Val Castronovo
Val Castronovo is a free-lance journalist specializing in exhibition and arts-related stories. She is a former reporter for TIME Magazine, where she worked for 21 years. A native New Yorker and Vassar grad, she lives in Manhattan with her husband and their daughter, Olivia.
The Hague's Mauritshuis Marvelous Renovation Revealed: International Allure
Editor's Note: We attended the traveling exhibit at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco three times, once with our grandchildren; now we hope to visit the refurbished museum in The Hague. Val Castronovo reviewed the exhibit for SeniorWomen.com during its visit to New York City's Frick Museum. And, do not forget to visit the Museum's Shop. more »
Pretty Girl: Girl with a Pearl Earring makes a stop at The Frick in New York, the last leg of its American tour
Val Castronovo writes: Girl's head, shoulder, garments and accessories stand out against a dark, solid background, which is blackened now but once was translucent green. The effect is rather like the effect of looking at this painting in an otherwise empty room — just as everything is stripped away in the Oval Room so that our attention is laser-focused on Girl, so everything is stripped away in the background of the painting itself so that we zero in on the figure’s physiognomy and accoutrements, which signal mercantile wealth and prosperity. more »
An Exhibit That Begins and Ends With Lovers; Chagall: Love, War, and Exile
Val Castronovo writes: The paintings from the war years are suffused with human suffering, violence and tumult, plus indescribable feelings of sadness, longing and loss. This exhibit clearly wants to persuade visitors that love has the power to heal and the power to triumph over trauma and evil — even evil of the worst sort. more »
The Art of Pinning: Museum Pinners Worth Following
Val Castronovo writes: Since its founding in 2010, Pinterest, the photo-sharing site that has become the third most popular social network after Facebook and Twitter, has been enthusiastically embraced by art museums across the country. A virtual bulletin board, Pinterest allows users — more than 70 million now — to set up “boards” to which they “pin” images of favorite things — in this case, artworks and artifacts culled from museum collections and archives. more »
