Fresco of Leda and the Swan discovered in Pompeii

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Fresco of Leda and the Swan discovered in Pompeii | A Roman fresco depicting an erotic scene from the myth of Leda and the Swan has been discovered in an ancient bedroom in Pompeii. The fresco was found in a home on the Via del Vesuvio, near the centre of the ancient city, during work to stabilise the site. This latest find follows the discovery, earlier this year, of another fresco – depicting fertility god Priapus – in the same building, which archaeologists believe would have belonged to an affluent family. The director of the Pompeii archaeological park, Massimo Osanna, has said that archaeologists are considering moving the two frescos to a place where ‘they can be protected and shown to the public’.

Macron’s report recommends full restitution of African art in France | A report commissioned by the French president Emmanuel Macron will recommend that all objects in the collections of French museums that were taken ‘without consent’ from Africa should be permanently repatriated, The Art Newspaper reports. The writers of the report, French historian Bénédicte Savoy and Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr, argue in favour of full restitution of objects, rather than the arrangement of long-term loans to African museums, and urge the president not to be swayed by ‘political prudence and museum anxiety’ in the face of expected opposition from the culture ministry and the museum sector.

$1m grant for arts projects awarded to Coral Springs, Florida | Bloomberg Philanthropies announced today that it is awarding a grant of $1m to the city of Coral Springs, Florida, to go towards public art projects that will promote ‘collective healing and reflection’ in the wake of February’s high-school shooting in neighbouring Parkland. The grant will help fund artists’ talks and workshops at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, which has previously established art therapy programmes to help those affected by the shooting, as well as five temporary art installations which will appear throughout Coral Springs and Parkland.

Ateneum names Marja Sakari as director | The Finnish National Gallery has announced that Marja Sakari will become the next director of the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki. Sakari is currently the chief curator of exhibitions at Kiasma, Finland’s national museum of contemporary art, which is also managed by the Finnish National Gallery. She will take up her new position on 3 December.