Do not attempt a staring contest with this dude. He's the MFA's newest visitor, the Capitoline Brutus, a larger-than-life bronze bust dating to about 300 BC. Identified as L. Junius Brutus, the founder of the Roman Republic (not the Caesar-stabbing guy), he gets his eerie gaze from the original glass-and-ivory eyes. What's not original: his lack of a body. Created as a full standing or equestrian statue, he was chopped down to size after being discovered in the 16th century — a rare find, as such bronze statues were often melted down to make armor. Arriving on January 18 and on view until May 1, he's being loaned by Rome's Capitoline Museums as part of the 2013 "Year of Italian Culture in the United States" and "Dream of Rome" initiatives, meant to enhance the bond between the boot and the States. It's a slightly creepy courting gift, Italy, but we'll take it.
Related:
The museum-building boom continues, Bon appétit!, The MFA pulls out the stops for contemporary art with the Linde Family Wing, More 
- The museum-building boom continues
What's happening at the Gardner and at Harvard
- Bon appétit!
Luis Meléndez himself greets you at the outset of "Luis Meléndez: Master of the Spanish Still Life" at the Museum of Fine Arts. He seems a haughty 31-year-old in this 1746 self-portrait, standing in a fine silk coat and ruffled shirt and holding up a chalk drawing (note the chalk in his hand) of a hunky nude dude.
- The MFA pulls out the stops for contemporary art with the Linde Family Wing
A conundrum lies at the heart of the Museum of Fine Arts' Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art, which debuted last weekend: how does a museum showcase a subject it has long neglected?
- SLIDESHOW: ''Alex Katz Prints'' at the MFA
"Alex Katz Prints" is on display at the Museum of Fine Arts through July 29, 2012.
- Daria Tessler at Craftland; AS220’s ‘Delicate Shudder’
The realm of Daria Tessler's "In the Realm of the Seedkeepers," an exhibit of drawings at Craftland, seems to be an often hushed, mystical place.
- Richard Russo pairs with his artist daughter
When the biggest news in the literary community is that the federal Department of Justice is suing Apple and five major publishing houses for fixing prices of e-books, or that the Pulitzer Prize for fiction went to exactly no one this year, it's easy to wonder whether we're getting away from the primary purpose of writing, and reading, books.
- Review: Headhunters
Roger (Aksel Hennie) is an Oslo yuppie with a gorgeous, blonde wife, a top-drawer job as a corporate headhunter, and a lucrative side employment stealing fancy paintings.
- The McMillans’ video installatons are open to interpretation
Megan and Murray McMillan's videos unfold with dream logic.
- Brown/Trinity Rep MFA’s revolutionary Tango
A totalitarian regime can persist for many reasons: widespread timidity, complacency, political expediency, fear, and so on.
- Emily Nelligan inspires at Bowdoin
My friend the late Sidney Tillim has been much on my mind in recent weeks.
- Getting ready for the Maine Comics Arts Festival
If Superman had to give a State of the Comics address, it would be a pretty somber affair.
- Less
Topics:
Museum And Gallery
, MFA, Art
