FACONNABLE LAUNCHES JEANS COLLECTION

ICONIC LUXURY FRENCH FASHION LABEL FACONNABLE, BRON FROM A TAILOR'S ATELIER IN NICE IN THE 1950s, HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE FIRST CHOICE FOR FASHION FORWARD MEN'S DESIGN. NOW THE COMPANY, WHICH IS COMMITTED TO INNOVATION, QUALITY FABRICS, IMPECCABLE CUTS AND SINGULAR DETAILS, IS LAUNCHING A NEW LINE CALLED FACONNABLE JEANS, ADDING A CONTEMPORARY SPIN TO ITS PORTFOLIO. INSPIRED BY THE RELAXED LIFESTYLE OF THE COTE D'AZUR, FACONNABLE JEANS OFFERS THE BEST OF THE WORLD OF DENIM WHILE ADHERING TO THE PRINCIPLES OF FINE TAILORING THE BRAND IS KNOWN FOR. REFINED STITCHING; THE FINEST MATERIALS SUCH AS JAPANESE CHAMBRAY; AND CONTEMPORARY FITS DISTINGUISH THE NEW COLLECTION, WHILE PREWASHING AND HAND FINISHING GUARANTEE A SOFT FEEL AND UNIQUE PATINA. THE NEW COLLECTION ENCOMPASSES MORE THAN JUST JEANS TO ROUND OUT THE WARDROBE, INCLUDING KHAKIS, WASHED COTTON POLOS AND T-SHIRTS, AND VARIOUS STYLES OF JACKETS, ALONG WITH STYLISH ACCESSORIES SUCH AS POCKET SQUARES AND HANDMADE TIES, SHOES, BAGS, BELTS, SCARVES, CAPS AND BOXER SHORTS.

SMITHSONIAN'S COOPER-HEWITT PRESENTS 'SET IN STYLE: THE JEWELRY OF VAN CLEEF & ARPELS'

SMITHSONIAN'S COOPER-HEWITT, NATIONAL DESIGN MUSEUM PRESENTS 'SET IN STYLE: THE JEWELRY OF VAN CLEEF & ARPELS'. THE EXHIBITION EXAMINES THE RENOWNED JEWELRY FIRM'S SIGNIFICANT HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO JEWELRY DESIGN AND DESIGN INNOVATION, PARTICULARLY DURING THE 20th CENTURY. ORGANIZED BY SARAH COFFIN, CURATOR AND HEAD OF THE PRODUCT DESIGN AND DECORATIVE ART DEPARTMENT, THE EXHIBITION RUNS FROM 18.FEBRUARY THROUGH 5.JUNE. SINCE ITS OPENING ON THE PLACE VENDOME IN PARIS, VAN CLEEF & ARPELS HAS PLAYED A LEADING ROLE IN STYLE AND DESIGN INNOVATION. PIONEERING TECHNIQUES AND DESIGNS, COMBINED WITH AN ATTENTION TO CRAFTSMANSHIP, ARE AT THE CORE OF VAN CLEEF & ARPELS' JEWELRY AND SMALL PRECIOUS OBJECTS. THE EXHIBITION FEATURES MORE THAN 350 WORKS, INCLUDING JEWELS, TIMEPIECES, FASHION ACCESSORIES AND OBJECTS D'ART BY VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, DRAWN FROM NUMEROUS PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AND INSTITUTIONS, AS WELL AS THE VAN CLEEF & ARPELS' MUSEUM COLLECTION. THE OBJECTS, MANY OF WHICH WERE CREATED EXCLUSIVELY FOR AMERICAN CLIENTELE, ARE SUPPLEMENTED WITH DESIGN DRAWINGS, COMMISSION BOOKS, FABRICATION CARDS AND IMAGERY FROM THE FIRM'S ARCHIVES.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.cooperhewitt.org

