15th Century And Earlier
Early Netherlandish Drawings at The British Museum
March 26 2026
Picture: The British Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The British Museum will be opening their latest works on paper exhibition next month entitled Early Netherlandish Drawings 1400 - 1600.
According to their website:
This display, featuring drawings by artists including Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Hendrick Goltzius, Rogier van der Weyden and Lucas van Leyden, is the culmination of a five-year research project on the Museum collection of early Netherlandish drawings. Around 120 drawings, dated from around 1430 to 1600, have been selected from more than 1,200 which have not been systematically researched or catalogued since AE Popham's collection catalogue in 1932.
The show will highlight new findings that have come from combining curatorial and conservation expertise along with scientific analysis. The project, supported by a grant from the International Music and Art Foundation, charts the origins and development of drawing in the Low Countries. The breadth and quality of the Museum's holdings in this field provide an opportunity to piece together this sometimes-fragmented narrative.
The display will run from 16th April until 20th September 2026.
Upcoming: Martin Schongauer at the Louvre
March 26 2026
Picture: Louvre
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Following on from my recent post, the Louvre have published more details on their upcoming Martin Schongauer exhibition which will open on 8th April and run until 20th July 2026.
According to their website:
The exhibition presents a wide selection of his drawings and engravings and, for the first time, a near-complete collection of his paintings (altarpieces and easel paintings), including the 1473 Madonna of the Rose Bower, his only painting on panel whose date of creation is known. His works reveal a well-read artist with a penchant for fine, inventive storytelling and a skilful eye for natural subjects.
French State declares Baldung Grien National Treasure
March 24 2026
Picture: Drouot
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The aforementioned rediscovered drawing by Hans Baldung Grien was withdrawn from sale yesterday after the French State stepped in to declare the work of art a national treasure. The work now has a temporary export ban placed on it preventing its immediate sale.
According to the press release supplied to AHN:
“In light of the classification, which highlights the major importance of this drawing while disrupting the organisation of the auction scheduled for Monday, 23 March, given the strong interest expressed by the French Ministry of Culture in its acquisition, and despite the interest shown by several institutions and international collectors, the sellers wish to take the necessary time to pursue negotiations in a private context outside the auction process,” said Arthur de Moras, auctioneer at BEAUSSANT LEFÈVRE & Associés.
Bellini San Giobbe altarpiece to be restored 'live' in the Venice Accademia
March 24 2026
Picture: artnet.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Venice that Giovanni Bellini's San Giobbe altarpiece will undergo a two-year conservation project. As the painting is too fragile to move, the work will be undertaken behind glass in public view at the Gallerie dell’ Accademia.
To quote the article linked above:
According to the museum, the San Giobbe altarpiece—full name: Madonna and Child Enthroned, Music-Making Angels and Saints Francis, John the Baptist, Job, Dominic, Sebastian and Louis of Toulouse (c. 1478)—is set to receive the most comprehensive restoration of its more than 500-year history. The problems are fundamentally two-fold. First, the painting bears long cracks across its surface due to temperature fluctuations causing the wood to expand and contract. Second, the painting’s original pigments have changed color over the centuries.
The two-year project will initially see experts stabilize the painting’s wooden support. At the same time, Bellini’s altarpiece will be analyzed using ultraviolet fluorescence and infrared imaging to reveal the artist’s original composition and the effects of previous restorations (there have been half a dozen since the early 19th century). Only then will the painting be cleaned, using gentle solvents to remove dirt and old varnish, touched up with compatible and revesible pigments, and protected with a new stable varnish.
Spinello Aretino Triptych Restored
February 24 2026
Video: Siena News
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence have unveiled their recently conserved triptych by Spinello Aretino. The most recent campaign of restoration, which began in 2024, will be the focus of a temporary exhibition in the gallery which runs from today until 11th May 2026.
Antonello da Messina acquired by Italian State?
