-show">The Art Newspaper</a> </em>went further to claim that the <em>Salvator Mundi </em>will be “a no-show”, given that the museum had yet to secure the approval for the loan four weeks prior to the opening.</p> <p><span>A spokeswoman for the Louvre told the <em>Observer</em>: “I confirm the Louvre has asked for the loan of the <em>Salvator Mundi</em>. We don’t have the answer yet and thus, don’t have any further comment.”</span></p> <p>The painting’s authenticity has also been called into question. It was initially attributed to the “school of Giovanni Boltraffio”, a student of Leonardo’s, before it was upgraded to “a work by Boltraffio” in 1958. The piece was only authenticated as “an autograph work by Leonardo” in 2011.</p> <p>Several experts have challenged the attribution, with some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvator_Mundi_(Leonardo)#cite_note-nytimes.com-85">claiming</a> the painting was a “studio work with a little Leonardo at best”.</p>

Art

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3 things you never knew about the Louvre

<p>Like climbing the Eiffel Tower, strolling through the Arc De Triomphe and munching on a crepe, a trip to Paris wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Louvre. But while eight million people might’ve wandered the Louvre’s halls year, the world’s largest museum still has some secrets. Here are three things you never knew about the Louvre:</p> <p><strong>1. It was once home to an odd royal ritual</strong></p> <p>Before the Louvre was converted into a museum it was a royal residence, home to a range of French monarchs including King Henry IV, who famously used the halls to enact a ritual known as the Royal Touch. French royals were considered to have God-given power to rule, and Henry IV considered himself able to heal illnesses with a single touch.</p> <p>Henry IV would famously anoint the sick with holy water while saying “Le roy te touché, dieu te guerit” (“The king touches you, God is healing you”).</p> <p><strong>2. It pioneered the concept of public art</strong></p> <p>When Louis XIV assumed the throne in the late 17th century, artists could move in to the famous building to exchange ideas, copy paintings and worked on their own projects. As a result, the building became the nucleus of the art world. After the French Revolution, the building was officially converted from a palace to a public museum, which was quite a novel concept at the time.  </p> <p><img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35827/louvre-2_498x245.jpg" alt="Louvre -2"/></p> <p><strong>3. The glass pyramid was designed to fit in with the building</strong></p> <p>It might not look like it’s the case to glance at the famous glass pyramid, but the design was intended to fit in perfectly with the rest of the Louvre. When the new design was unveiled by artist Pei in the 80s, Parisians were scandalised by its bold nature. But perhaps they would’ve been a little less so if they realised the laborious strains Pei went to meld the structure into the rest of the building. Michael Flynn, an architect from Pei’s team, told Architect Magazine that Pei went to great lengths to find the right “super-clear” glass so as you peered through it, it would not “alter your perception of the colour of the existing buildings.”</p> <p>Were you aware of these facts? Have you ever visited the Louvre? </p>

International Travel

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10 things you didn’t know about the Louvre

