Meanwhile, plenty of other celebrity talking heads (Judd Apatow, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, and whiskered ZZ Top musicians Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons among them) happily contribute to the conversation's inherent humor.

WSJ: Men's Grooming With Will Arnett and Jason Bateman: Hello, 'Mansome'

Although the dusty, arid hill-top is on what is internationally recognised as occupied Palestinian territory, Israel recently announced it was planning to build homes there for Jewish settlers, our correspondent says.

BBC: Israel evicts tent protesters at West Bank E1 settlement

Denis's solidly constructed studies of clouds and hilly Italian landscapes washed in dusty light are irresistible, as are his "View on the Quirinal Hill, Rome" (1800) and "Fortified Wall, Italy" (c. 1786-1806), with their geometric architecture, bathed in afternoon sun, played against sky and foliage.

WSJ: Appealing to Modern Eyes | The Path of Nature | Metropolitan Museum of Art | By Karen Wilkin