FIDM MUSEUM & GALLERIES PRESENTS EXHIBITION ON OSCAR FASHIONS

HELEN MIRREN'S ELIZABETHAN DRESS FROM 'THE TEMPEST' IS COVERED WITH GOLD AND SILVER ZIPPERS, ALL THE WAY UP TO ITS RUFFLED COLLAR. THE HAT THAT MADE JOHNNY DEPP THE MAD HATTER IN 'ALICE IN WONDERLAND' WAS CRAFTED FROM IMPORTED ITALIAN LEATHER WOVEN WITH GOLD THREADS, AND IT WAS SIZED TO FIT THE FLUFFY ORANGE WIG HE WORE BENEATH IT. THE COSTUMES FROM 'TRUE GRIT' WERE MADE NEW, THEN AGED TO LOOK MORE THAN 100 YEARS OLD, WHILE MUCH OF THE CLOTHING FROM 'THE KING'S SPEECH' WERE ORIGINAL PIECES FROM THE 1930s. FILM FANS AND FASHIONISTAS CAN GET AN UP-CLOSE LOOK AT THESE OSCAR-NOMINATED OUTFITS AND NEARLY 100 OTHER MOVIE COSTUMES AT L.A.'s FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN & MERCHANDISING's 19th ANNUAL ART OF MOTION PICTURE COSTUME DESIGN EXHIBITION, ON VIEW NOW. THE FIDM MUSEUM & GALLERIES COLLECTS AND DISPLAYS MOVIE COSTUMES TO ALLOW FUTURE FASHION DESIGNERS AND THE PUBLIC TO SEE THE CREATIVITY AND CRAFTSMANSHIP BEHIND THE CLOTHING THAT MKES MEMORABLE CHARACTERS ON SCREEN, SAYS CURATOR AND FASHION HISTORIAN KEVIN JONES. OSCAR-NOMINATED COSTUME DESIGNER MARY ZOPHRES SPENT MONTHS RESEARCHING THE LOOK AND STYLE OF 1860s ARKANSAS, WHERE THE ADVENTURE OF 'TRUE GRIT' TAKES PLACE. ONCE SHE BECAME FLUENT IN THE ERA'S FASHIONS, SHE ORDERED MULTIPLE OUTFITS MADE FOR EACH CHARACTER, THEN HAD THE NEW CLOTHING AGED TO APPEAR ALMOST 140 YEARS OLD. HISTORICAL COSTUMES ARE MORE EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE, ZOPHRES SAYS: 'THE EARLIER YOU GO, THE MORE MONEY IT COSTS.' PRODUCTION ON 'THE KING'S SPEECH' STARTED LESS THAN SIX WEEKS AFTER JENNY BEAVAN WAS HIRED TO DESIGN ITS COSTUMES, SO TO OUTFIT THE ROYAL 1930s DRAMA, SHE RENTED AS MANY ORIGINAL PIECES AS SHE COULD FROM A COSTUME HOUSE IN LONDON. WHAT SHE COULDN'T FIND, SHE MADE, INCLUDING THE SUITS WORN BY KING GEORGE VI (COLIN FIRTH) AND SEVERAL DRESSES WORN BY THE QUEEN MOTHER (HELEN BONHAM CARTER). FOR A PICTURE SET IN THE RECENT PAST, IT'S COMMON FOR COSTUMES TO USE A MIX OF RENTED ORIGINALS AND CUSTOM-MADE NEW PIECES, BEAVAN SAYS. THE FIDM EXHIBIT FEATURES FOUR OF OSCAR'S FIVE NOMINATED DESIGN NOMINEES, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS ASSEMBLED BEFORE ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINEES WERE ANNOUNCED. OTHER FEATURED COSTUMES INCLUDED SEVERAL DAZZLING OUTFITS WORN BY CHRISTINA AGUILERA IN 'BURLESQUE', LEONARDO DI CAPRIO AND ELLEN PAGE'S CLOTHES FROM 'INCEPTION' AND AN OUTFIT FOR EACH CHARACTER IN 'THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT'. SOME OF THE MOST EYE-CATCHING COSTUMES INCLUDE THOSE FROM 'PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME' AND 'CLASH OF THE TITANS'.

CHRISTIE'S SELLS WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT FOR $17 MILLION