<p>First established in the 1700s, the Louvre is one of the grandest exhibitions of art and culture, featuring some of the most important pieces in the world. And while it might just be the world’s most visited museums, it still has some secrets.</p> <p><a href="http://www.travelandleisure.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Travel and Leisure</span></strong></a> have put together a list of 10 things most people don’t know about the Louvre. These secrets about the world’s greatest museum will surprise you.</p> <p><strong>1. It was originally constructed as a palace</strong></p> <p>Construction of the Louvre began for by François in the mid-1500s, but only part of it was completed, with each subsequent royal adding to the structure.</p> <p><strong>2. You can still see the original moat</strong></p> <p>While the 13th-century fortress by King Philippe Augustus was destroyed, archaeologists have excavated part of the original moat which can be seen in the Sully wing. </p> <p><strong>3. It took 200 years to become a museum</strong></p> <p>In 1793, in the midst of the French Revolution, Musée Central des Arts opened to the public in the Grande Galerie. But if was first used as a proper museum in 1993.</p> <p><strong>4. Many of the works were plundered by Napoleon</strong></p> <p>Many of the museum’s greatest works were actually the spoils of war, looted during Napoleon’s campaigns around the world in Italy, Egypt, and beyond.</p> <p><strong>5. The glass pyramid was originally controversial</strong></p> <p>When the famous glass pyramid, designed American architect I.M. Pei, was first revealed in 1989 it was considered “sacrilegious”, but has now been accepted as part of it.</p> <p><strong>6. The museum’s biggest painting is in the same room as the Mona Lisa</strong></p> <p>The Mona Lisa might be the Louvre’s most famous painting, but the biggest (The Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese) is also featured in the exact same room.</p> <p><strong>7. There’s a <em>Da Vinci Code</em>-inspired route</strong></p> <p>The Louvre has revealed several official routes through the enormous museum, including one that’s inspired by the popular Dan Brown thriller, <em>The Da Vinci Code</em>.</p> <p><strong>8. You can see what the Louvre looked like in Napoleon III’s day</strong></p> <p>If you want a glimpse of what the Louvre looked like when it was used for state functions, head to the drawing room in the remote corner of the Richelieu wing.</p> <p><strong>9. There’s a way to skip the line</strong></p> <p>If you want to beat the crowds you can purchase tickets to the Louvre ahead of time at any FNAC bookstore and make a hassle-free entrance through the Passage Richelieu.</p> <p><strong>10. The Louvre is still acquiring more works</strong></p> <p>The Louvre has a collection that is truly incomparable, and it’s only just getting bigger. Despite having work dating to the 19th century, it’s still acquiring works.</p> <p>Have you ever been to the Louvre? What did you make of the Mona Lisa? Let us know in the comments.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/art/2016/06/female-and-male-models-used-for-mona-lisa/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Female and male models used for Mona Lisa</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/international/2016/06/artist-makes-iconic-louvre-pyramid-disappear/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Artist makes iconic Louvre Pyramid “disappear”</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/international/2016/06/paris-shut-louvre-as-flood-waters-threaten-artworks/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Paris evacuates Louvre as flood waters threaten artworks</strong></em></span></a></p>

International Travel

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Female and male models used for Mona Lisa

<p>Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile draws millions of viewers from across the world, all eager to see the art world's most famous female face. But is it?</p> <p>An Italian art detective is arguing that research backs his long-standing claim that Leonardo Da Vinci used both a female and male model to create the acclaimed portrait that hangs in Paris' Louvre museum.</p> <p>While the identity of the woman is not certain, historians believe Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo, sat for Da Vinci for the painting.</p> <p>But Silvano Vinceti, who heads Italy's National Committee for the Promotion of Historic and Cultural Heritage, says he used infrared technology to examine the painting and made key findings in its first layer.</p> <p>“In that layer we can see that she was not smiling and joyful but looked melancholic and sad,” he said, adding the second model was Gian Giacomo Caprotti - Da Vinci's male apprentice, known as Salai.</p> <p>Using Photoshop, Vinceti compared the Mona Lisa face to other Da Vinci works Salai is believed to have posed for, including St John the Baptist.</p> <p>“We have used all the paintings in which Leonardo used Salai as a model and compared them to the Mona Lisa and certain details correspond perfectly; so he used two models and added creative details which came from his own imagination,” he said.</p> <p>“I believe that this goes with a long-time fascination of Leonardo's, that is, the subject of androgyny. In other words, for Leonardo, the perfect person was a combination of a man and a woman.”</p> <p>Vinceti also bases his theory on claims by 16th Italian art historian and painter Giorgio Vasari that Gherardini's husband hired clowns to try to make her smile for the sitting.</p> <p>Salai's name has in the past been linked to the Mona Lisa, but other historians have dismissed the claims.</p> <p>Have you ever seen the Mona Lisa? What did you think about Da Vinci’s masterpiece? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.</p> <p><em>First appeared on <a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz.</span></strong></a></em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/art/2016/04/the-highest-selling-artworks-of-all-time/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>The highest selling artworks of all time</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/art/2016/01/classic-art-reimagined-in-modern-times/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Artists reimagines classical paintings in modern times</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/art/2015/12/artists-childhood-photos/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Famous artists share their childhood photos</em></span></strong></a></p>

