Introducing Double Entry: How the Merchants of Venice Created Modern Finance, a new book by Jane Gleeson-White, Lewis Lapham (via Bloomberg) writes that Leonardo da Vinci learned math from a mathematics encyclopedia by Luca Pacioli, released in 1494, that had a section on double-entry bookkeeping, which helped pave the way for modern capitalism. Mr. Pacioli, who was a Franciscan Friar, also helped Leonardo create his theory of proportion. Read More
Guards at London’s National Gallery, where the blockbuster Leonardo da Vinci show is on display now, are planning two-hour strikes on Jan. 19 and 28, as well as Feb. 2 and 4. Read More
The National Gallery’s Leonardo da Vinci exhibition is so popular that scalpers are reported to be flipping tickets—normally priced at £16 (about $25)—for more than $250. Now the museum says it will cancel resold tickets, though the it “declined to say how it would identify scalped tickets, according to the BBC.” [ArtsBeat]
Jonathan Jones—the hardest-working art critic in the business—takes a look at the Leonardo show and offers up a brief audio slide show analyzing some of the artist’s works. [Guardian]
The Arts and Culture working group within Occupy Wall Street, which we wrote about earlier this month, is looking for a permanent space for exhibitions and studios. Hyperallergic‘s Hrag Vartanian has offered to lend a hand. [The Art Newspaper] Read More