A SELF-PORTRAIT BY ANDY WARHOL HAS SOLD FOR $17 MILLION, DOUBLE ITS PRE-SALE ESTIMATE. CHRISTIE'S LONDON SAYS THE WORK HAS BEEN IN A PRIVATE COLLECTION SINCE 1974. IT IS ONE OF A SERIES OF 11 SELF-PORTRAITS WARHOL CREATED. THE IMAGE OF RED AND WHITE SILKSCREEN INK ON CANVAS SHOWS THE ARTIST WITH HIS HAND TO HIS MOUTH. IT WAS EXECUTED IN 1967, AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS CAREER AS THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE IN AMERICAN POP ART. CHRISTIE'S SAYS THE PORTRAIT WAS BOUGHT BY AN ANONYMOUS BIDDER IN ITS LONDON AUCTION ROOM WEDNESDAY. THE IMAGE OF WARHOL WITH HIS TO HIS MOUTH IS ONE OF THE MOST REPRESENTATIVE AND ICONIC IMAGES OF THE ARTIST. WARHOL FIRST USED THE IMAGE FOR A GROUP OF WORKS IN 1966 PAINTED IN A MUCH SMALLER, LIFE-SIZE SCALE. THE FOLLOWING YEAR HE USED THE SAME IMAGE IN PRODUCING 11 MONUMENTAL WORKS IN A LARGE-SCALE FORMAT OF SIX FOOT SQUARE, OF WHICH THE PRESENT EXAMPLE IS ONE. SIX WORKS FROM THE SERIES WERE EXHIBITED IN THE AMERICAN PAVILION AT THE 1967 INTERNATIONAL AND UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION IN MONTREAL WHICH WAS VISITED BY TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, AND WHICH SAW THE PORTRAITS DOMINATE AN EXHIBITION INCLUDING WORKS BY JASPER JOHNS, ROY LICHTENSTEIN, BARNETT NEWMAN AND ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG. BY 1967 WARHOL HAD REACHED A POINT IN HIS CAREER WHEN HE WAS INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE IN AMERICAN POP ART . THE PRESENT SERIES OF SELF-PORTRAITS REPRESENT THE HIGH POINT OF HIS CAREER WHEN HE HAS ACHIEVED GREAT WEALTH AND FAME, AND WHEN AS A CELEBRITY HE BRASHLY AND CONFIDENTLY PRESENTED HIS OWN IMAGE IN A TRULY MONUMENTAL FASHION TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE OF MILLION.

ST LOUIS ART MUSEUM TRIES TO PROTECT EGYPTIAN MASK FROM SEIZURE

THE ST LOUIS ART MUSEUM HAS FILED A FEDERAL LAWSUIT TO TRY TO KEEP A 3,200 YEAR OLD MUMMY MASK THAT EGYPT WANTS RETURNED, CLAIMING IT WAS STOLEN NEARLY TWO DECADES AGO. THE MUSEUM CLAIMS THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO SEIZE THE 20 INCH LONG FUNERAL MASK OF KA-NEFER-NEFER AND RETURN IT TO EGYPT. BUT THE MUSEUM SAYS IT HAS LEGAL RIGHTS TO THE MASK IT PURCHASED FROM A NEW YORK ART DEALER FOR $499,000 IN 1998. EGYPT OFFICIALS HAVE CLAIMED THE MASK WAS STOLEN IN THE EARLY 1990s FROM A STORAGE ROOM NEAR A PYRAMID. THE SUIT, FILED IN FEDERAL COURT IN ST LOUIS ON TUESDAY, CLAIMS THERE IS NO PROOF THE MASK WAS EVER STOLEN. IT ALSO CLAIMS THAT THE STATUE OF LIMITATIONS HAS EXPIRED FOR ANY SEIZURE.

JOHN-PAUL GAULTIER BEBE

FRENCH DESIGNER, JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER HAS RECENTLY LAUNCHED A BABYWEAR COLLECTION, GAULTIER BEBE, FOR NEWBORN BABIES AND CHILDREN UP TO TWO YEARS. THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME GAULTIER HAS GONE IN THE CHILDREN DIRECTION, HE ALREADY HAS JUNIOR GAULTIER. GAULTIER BEBE WILL FOLLOW IN THE SAME DIRECTION WITH HIS SIGNATURE PALETTE OF RED, WHITE AND BLUE ON DENIM, TULLE SKIRTS AND BODYSUITS. THE FORMER ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF WOMEN'S WEAR AT HERMES HAS BEEN KEEPING BUSY SINCE HE LEFT THE LUXURY LABEL. IN ADDITION TO THE NEW COLLECTION, IN 2010 HE LAUNCHED A RANGE OF LINGERIE WITH LA PERLE AND COLLABORATED WITH ROCHE BOBOIS ON HOME FURNISHINGS.

JULIEN'S TO SELL COLLECTION FROM ROCK GUITARIST SLASH

JULIEN'S AUCTIONS, THE WORLD'S PREMIERE ENTERTAINMENT MEMORABILIA AUCTION HOUSE LOCATED IN BEVERLY HILLS, ANNOUNCES THE SALE OF EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY FROM THE LEGENDARY GUITARIST AND MUSICIAN SLASH. INCLUDED IN THE AUCTION SALE ARE SOME OF THE ICONIC, GRAMMY WINING, ROCK GUITARIST AND SONGWRITER'S FAMOUS GUITARS, MEMORABILIA, VEHICLES AND PERSONAL FURNITURE AND DECOR FROM HIS HOLLYWOOD HILLS RESIDENCE. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME SUCH ITEMS FROM SLASH'S PERSONAL COLLECTION HAVE BEEN OFFERED GLOBALLY FOR AUCTION. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SALE INCLUDE GUITARS FROM SLASH'S FABLED PERSONAL COLLECTION, INCLUDING A ONE OF A KIND CUSTOM STRAVINSKI FENDER STRATOCASTER, WHICH IS ESTIMATED AT $3,000-5,000, A BC RICH RED MOCKINGBIRD GUITAR, ESTIMATED AT $2,000-4,000, AND TWO VERSIONS OF SLASH'S VERY OWN GIBSON AND EPIPHONE SLASH LES PAUL SIGNATURE MODEL GUITARS IN TOBACCO SUNBURST. CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE A STAGE WORN CHROME HEARTS LEATHER TOP HAT, VARIOUS CUSTOM MARC VACHON LEATHER MOTORCYCLE JACKETS, INCLUDING ONE DECORATED IN A VELVET REVOLVER 'LIBERTAD' THEME, PERFORMANCE WORN T-SHIRTS FROM ALL PHASES OF SLASH'S LIFE AND CAREER AND A LEATHER CHORME HEARTS SUIT. THE AUCTION WILL ALSO FEATURE THE ECLECTIC RESIDENTIAL DECOR INCLUDING A NUMBER OF EXOTIC SOUTHEAST ASIAN FURNITURE ITEMS, SUCH AS A CARVED POLYCHROME PAINTED AND GILDED ARMOIRE, AS WELL AS CONTEMPORARY PIECES INCLUDING A PAIR OF MONUMENTAL RED SUEDE CONVERSATION SOFAS, ACCENTED BY LOTS THAT ALSO INCLUDE A PAIR OF SILVER AND BLACK BEADED SKULL PILLOWS. OTHER DISTINCTIVE ITEMS OFFERED IN THE SALE INCLUDE A VELVET REVOLVER NOLDE POTTERY SKULL, AN ASIAN-CARVED WOODEN COBRA STATUE AND A LARGE COLLECTION OF MODEL DINOSAURS, SOME CRAFTED BY NOTED PALEO-SCULPTORS BOB MORALES AND MICHAEL TRCIC. EVER THE ARCHETYPAL ROCK STAR AND RANKED AS ONE OF THE WORLD'S BEST GUITAR PLAYERS OF ALL TIME, SLASH HAS SPENT YEARS TRAVELING THE WORLD AND COLLECTING VARIOUS ITEMS WHICH WILL NOW COME TO THE AUCTION BLOCK FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. SOME OF HIS ECLECTIC COLLECTION TELLS THE STORY OF SLASH'S LOVE OF FILM, TELEVISION AND FAST CARS. OFFERED ARE ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE BENCH FROM THE 'ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST' MOVIE SET, A SOUTH PARK PINBALL MACHINE, A 2007 HARLEY DAVIDSON V-ROD VRSCAW TWIN RACING STREET CUSTOM CRUISER AND THE STAR OF THE SHOW IS HIS 1966 CORVETTE EQUIPPED WITH A BIG BLOCK 427 CUBIC INCH V8 ENGINE WITH 435 HORSEPOWER, 4 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. THE STUNNING COLLECTION, BEING OFFERED IN THE EXCLUSIVE AUCTION, WILL GIVE THE WORLD A ONCE IN A LIFETIME GLIMPSE INTO THE OFTEN SECRET WORLD OF A ROCK STAR'S LIFE AND TRAVELS AND A PORTION OF THE PROCEEDS BENEFITS LOS ANGELES YOUTH NETWORK IN WHICH SLASH IS VERY ACTIVE.

