Category: Conservation
Raphael Related Works to be Scanned in Naples
February 1 2021
Picture: Ansa.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples is embarking on a project to infrared-scan all of their paintings relating to Raphael and his followers.
The project is related to an exhibition they will be opening in June alongside an international conference on the artist held at the museum. This research aims to uncover details regarding how the master's workshop functioned, including works that were developed in collaboration with it. The painting illustrated is the work of Gianfrancesco Penni (1488-1528), who is known to have worked in collaboration with Raphael and later with Giulio Romano. All forms of copies and derivations of his work in the museum will be included too.
Hermitage School of Raphael Frescos
February 1 2021
Video: State Hermitage Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg have published this fascinating thirty four minute video on the history and restoration of their fresco cycle by the School of Raphael. The video was made to accompany their current exhibition After Raphael. 1520-2020. In particular, the documentary contains some brilliant insights into the conservation of these delicate frescos which were removed from a villa near Rome and acquired by the museum in the mid-nineteenth century.
Alas, the video is only available in the Russian language. YouTube does have an auto-translate function, which is rather useless at times, but will give you the general idea of what they're discussing!
Velázquez Conference at the Wallace Collection
January 29 2021
Picture: The Wallace Collection
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Wallace Collection in London are hosting a two day conference in March focusing on Diego Velázquez's Prince Baltasar Carlos in the Riding School.
As the description explains:
Our first session will explore the Wallace Collection painting and the questions raised by its recent restoration, including Velázquez’s technique, and the broader context that might have influenced the composition.
Our second session will explore the differences between the Wallace Collection picture and the fully-accepted autograph version in a private collection, aiming to reveal the complexities of these two portraits.
The conference will be held on Zoom Thursday 4th and Friday 5th March 2021.
Underneath the Sotheby's Botticelli
January 21 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's have published a fascinating article investigating the materials and techniques used in Botticelli's Portrait of a Young Man with a Roundel. Lots of fantastic images are supplied, including x-rays and pigment analysis. One supposes the estimate reflects the importance of showing off such details!
GF Watts Fresco Conservation Lecture
January 20 2021
Picture: Leighton House
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Leighton House in West London are broadcasting a very interesting lecture this evening (20th January 2021) at 5.30pm (GMT). The talk by curator Tobit Curteis will focus on the conservation of George Frederic Watts's frescos which were originally painted for Little Holland House. These frescos were removed from the building before the house was demolished in 1964.
The lecture will be broadcast on Zoom and is free to attend, although registration is required.
Update - The lecture has been uploaded onto YouTube and is free to watch!
Must Have Books for Conservation
January 18 2021
Picture: IIC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) have published an interesting list of books on conservation which they consider the 'must haves'. This might be of interest to some readers who enjoy the work undertaken by professional conservators. Alternatively, it might be useful for those who are looking to redeem book tokens they received for Christmas.
Van Eyck Scanned by the University of Antwerp
January 13 2021
Video: Museabrugge.be
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I've spotted this interesting video (on Twitter via. @auctionaugur) that the University of Antwerp is undertaking some scans of Van Eyck's Madonna with Canon Joris van der Paele. The scans undertaken onsite in the Groeningemuseum in Bruges will allow researchers to understand more about the material and techniques that went into this masterpiece.
Vermeer Exhibition in Dresden
January 11 2021
Picture: The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden will be opening a new exhibition in June 2021 entitled Johannes Vermeer. On Reflection.
This exhibition will focus on the recent conservation of the gallery's Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window. The removal of old overpaint shows that Vermeer had intended the scene to include a painting of cupid in the background. This detail, which also features in Vermeer's Lady at the Virginals in London, was overpainted at some point.
The show will also feature loans from the Rijksmuseum, The National Gallery in London and other works by Vermeer's contemporaries.
It seems that the gallery have pushed back the dates of the exhibition to 4th June 2021 - 12th September 2021.
Caring for Art during Covid at Tate
January 8 2021
Video: Tate
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Tate have made the video above giving an insight into the work required to look after their collection during the virus crisis. If you've ever wondered how they manage to carry enormous paintings through the doorways of the gallery, this video will be enlightening!
Ps. The video also features a view of the museum's storage areas, which are rather vast considering how much of their collection isn't on display. A video giving art-lovers a peek inside would be fascinating, wouldn't it?
Masks are Everywhere These Days
January 6 2021
Picture: Dreweatts
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
"Well you don't see that everyday" - I thought to myself when I was scrolling through upcoming lots at auction last night. How many nineteenth century portraits feature such ridiculous masks?
In fact, these two original portraits Attributed to John Graham Gilbert had masks painted onto them as recently as up to five years ago. They are included in the upcoming Aynhoe Park Sale held by the auction house Dreweatts, an eccentric collection amassed by the entrepreneur and collector James Perkins. The catalogue notes show that Perkins's Studio had these masks added after they had been purchased at Christie's in 2015. I wonder what Archibald Buchanan of Auchentorlie and Mary Lyon would have made of these alterations to their painted likenesses.
Perhaps the collector was following Banksy for inspiration, who famously defaced an eighteenth century portrait by Thomas Beach in The Rude Lord (sold by Sotheby's in 2007). Subsequently, my art historian friend James Innes-Mulraine managed to uncover the identity of this previously unknown sitter in a blog of his.
I wonder if the added masks will be kept by whoever buys the portrait at the sale. One hopes these additions are reversible.