February 9 2026
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Italian art press are drawing attention to a Facebook post from the Fondazione Federico Zeri which claims that the Italian state have acquired Antonello da Messina's Ecce Homo. The picture was withdrawn from last week's sale at Sotheby's New York. Several other social media posts from Italian cultural figures, some of which have been subsequently deleted, also seem to support this notion. An official announcement is still lacking. More news as and when it appears.
Update - Sotheby's have released an update that the painting was indeed acquired by the Italian state for $14.9m (which presumably includes commission).
Colantonio Restored
February 3 2026
Picture: capodimonte.cultura.gov.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Naples that Colantonio's St. Francis delivering the rule to the Franciscan orders has been restored. The picture, which is in the collection of the Museo di Capodimonte, has been conserved as part of commemorations of the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis. Click on the link above to see more details supplied by the museum.
Perugino on view at Sotheby's NY
January 30 2026
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The cimasa of Perugino's Decemviri Altarpiece, on loan from the National Gallery of Umbria, is on view at Sotheby's New York over Old Masters Week. The work has apparently never left Italy. After being displayed at the Breuer building it will head to the Morgan Library where feature within the exhibition celebrating the newly restored Pietà by Giovanni Bellini.
Rediscovered Hans Baldung Grien Drawing at Auction
January 19 2026
Picture: Drouot
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from France that Beaussant Lefèvre & Associés, in collaboration with the Bayser firm, will be offering a newly rediscovered drawing by Hans Baldung Grien on 23rd March 2026. The work will be offered carrying an estimate of €1.5m - €3m.
New Release: Italian Paintings at the Yale University Art Gallery
January 16 2026
Picture: Yale University Press
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Yale University Press released the first volume (covering 1230-1420) of the new publication Italian Paintings at the Yale University Art Gallery earlier this week. This volume was edited by Laurence Kanter and Pia Palladino.
According to the book's blurb:
The collection of Italian paintings at the Yale University Art Gallery is one of the largest and richest in the world. The first of four volumes on the collection, this sumptuously illustrated book features over seventy-five works dating from 1230 to 1420 by artists such as Taddeo Gaddi, Andrea di Cione (better known as Orcagna), Lippo Memmi, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and Lorenzo Monaco. In addition to discussions of each painting’s meaning, function, and significance, entries provide published references, provenance, full technical notes, and detailed conservation histories. An introduction by Laurence Kanter chronicles the history of the collection, from the James Jackson Jarves Collection that was assembled in the nineteenth century—the earliest formed collection of Italian paintings in any American museum—to more recent gifts by Louis and Hannah Rabinowitz and Richard Feigen. While many of the works are from Florence and Siena, the volume also includes examples from Bologna, Rimini, Venice, and more. Through its wide-ranging holdings, the Gallery’s collection provides a remarkable sense of the diverse visual culture of the time.
Missing Nicolás Francés panel rediscovered with Google Lens Search
January 15 2026
Picture: finestresullarte.info
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News has arrived that a missing panel, which once formed part of a set of four by Nicolás Francés (active 1424 - 1468), has been rediscovered in an American museum with the aid of a Google Lens search. The panel, which had been displayed in the Church of San Miguel de Villalpando in Spain but had been missing since 1957, was tracked down by ZamorArte Foundation in Zamora. The discovery was aided by old photographic negatives and research into the dealers who handled the picture during the later part of the 20th century. It is hoped that the set might be reunited for some future exhibition in Spain. Click on the link to read the full story.
Update - A comment from a reader:
I have to say that I was more than a little amused by the very breathless article in Finestre sull-Arte about the "rediscovery" of a Nicolás Francés panel in Springfield, Massachusetts.
While it is terrific news that the Zamorarte Foundation now knows where the panel is located, the painting was hardly lost. It is correctly identified in Springfield's galleries, where it's almost always on view, and it has been published, again correctly, in that museum's catalogues several times since they acquired it in 1964.
In fairness, the Springfield collection is less well known than those in, say, Hartford or Worcester, which are nearby, but the d'Amour / MFA is quite a good museum and has done a decent job of making the collection known over the decades. That said, their collections database is still pretty limited, so that plays a role.