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE, BOSTON, PRESENTS ITS NEW PROJECTOR

BOSTON'S MUSEUM OF SCIENCE RECENTLY SPENT $9 MILLION UPGRADING THE CHARLES HAYDEN PLANETARIUM BUT THE MOST EXPENSIVE PIECE OF THAT RENOVATION IS NOT ONE OF THE EXHIBITS, IT'S THE $2 MILLION ZEISS STARMASTER PROJECTOR. THE PROJECTOR BRINGS THE UNIVERSE TO LIFE ON THE 57 FOOT ALUMINUM DOME USING LIGHTS AND FIBER OPTICS. TWO SONY HIGH-RESOLUTION DIGITAL PROJECTORS CONTRIBUTE TO THE RICHNESS OF THE DISPLAY. THE ZEISS STARMASTER IS ONE OF ONLY TWO IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE ONLY ONE ON THE EAST COAST. THE BOSTON GLOBE REPORTS THAT THE RESOLUTION IS SO GOOD THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE BINOCULARS. THE MUSEUM HAS CREATED A NEW HALF-HOUR SHOW, 'UNDISCOVERED WORLDS' THAT EXPLORES THE QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT OTHER PLANETS LIKE OURS EXIST. THIS HAS BEEN A HOT TOPIC IN THE NEWS LATELY. BY THE END OF 2010 SCIENTISTS KNEW OF OVER 500 OF THESE SO-CALLED 'EXOPLANETS' AND NASA'S RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT THAT ITS KELPER TELESCOPE HAD DISCOVERED 1,235 PLANET CANDIDATES MEANS THE NUMBER OF CONFIRMED EXOPLANETS COULD MORE THAN DOUBLE. THE SHOW HIGHLIGHTS THE CHALLENGES OF FINDING THESE NEW WORLDS AND SHOWCASES SOME OF THEM INCLUDING THE LAVA PLANET COROT 7B. THIS SPRING, THE MUSEUM WILL BE LAUNCHING 'NIGHT LIGHTS', AN EVENING ENTERTAINMENT SERIES THAT WILL FEATURE LIVE PERFORMANCES UNDER THE STAR-FILLED DOME AND THE NEXT GENERATION OF LASER SHOWS. A SCHEDULE OF EVENTS IS AVAILABLE AT mos.org/planetarium.

PELLAGRINO BVLGARI 125th ANNIVERSARY EDITION

ITALIAN SPARKLING MINERAL WATER SAN PELLAGRINO HAS UNDERGONE A TEMPORARY TRANSFORMATION, AFTER ACCEPTING BVLGARI'S INVITATION TO MARK THE LUXURY JEWELER'S 125 ANNIVERSARY. THE BOTTLE IS ALREADY AVAILABLE FROM COLETTE.

WORLD'S OLDEST WEDDING CAKE ON DISPLAY IN BASINGSTOKE

MOST WEDDING CAKES BARELY SURVIVE THE BIG DAY, WITH MAYBE JUST ONE SLICE BEING SAVED IN A SPECIAL BOX TO BE PRESERVED FOR POSTERITY. BUT THERE IS ONE CAKE THAT HAS SURVIVED AND IS STILL INTACT AFTER 113 YEARS, MAKING IT WHAT IS THOUGHT TO BE THE WORLD'S OLDEST COMPLETE WEDDING CAKE. THE ORNATELY DECORATED CONFECTION WAS MADE IN 1898, DURING QUEEN VICTORIA'S REIGN, AND IS STILL IN ONE PIECE DESPITE A LARGE CRACK IN THE ICING CAUSED BY A SECOND WORLD WAR BOMB BLAST. ONCE WHITE, IT HAS BROWNED WITH AGE. BUT DESPITE THIS, THE RICH FRUIT CAKE INSIDE IS SAID TO BE STILL MOIST. ONCE WHITS AS A SYMBOL OF PURITY, THE ORNATE CAKE, COMPLETE WITH ITS FLORAL DISPLAY, HAS BROWNED WITH AGE. THE CONFECTIONERY WAS ORIGINALLY ON DISPLAY IN THE WINDOW OF A FAMILY BAKERY, IN BASINGSTOKE, HAMPSHIRE, WHICH CLOSED IN 1964. IT HAD BEEN MOVED TO A LOFT, WHERE IT REMAINED FOR MOST OF THE CENTURY, UNTIL THE BAKER'S DAUGHTER DONATED IT TO THE LITTLE KNOWN WILLIS MUSEUM IN BASINGSTOKE. MUSEUM CURATOR SUE TAPLISS SAID: 'IT HAS BEEN STORED IN UNFAVORABLE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, LEADING TO THE CAKE HEATING AND CAUSING THE SUGARS TO SEEP THROUGH TO THE ICING, GIVING IT A DARKER COLOUR. THE BAKER'S DAUGHTER DONATED THE CAKE TOWARDS THE END OF HER LIFE DUE TO FEARS SOMEONE MIGHT DISCOVER IT IN HER ATTIC AND THINK SHE HAD BEEN JILTED AT THE ALTER. A DELICATE OPERATION TWO CONSERVATORS HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT AND THE CAKE HAS NOW BEEN DRIED USING PACKETS OF SILICA GEL TO PREVENT FURTHER DETERIORATION. TAPLISS ADDED: 'IT UNDERWENT CONSERVATION WORK FOLLOWING CONCERNS FROM MUSEUM STAFF WHO HAD NOTICED A DISTINCT COLOUR CHANGE. UPON INVESTIGATION USING A SYRINGE, THE CAKE WAS FOUND TO BE VERY MOIST. A LARGE CRACK IN THE ICING, THE RESULT OF WARTIME BOMBING VIBRATIONS, WAS IN A PRECARIOUS STATE DUE TO THE WEIGHT OF THE ICING PULLING AWAY FROM THE CAKE ITSELF. PIECES OF QUEEN VICTORIA'S WEDDING CAKE WERE AUCTIONED OFF BUT THIS IS THE WORLD'S OLDEST COMPLETE WEDDING CAKE. WE HOPE THE CAKE CAN BE ENJOYED FOR A FURTHER 113 YEARS.'

