Leonardo da Vinci, the painter of the "Mona Lisa" and a symbol of the Renaissance, was only half-Italian, his mother a slave from the Caucasus, new research revealed on Tuesday.. In the Italian city, she met a young notary, Piero (Peter) da Vinci, "and their son was called Leonardo".
A poor Nigerian boy whose unlikely journey to a British dance academy is being chronicled by Disney met royalty on Tuesday, as he trains to become a professional.. Last September, Disney announced it was making a documentary on Madu's remarkable journey from the Leap of Dance Academy in Lagos to Britain.
Spain's Crown Princess Leonor will begin three years of military training in September as she prepares to one day take the throne, the government said Tuesday.. It recalled in a statement that under Spain's constitution, Princess Leonor will become the head of the armed forces when she ascends the throne. al/ds/mg/ea
More than a million artworks were put up for auction for the first time in 2022 despite a gloomy global economy, according to a report released on Tuesday.. More than a million artworks were put up for auction, and 704,747 sold -- both records -- with Christie's seeing six works that surpassed $100 million each.
"We are here to save our music," proclaims Ramiz, a young Afghan musician who has been welcomed in Portugal, along with other students from the national music school he left as he fled the Taliban's cultural crackdown.. "It's nothing short of a cultural and musical genocide," added the Afghan music specialist, who has made it his mission to safeguard his country's musical heritage and to recreate in Portugal the music school he founded in Afghanistan in 2010.
Rock pioneer and poet Lou Reed began writing a book in 2009 on an art at the heart of his lifestyle: tai chi.. Reed began studying tai chi in the 1980s when he was still heavily into drugs, according to Anderson.
Keanu Reeves is back with the fourth chapter of his megahit gun-frenzy franchise "John Wick" next week.. "John Wick the man and John Wick the assassin... they're almost at war with each other, but they're also connected," Reeves said.
Pope Francis marked 10 years as head of the Catholic Church on Monday with a podcast, a private mass and a series of interviews, one of which triggered a diplomatic spat with Nicaragua.. Asked what he would like as a gift for his 10-year anniversary, for which he had no public plans beyond a mass with cardinals, Francis added: "Peace.
A wrenching German adaptation of the classic war novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" clinched the Academy Award for best international feature on Sunday with its timely anti-militarist message.. In "All Quiet on the Western Front", World War I is viewed through the eyes of teenage German soldier Paul Baeumer (Kammerer), a volunteer on the Western front.
Nobel-winning Japanese novelist Kenzaburo Oe, a leading liberal voice who defended the disenfranchised and challenged the conformity of modern society, has died aged 88.. "He died of old age in the early hours of March 3," publisher Kodansha said in a statement on Monday, adding that a family funeral has already been held.