Art

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Paris evacuates Louvre as flood waters threaten artworks

<p>Officials at the Louvre have taken emergency action to protect the museum’s priceless collection, as levels of the River Seine rise to a threatening level.</p> <p>Torrential rain has led to flooding of the mighty river which flows through the heart of Paris, with water levels rising over five metres above normal levels.</p> <p>Officials closed the Louvre on Thursday so the artworks could be moved to safety, and the museum will remain closed today to give staff a chance to evacuate tens of thousands of paintings and sculptures in the museum’s underground store room.</p> <p>The Musée d'Orsay, which sits on the opposite bank of the river, was also closed early on Thursday night as a precautionary measure against the floods.</p> <p>Water levels were forecast to peak overnight, with emergency barriers being put up all along the Seine. The river has flooded before, but this year’s deluge is said to be worse than usual, with some reports comparing it to the disastrous 1910 Paris floods.</p> <p>Thousands have been evacuated as the French President Francois Hollande is to declare a state of natural disaster in areas worst hit by flooding.</p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/international-travel/2016/04/strange-international-foods-squirm/"><em>10 strange foods that will make you squirm</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/international-travel/2016/04/top-10-museums-2016/"><em>Top 10 museums to visit in 2016</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/international-travel/2015/12/top-10-amazing-festivals/"><em>10 most amazing festivals in the world</em></a></strong></span></p>

International Travel

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Artist makes iconic Louvre Pyramid “disappear”

<p>French artist JR has made the iconic Louvre Pyramid in Paris disappear in an optical illusion.</p> <p>The artist covered the glass pyramid with a trompe l'oeil, an eye tricking technique that uses realistic imagery to create an optical illusion. Covering the pyramid’s nearly 700 glass segments with black-and-white photos, JR made the large monument in the middle of the courtyard “disappear”.</p> <p>Tourists who visited on Wednesday fought to take a potentially historic selfie of the Louvre without the glass pyramid.</p> <p>JR said he enjoyed "people being destabilised and trying to find the point" that scales with the background.</p> <p>Louvre exhibition organisers said the artist’s "spectacular mode of intervention poses questions about artistic creation, the role of images in the age of globalisation".</p> <p>The artwork will be on display until 27 June, 2016. </p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/international-travel/2016/04/strange-international-foods-squirm/"><em>10 strange foods that will make you squirm</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/international-travel/2016/04/top-10-museums-2016/"><em>Top 10 museums to visit in 2016</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/international-travel/2015/12/top-10-amazing-festivals/"><em>10 most amazing festivals in the world</em></a></strong></span></p>

International Travel

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Top 10 museums to visit in 2016

<p>One of the major pleasures of exploring a new city is learning a little about its culture and history by visiting one of the local museums. </p> <p><strong><a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Tripadvisor</span></a></strong> has announced its top 10 museums to visit in 2016.</p> <p>From the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to the iconic Louvre in Paris, a visit to these cities simply isn’t complete without stopping by these museums and observing the impressive collections.</p> <p>1. Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York, USA</p> <p>2. Musee d'Orsay - Paris, France</p> <p>3. Art Institute of Chicago - Chicago, Illinois</p> <p>4. Prado National Museum - Madrid, Spain</p> <p>5. Musee du Louvre - Paris, France</p> <p>6. State Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace - St. Petersburg, Russia</p> <p>7. National Gallery - London, United Kingdom</p> <p>8. Rijksmuseum – Amsterdam, The Netherlands</p> <p>9. Vasa Museum – Stockholm, Sweden</p> <p>10. National Museum of Anthropology – Mexico City, Mexico</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/02/a-look-inside-first-class-cabins/">Inside 8 first class cabins that will amaze you</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/02/most-photographed-locations-in-london/">London’s 8 most photographed locations</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/02/holiday-ideas-for-animal-lovers/">8 holiday ideas every animal lover needs to experience</a></em></strong></span></p>

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