Should the Royal Academy sell a single work of art that could save 150 jobs? Vanessa Thorpe reports on differences of opinion within the institution itself.
When the British artist John Constable first saw Michelangelo’s marble masterpiece, known as the Taddei Tondo, in the Royal Academy, he said it was “one of the most beautiful works of art in existence”.
The 515-year-old sculpture had been given to the London gallery in 1829 following the death of its owner, Lady Margaret Beaumont, as an inspiration to students in the academy’s schools.
The Royal Academy, like all arts institutions, was already financially squeezed before Covid but has seen its finances take a further battering and is considering drastic redundancies. And now a group of angry Royal Academicians is this week expected to argue that instead of cutting jobs, the institution should consider selling the tondo... Keep reading on The Guardian
When the British artist John Constable first saw Michelangelo’s marble masterpiece, known as the Taddei Tondo, in the Royal Academy, he said it was “one of the most beautiful works of art in existence”.
The 515-year-old sculpture had been given to the London gallery in 1829 following the death of its owner, Lady Margaret Beaumont, as an inspiration to students in the academy’s schools.
The Royal Academy, like all arts institutions, was already financially squeezed before Covid but has seen its finances take a further battering and is considering drastic redundancies. And now a group of angry Royal Academicians is this week expected to argue that instead of cutting jobs, the institution should consider selling the tondo... Keep reading on The Guardian