Cleaning Rubens at the National Gallery
December 30 2020
Video: The National Gallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery in London posted this very informative video last week regarding the conservation of Rubens's Het Steen. Head of Conservation Larry Keith talks us through the various processes behind cleaning and conserving this enormous landscape, which coincidentally Rubens had painted for himself.
Goya Portrait Conserved
December 29 2020
Video: Prado
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz;
The Prado in Madrid have posted a rather nice video to celebrate the recent conservation of Goya's portrait of The Countess of Chinchón. The work had not undergone any treatment since entering the museum's collection from the Countess's descendants in 2000.
Courtauld Gallery Receives £10m for Refurbishment
December 17 2020
Picture: The Art Newspaper
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Art Newspaper has reported on news that the Courtauld Institute of Art has received a £10m donation from the Ukrainian magnate Leonard Blavatnik. The donation will go towards the refurbishment of the institute's Great Room in Somerset House which is currently undergoing an extensive refurbishment. This newly decorated space will house Samuel Courtauld's famous collection of Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist masterpieces (the image above is an architect's rendering).
The refurbished galleries should reopen later in 2021.
Murillo Attribution Dispute
December 15 2020
Picture: artnews.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Artnews.com have reported on a public dispute that is unfolding in Seville, Spain, over the attribution of a painting found in the city's San Vicente Mártir parish Church.
The above Immaculate Conception underwent a large conservation project in 2019 where experts were consulted in regards to who might have painted it. Ignacio Cano, curator of the Museum of Fine Arts in Seville, had claimed that the work was in fact by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo and dating from 1640-45. However, Enrique Valdivieso, Professor of art history at the Hispalense University and Murillo expert, has disagreed.
The article goes on to quote Valdivieso:
“It doesn’t seem to me that this Immaculate Conception belongs to Murillo. It lacks the characteristics that are present in youthful works by Murillo.” He also claimed not to have noticed the “inescapable influence” of Murillo’s early teacher, Juan del Castillo, in the work.
Here is a story from July of this year about another contested work by Murillo.
Sassoferrato Cleaned and Upgraded in Frankfurt
December 10 2020
Picture: Städel Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Städel Museum in Frankfurt have posted a blog about a recently upgraded Sassoferrato in their collection. The Maria Immaculata in the picture above had been languishing in the museum's storerooms for decades until it was decided that the painting should be cleaned. The blog contains lots of interesting details regarding the painter's studio process and examines other known versions of the picture.
Jordaens Uncovered in Brussels District Hall
December 9 2020
Video: Royal Museum of Fine Arts Belgium
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A district hall in Brussels has discovered a genuine painting by Jacob Jordaens in their collections. The Holy Family, of which several autograph versions are known, was discovered after an inventory was commissioned by the Royal Institute of Cultural Heritage. The painting will be redisplayed in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels next year.
Note - The above video is available with English subtitles by clicking through the menu.
Velázquez in the Burlington Magazine
December 8 2020
Picture: The Burlington Magazine
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Readers of The Burlington Magazine are in for a treat this month. The most recent edition of the publication includes an article on a newly discovered painting of the Immaculate Conception by Diego Velázquez. The work's reappraisal was decided after the painting was cleaned. The image above shows the painting before and after treatment. Peter Cherry's article also includes details regarding another picture of the Education of the Virgin catalogued 'Attributed to Velázquez' in the collection of Yale Art Gallery.
Scrubbed or Unfinished (?)
December 8 2020
Picture: Bernaerts Auctions
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Here's a detail of a sixteenth century painting that was posted by @AuctionRadar on his Twitter account. The anonymous group portrait sold for €7,000 over its €1,500 estimate at Bernaerts Auction in Antwerp today.
You'll notice that the condition of this picture is rather mystifying. Was it simply that the painting was left unfinished and in a sketchy state? Or was it scrubbed down by some overzealous conservator at some point in the last few centuries? There are some loose brush strokes evident to suggest the former, but others to suggest the latter.
Or was it for some other reason? I thought this might be a fun opportunity to share one of my favourite anecdotes about Sir Joshua Reynolds who was obsessed with the techniques and materials of earlier masters. His quest for greater understanding took him to some rather dark places at times. James Northcote, his pupil, later wrote this about him:
In his [Reynolds's] investigations also into the secrets used by the old masters, he was indefatigable. I remember once, in particular, a fine Parmegiano, that I bought by his order at a sale, which he rubbed and scoured down to the very panel on which it had been painted, so that at last nothing remained of the picture.
I've wondered if he learnt anything from this destructive experience?
The Watercolours that Inspired Developments in Photography
December 1 2020
Picture: Watercolourworld.org
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Times has run an amusing story relating to the artistic jealousy of William Henry Fox Talbot (d.1877). It was while producing watercolours alongside his wife in the 1830s when Talbot decided that his efforts (pictured) were a "melancholic" mess and needed vast improvement.
It was this failure which is said to have inspired his experiments with early cameras. He eventually laid down ground-breaking work in the negative-positive process which became a key element of modern photography.
Lacock Abbey, now owned by the National Trust, have completed digitising over 1,000 watercolours from the Talbot family collection. The results of this brilliant work have been published on Watercolourworld.org, and really are worth having a look through.
Conserving the National Gallery's Oldest Painting
December 1 2020
Video: The National Gallery, London
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery in London has published the above video describing recent work undertaken by Kristina Mandy to conserve Margarito d'Arezzo's The Virgin and Child Enthroned, with Narrative Scenes. Dating to 1263-4 this painting is the oldest in the National Gallery's collection.