SANT'IVO ALLA SAPIENZA CHAPEL PRESENTS STUNNING CARAVAGGIO EXHIBIT

ART LOVERS WILL GET RARE GLIMPSES OF CARAVAGGIO'S OFTEN VIOLENT LIFE IN AN EXHIBIT IN ROME AND COMBINING CENTURIES-OLD DOCUMENTS FROM ARCHIVES AS WELL AS PAINTINGS, INCLUDING A PORTRAIT LAST SEEN N PUBLIC 100 YEARS AGO. SANT'IVO ALLA SAPIENZA, A CHURCH WITH A COURTYARD DESIGNED BY BAROQUE ARTIST BORROMINI AND LATER HOME TO ITALY'S STATE ARCHIVES, HOSTS THE SHOW UNTIL 15.MAY. CURATORS TOLD REPORTERS AT A NEWS CONFERENCE THURSDAY THAT ONE DOCUMENT ON DISPLAY FEATURES A DRAWING DONE BY A JUDGE OF A SWORD AND DAGGER SEIZED FROM CARAVAGGIO, WHO WAS ARRESTED FOR CARRYING WEAPONS WITHOUT PROOF OF PERMIT. ALSO PLUCKED FROM THE ARCHIVES IS A DOCUMENT OF A LAWSUIT BY ANOTHER PAINTER AGAINST THE OFTEN ILL-TEMPERED CARAVAGGIO, WHO LIVED FROM 1573 UNTIL 1610. ON DISPLAY IS A PORTRAIT OF PAUL V, THE EARLY 17th CENTURY PONTIFF FROM THE BORGHESE NOBLE FAMILY IN ROME. THE POPE LIFTED A DEATH SENTENCE AGAINST CARAVAGGIO AFTER HE FLED ROME IN 1606 FOR KILLING A MAN IN A DUEL. THE PAINTING, ATTRIBUTED TO CARAVAGGIO, IS FROM THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF THE BORGHESE NOBLE FAMILY, AND WAS LAST SHOWN IN PUBLIC 100 YEARS AGO, IN FLORENCE. CURATORS SELECTED FOR THE EXHIBIT PAINTINGS BY ARTISTS WHO HAD AT SOME POINT BEEN MENTIONED BY CARAVAGGIO AND DESCRIBED BY HIM AS BEING AMONG THE 'BAD ONES AND GOOD ONES', SAID EUGENIO LO SARDO, HEAD OF THE ITALIAN STATE ARCHIVES. THAT MEANS VISITORS WILL 'BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE ARTISTIC TASTES OF CARAVAGGIO', WHO THUS BECOMES 'YOUR GUIDE TO THE EXHIBITION', LO SARDO TOLF AP TELEVISION NEWS. THE ARTIST IS CELEBRATED FOR INNOVATIVE USE OF 'CHIAROSCURO', A TECHNIQUE IN WHICH ILLUMINATED FIGURES DRAMATICALLY STAND OUT AGAINST DARK BACKGROUNDS.