[Artwork: designslinger]

Eugenio Recuenco
Born in Madrid 38 years ago, Eugenio Recuenco is now one of the most important Spanish photographers on the international scene. Endowed with a brilliant sensibility for chiaroscuro, this photographer is considered as a true heir of the grand masters of Spanish classical painting like Goya, El Greco and above all Zurbarán. He produces highly evocative scenes, and his photos reveal a mysterious world from which you cannot escape once you stared.
www.eugeniorecuenco.com


British Museum - Elgin Marbles
Sculptures surviving from the Parthenon are located in museums in eight different countries. The majority of the sculptures are roughly equally divided between Athens and London, while important pieces are also to be found in other major European museums, including the Louvre and the Vatican.

The sculptures in London, sometimes known as the ‘Elgin Marbles’, have been on permanent public display in the British Museum since 1817, free of charge. Here they are seen by a world audience of five million visitors a year and are actively studied and researched to promote worldwide understanding of ancient Greek culture. The Museum has published the results of its research extensively.
www.britishmuseum.org


New Acropolis Museum
Construction on the museum started in November 2004 and is scheduled for completion in late 2008 or early 2009. The ground floor of the museum is open everyday to the public from 10:00 am to 12:00 midday. The museum will exhibit approximately 4,000 artifacts.
www.newacropolismuseum.gr


Elgin Marbles Controversy
The Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, are a collection of classical Greek marble statues, inscriptions and architectural members that originally belonged to the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799 to 1803, obtained an ambiguous permission from the Ottoman authorities to remove pieces from the Acropolis. From 1801 to 1812 Elgin's agents removed about half of the surviving sculptures of the Parthenon, as well as architectural members and sculpture from the Propylaea and Erechtheum. The Marbles were transported by sea to England. In Britain, Elgin was criticised for his actions, labeled by some as vandalism. However, following a public debate in Parliament and subsequent exoneration of Elgin's actions, the marbles were purchased by the British Government for £35,000 in 1816 and placed on display in the British Museum, where they stand now on view in the purpose-built Duveen Gallery. However, the legality of the removal has been questioned and the debate continues as to whether the Marbles should remain in the British Museum or be returned to Athens.

Defenders of the request for the Marble's return claim that the marbles should be returned to Athens on moral and artistic grounds, although it is no longer feasible or advisable to replace them on the Parthenon. A range of slightly different points have been put by British Museum spokespersons over the years in defence of retention of the Elgin Marbles within the museum. The remainder of the surviving sculptures that are not in museums or storerooms in Athens are held in museums in various locations across Europe. The British Museum also holds additional fragments from the Parthenon sculptures acquired from various collections that have no connection with Lord Elgin.
www.wikipedia.org