Monster Mash: Getty X-rays a god; Velazquez makes a comeback at the Met; another ‘Spider-Man’ injury

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Getty looks inside a god: When a loaned ancient bronze Apollo from Pompeii goes on display in March, visitors to the Getty Villa will have a touch screen to check out results of the museum’s recent research, including X-ray and ultraviolet examinations. (Los Angeles Times)

Metropolitan Museum rescinds painting’s demotion: Upon further reflection, curators at the Met think that a portrait of Philip IV is a Velazquez after all. It was taken down in 1973 when it was deemed the work of an assistant; it will go back on display Tuesday. (New York Times)

Antiquities looting suspected: Questions are being raised about whether the Minneapolis Institute of Arts is coming sufficiently clean about an ancient Greek vase in its collection, which has been linked to antiquities dealers involved in tainted acquisitions by the Getty. (Culture Grrl).

Homosexuality, lies and videotape: Blogger Tyler Green says that Smithsonian bosses not only bowed to political pressure in removing the AIDS video ‘A Fire in My Belly’ from an exhibition, but lied about who made the decision. (Modern Art Notes)

In Memoriam: The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles performed a somber tribute at the Alex Theatre to recent suicide victims who were bullied because of their sexuality. (Glendale News-Press)

Lost and found art: Police in Spain recovered $6.6 million worth of artworks by Picasso, Eduardo Chillido, Fernando Botero and other artists that had been stolen over the weekend from a warehouse outside Madrid. (Guardian).

Another ‘Spider-Man’ mishap: Christopher Tierney, an ensemble member and stunt double for Reeve Carney, who plays the title role in the Broadway musical version of ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,’ was hospitalized after a fall from a raised platform during a performance. (Los Angeles Times)

‘Oklahoma!’ returns to its roots: John Mauceri, the founding director of the Hollywood Bowl orchestra, will supervise a historically minded revival of ‘Oklahoma!’ this spring at the University of North Carolina, where he is now chancellor of its school of the arts. The goal is a faithful replication of the original 1943 Broadway staging. (Playbill)

Pacino extends in ‘Merchant’: Al Pacino will play a three-week extension in February as Shylock in the hit Broadway production of ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ after a January hiatus for a film shoot. (Playbill)

Jorge Mester tenure ends: The Naples Philharmonic in Florida says it will not renew the former Pasadena Symphony music director’s contract as conductor after a seven-year run. (Fort Myers News-Press)

‘Jerusalem’ comes to New York: British actor Mark Rylance will return to Broadway in the spring to repeat his Olivier Award-winning turn in Jez Butterworth’s drama, ‘Jerusalem.’ (Playbill)

-- Mike Boehm

Photo (top): The Apollo Saettante from Pompeii. Credit: Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei