The Rake’s progress: last week in gossip

Introducing Rakewell, Apollo’s wandering eye on the art world. Look out for regular posts taking a rakish perspective on art and museum stories.

Rumour has it that actor Jake Gyllenhaal is revving up his inner Jerry Saltz. According to the New York Post, Gyllenhaal is ‘immersing’ himself in the Los Angeles art world in preparation for a Netflix picture in which he will play an art critic. Word is that the film will also star Rene Russo – herself an art flick veteran, having starred alongside Pierce Brosnan in a remake of The Thomas Crown Affair.

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Good news for footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. Following the Twitter mockery that greeted a bust of the Portugal captain that was unveiled in his native Madeira earlier this year, his Real Madrid team has unveiled a new, altogether more flattering likeness at its Bernabéu Stadium museum. The bronze bust is the work of sculptor Jose Antonio Navarro Arteaga, who was reportedly moved to work on the project after his young son saw the Madeira effort and told his father he could do better.

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In the Sunday Times, the Greek economist Yannis Varoufakis recounts the charming story of how he met his wife, the artist Danae Stratou: ‘Before I actually knew Danae, I’d fallen in love with her work’, he says. ‘I came across an exhibit in Athens and assumed she was a 90-year-old woman — it was a mature piece of art and the name sounded old-fashioned. Then I met her and thought: “Now I’m in trouble!”’

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And finally, art critic Waldemar Januszczak has landed himself in hot water once again…

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