Book Review: Laurent Binet's historical mystery Perspectives plays with Renaissance art and artists
Perspectives
By Laurent Binet, translated by Sam Taylor
Fiction/Harvill Secker/Paperback/264 pages/$32.19
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Rodin ‘copy' sells for $1.26 million in France
A marble sculpture by French sculptor Auguste Rodin entitled "Le Desepsoir" (The Despair), created between 1892 and 1893. PHOTO: AFP RENNES, France - The owners thought the sculpture perched for years on the corner of a piano was a Rodin copy, but after being declared as the real thing the small marble figure has now sold for €860,000 (S$1.26 million) at auction, organisers said on June 9. Described as an 'extremely rare' find by auction organiser Aymeric Rouillac, the figure was in fact an 1892 work, 'Despair' by Auguste Rodin, that had gone missing after being sold at auction in 1906. The work was put on sale at the weekend at an opening price of €500,000, but eventually sold for €860,000, according to Mr Rouillac. The family had long believed the 28.5cm figure of a sitting woman holding one foot was a copy of the legendary sculptor's work, said Mr Rouillac. After the owners approached Mr Rouillac about another matter, he and his team spent months investigating the origin of the sculpture, including even looking into the family's origins. He went to the Comite Rodin in March and the body that is considered the leading authority on the French artist confirmed its authenticity six weeks later. Mr Rouillac said the committee found that 'Despair' was sold at auction in 1906 and then disappeared from view. 'So we have rediscovered it,' he told AFP. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Judge dismisses Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively
Blake Lively arrives for the Saturday Night Live 50: The Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, U.S., February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo NEW YORK - A U.S. judge on Monday dismissed actor Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against actress Blake Lively, who had accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her while filming the 2024 movie "It Ends With Us." Baldoni had accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, the New York Times and others of orchestrating a smear campaign to extort him. He accused Lively of trying to "hijack" the movie, whose themes included domestic violence, and then blame him when her "disastrous" promotional approach prompted an online backlash against her. "It Ends With Us" garnered mixed reviews, but grossed more than $351 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Straits Times
'I'm not a porn star': 'Diddy' accuser says she asked to stop sex performances
FILE PHOTO: Sean \"Diddy\" Combs listens as \"Jane\" continues her testimony during Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., June 6, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo FILE PHOTO: \"Jane\" continues her testimony during Sean \"Diddy\" Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., June 6, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo NEW YORK - One of Sean "Diddy" Combs' former girlfriends testified on Monday in the hip-hop mogul's sex trafficking trial that she told him in text messages that she felt mistreated in their relationship and asked to stop taking part in sexual performances with other men. "I'm not a porn star. I'm not an animal," the woman, testifying under the pseudonym Jane to protect her privacy, wrote Combs on October 16, 2023, according to a text message she read aloud in court. "It's loveless for me and nothing satisfies you and you always push me to do more and more." The messages could bolster prosecutors' contention that Combs, 55, for two decades coerced women to take part in the sexual performances, sometimes known as "Freak Offs," against their will. Combs is charged with using physical force and threatening to cut off financial support to get women to take part in the drug-fueled, sometimes days-long performances in hotel rooms while he watched. Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. His lawyers have acknowledged that Combs was occasionally abusive in domestic relationships, but say the women who took part in Freak Offs did so consensually. Jane, the third alleged sex abuse victim of Combs to testify at his trial in Manhattan federal court, told jurors last week that she was "head over heels" for Combs at the outset of their relationship, which lasted from 2021 through 2024. She testified that most of the time they spent together involved sex performances with male escorts in hotel rooms, even though she wanted to go on dates with just Combs. She said Combs - whose net worth Forbes estimated at above $1 billion in 2022 - threatened to stop paying her rent when she said she wanted to stop having sex with other men. Combs' defense lawyers are due to cross-examine Jane later this week. The trial is in its fifth week. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Also known throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs turned artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars, elevating hip-hop in American culture and becoming a billionaire in the process. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
