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Paradises and Landscapes: from Brueghel to Gauguin

Museo Carmen Thyssen An interesting survey of landscape painting, from the seventeenth century to the twentieth century, is represented by significant works in the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection in Malaga. The show examines the depiction of nature as an idyllic place by means of a fine selection of works by artists who have played a key role in shaping the history of art (31 March - 7 October 2012). The idea of paradise appears in several ancient peoples, both in the Semitic and the Graeco-Latin tradition. The Book of Genesis describes it as a place of particular beauty, where man lived in... Read more

El Greco and Modernism

Stiftung Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf. - It is for the first time that the elective affinity between early Expressionism and El Greco is examined with direct reference to originals and that the phenomenon of an Old Master becoming the catalyst of a young avantgarde art movement is illustrated this vividly. The intention is to reveal the multifaceted levels on which exponents of Expressionism concerned themselves with El Greco’s pictorial world. In the process, attention is paid to the genres of religious painting as well as portrait and landscape painting. A wealth of works tell us of the profound fascination which, quite astonishingly... Read more

Guy Verhofstadt: We need a 'radical' pro-EU movement

Interview, Public Service Europe, 26 April 2012 You have often been suggested as a possible candidate to replace Josι Manuel Barroso as president of the European Commission when his 10-year term ends in 2014. Does that role interest you and is it an ambition for the future, given that you have such clear views on the direction of travel that Europe should be headed in? "My active goal for the moment is to create a pro-European, strong, political force and if possible a majority in the European Parliament. We shall see afterwards what the future holds. If tomorrow, they came to... Read more

Europe protests over the fate of Yulia Tymoshenko

Foundation Robert Schuman For the last week former Prime Minister and opponent to the present Ukrainian government, Yulia Tymoshenko has been on hunger strike. She denounces the political repression that reigns in her country and is protesting about the violence inflicted on her in prison. Sentenced on 11th October 2011 to seven years in prison, because of the political choices she made when she was Prime Minister, the health of the Ukrainian opposition leader has been declining from day to day. Informed of alleged acts of mistreatment, the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Ukraine’s Supreme Council, Nina Karpachova, believes that... Read more

Costas Simitis and Yannis Stournaras: Greece did not cause the euro crisis

The Guardian, Thursday 26 April 2012 During the recent debate in the parliaments of many eurozone member states regarding the approval of the new €130bn loan to Greece, some members questioned whether the country had been ready to participate in the euro at the time of its entry. In the mid-1990s, Greece made a formidable effort to meet the convergence criteria. It employed all available means: budgetary policy, monetary policy, income policy and extensive privatisation of banks and public enterprises. By any measure of fiscal performance (cash or national accounts), the government deficit fell by 10 percentage points, from 12.5% of GDP... Read more

Thomas Fleming: The Nerve of the Turks

Thomas Fleming is the editor of the American monthly Chronicles: a Magazine of American Culture. The government of Turkey, following in the footsteps of Greece and Italy, is asking American museums to return dozens of art treasures allegedly removed from the country since 1906. That was the year when the Turkish government passed a law laying claim to any and all works of art found in Turkish ground. According to the Los Angeles Times, the targeted museums include the Getty, the Met, the Cleveland Art Museum, and Harvard's Dumbarton Oaks. The provenance of most of the pieces has yet to... Read more

Necla Kelek: Democracy is the opposite of Islam
Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung, Demokratie ist das Gegenteil von Islam - Translated by JLH for Europe News. The philosophy of the Salafists is as old as time — older than the pedestrian zones where they are passing out the Koran. They are…
Krzysztof Pomian: European identity, historical fact and political problem
Krzysztof Pomian European identity: Historical fact and political problem Krzysztof Pomian, born in 1934, is a Polish philosopher, historian and essayist. He is a professor of history at the Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika (Nicolaus Copernicus University) in Toruń and, since 2001,…
Rafael Argullol: Don’t let the European ideal die
El País 20 December 2011. Translated from the Spanish by Anton Baer. Leaving aside the short-sightedness of our political leaders, one of the most depressing aspects of the recent disasters in Europe is the indifference of citizens towards events. Naturally,…
Winter in Europe, from the Renaissance to Impressionism
George Mylonas The Kunsthaus Zurich is pleased to present "The Winter's Tale", on view at the museum through April 29th. The approximately 120 works in the exhibition provide a comprehensive thematic exploration of how artists have portrayed winder, and includes paintings…
A Parody of Art Fair
We speak about the Art Dubai exhibition in United Arab Emirates. In this art fair, 75 galleries from 32 countries are showing paintings, sculptures, installations and video. But of course, the freedom of art is dead. No nudes, no human…
Andrew Gilligan: Farewell to London
Dear, damn'd distracting town, farewell! Ken Livingstone: I will make London a beacon of Islam [...] Mr Livingstone, Labour΄s candidate for mayor of London, pledged to “educate the mass of Londoners” in Islam, saying: “That will help to cement…
Van Gogh Europe: cooperation between European sites
In February 10 2012, more than 20 European organisations involved with Vincent van Gogh’s legacy signed a cooperative agreement at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. This was the green light for Van Gogh Europe, an international partnership…
The Jewish Culture in Amsterdam
This winter, De Nieuwe Kerk and the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam present an exhibition about Judaism. With more than five hundred objects on display, this exhibition tells the story of three thousand years of Jewish religion, culture,…
Barbara Spinelli: Expel Greece – a cure worse than the…
Drive Greece out of the euro, and build a federal Europe behind a protective firewall? Italian columnist Barbara Spinelli warns that this idea, which appears to be gaining ground with a number of European leaders, would not only fail to…
Denis de Rougemont: The Era of Federations
Denis de Rougemont The Era of Federations From Cultural Unity to Political Unity From the Idea of Europe, translated by Norbert Guterman, ed. The Macmillan Company, New York. [...]In the eyes of one of the men who contributed most to the union of…
Pan Drakopoulos: What is the European civilization?
Pan Drakopoulos What is the European civilization? Speech to the Association of European Journalists (Greek section) in the Hall of European Parliament, Athens, Greece, 31 January 2012 Once we decide to reflect on what the European civilization is, we…
The Death of a Salesman...
UKObserver: France, Germany and their neighbours have waved us goodbye. "Auf Wiedersehen, England!" was how German magazine Der Spiegel reacted in the early hours of Friday. "Der Euro ist wichtiger als die Briten," (the euro is more important than the…
Apoplectic Euroskeptics
Der Spiegel, 19/12/2011 English Town Cuts Ties with French, German Twin Cities To hell with Europe, the tiny English town of Bishop's Stortford has decided. The community was twinned with Friedberg in Germany and Villiers-sur Marne in France for 46 years. But…
Britain and the EU. The Failure of a Forced Marriage.
Wolfgang Kaden, Der Spiegel 12/10/2011 [extracts] It was to be expected. And now it's official: The British have elected not to join the treaty governing Europe's new financial system. But from the very beginning, Great Britain's participation in a united Europe…
Cameron’s eyes are on the City
Anne Applebaum, The Washington Post, December 12, 2011 [extracts] The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, did not intend to emerge from negotiations in total isolation. In essence, he tried to blackmail the rest of Europe: You agree to give special protections…