Lorenzo di Bicci to be Conserved
January 14 2026
Picture: ansa.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Italy that the State Archives of Prato will be restoring their Lorenzo di Bicci of a Holy Bishop with Donors, which notably includes portraits of the merchant Francesco Datini and his wife Margherita. €20,000 has been raised for the project. Click on the link above to read more about the history of the artwork.
Filippino Lippi and Rome in Cleveland
January 8 2026
Picture: Cleveland Museum of Art
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm a little slow to news that the Cleveland Museum of Art opened a new exhibition at the end of last year dedicated to Filippino Lippi and Rome.
According to the museum's website:
Filippino Lippi and Rome reconsiders the lasting impact of the painter’s time in the Eternal City, juxtaposing Filippino’s Roman artworks with their Florentine precursors and successors. The exhibition places 25 paintings, drawings, and antiquities in direct conversation with important loans from national and international lenders, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art; His Majesty King Charles III; the National Gallery, London; the Galleria degli Uffizi; and the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, among others. For the first time, these related artworks are brought together, in some cases reuniting paintings with their studies.
The show will run until 22nd February 2026.
Lorenzo the Magnificent exhibition for Autumn 2026
December 30 2025
Picture: ansa.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Uffizi in Florence have announced a big exhibition on Lorenzo the Magnificent for Autumn 2026. With over 100 objects, featuring loans from across the globe, the show will focus on the inventory made on his death in 1492.
Last Judgements in Turin
December 22 2025
Picture: San Marco Museum / Galleria Sabauda
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Musei Reali in Turin will be hosting a special exhibition in February bringing together Last Judgements by Fra Angelico and Bartholomeus Spranger. These Renaissance and Mannerist artworks will be compared and contrasted in the flesh for the first time. It will run from 6th February until 3rd May 2026.
Griffoni Polyptych Reconstruction
December 19 2025
Video: 12Porte
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Bologna that the Griffoni Polyptych, a large fifteenth century altarpiece which was dispersed in the early-eighteenth century, has been 'reconstructed' in in the Basilica of San Petronio. The panels, undertaken by Ercole de' Roberti and Francesco del Cossa, are now dispersed in museums across the globe and have been reunited in this modern reconstruction with the help of reproductions.
Giotto and St. Francis Exhibition in 2026
December 17 2025
Picture: arte.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery of Umbria will be opening a special exhibition next March commemorating the 8th centenary since the death of St. Francis of Assisi and the various connections with early Italian artists such as Giotto, Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti. The show will feature no fewer than 60 works and will run from 14th March until 14th June 2026.
14th Century Fresco Restored in Florence
December 12 2025
Picture: finestresullarte.info
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Italy that a 14th century fresco by Master of the Rinuccini Chapel in church of Sant'Ambrogio, Florence, has been restored. The project was undertaken by Cristina Napolitano and supported financially by the Friends of Florence.
Fondazione Perugia acquire Perugino Pair
December 12 2025
Picture: Dorotheum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Fondazione Perugia have unveiled their latest acquisitions at the Palazzo Baldeschi in Perugia, a diptych of Christ crowned with thorns and The Virgin given to Perugino. The pair were purchased at the Dorotheum last October where they made €842,799 (inc. commission) over their €600k - €800k estimate.
Van Eyck Portraits at The National Gallery in 2026
December 1 2025
Picture: The National Gallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery in London announced last week that it will be hosting an exhibition focusing on the portraits of Jan van Eyck in November 2026.
According to the gallery's website:
For the first time in history, see all of Jan van Eyck’s portraits together. Only once, only at the National Gallery. [...]
‘Van Eyck: The Portraits’ brings together from across Europe all nine of the artist’s known painted portraits, making up half of his surviving works worldwide. [...]
Precious and fragile, van Eyck’s paintings rarely travel, including 'The Arnolfini Portrait'. This is one of the most popular paintings in our collection and and has only ever left the Gallery once in over 100 years. The exhibition marks the first and only time these works can be brought together. And this incredible display can only happen here, at the Gallery.
The show will run from 21st November 2026 until 11th April 2027.
