Category: Discoveries
Museum of Fine Arts Montreal acquires Lavinia and Prospero Fontana
December 21 2024
Picture: Instagram via @robsmeetsgallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The dealers Rob Smeets Gallery have announced on their Instagram account that the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has acquired the following Presentation of the Virgin by Lavinia and Prospero Fontana.
A quick Google shows that the work was offered as 'Italian Sacred Painter 18th Century' at a minor auction house in Germany (albeit with a rather over painted sky) back in 2020 where it made 1,100 EUR over its 500 EUR starting price.
Rediscovered Ter Brugghen Soars
December 6 2024
Picture: Ivoire
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A rediscovered painting of Esau selling his birthright by Hendrick Ter Brugghen made 1,150,000 EUR over its 200k - 300k EUR estimate at the auction house Ivoire in France yesterday. The work, dated to roughly 1627, was last at auction back in 1918 (according to the catalogue note provided by the auction house).
Re-discovered portrait of Oliver Cromwell unveiled by Dickinson
November 12 2024
Picture: Dickinson
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The London dealers Simon Dickinson have unveiled a re-discovered portrait of Oliver Cromwell by Robert Walker. Interestingly, recent conservation has revealed the painting was never finished by the artist which raises some very intriguing questions as to its history.
According to their press release:
The restoration process brought a surprise to light: the painting was left unfinished by Walker, raising significant questions. Why would Cromwell’s preferred artist abandon such an important commission? Painted during a period when Cromwell was facing military challenges in Scotland and Ireland and unrest at home, the sudden abandonment of the project by Walker indicates that it fell victim to the changing fates of the period.
“Seeing this masterpiece come to life through restoration was a revelation,” says Simon Dickinson, Chairman of Dickinson Gallery. “This isn’t just a painting; it’s a statement of Cromwell’s character and ambitions. We are thrilled to invite the public to experience the power and enigma of this unfinished portrait and the historical era it represents.”
The portrait will be on display in Jermyn Street from 25th November until 10th December. Cromwell and his band did love Christmas, after all.
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As a side note, I've always wondered what happened to this version of Walker's Cromwell which was formerly in the collection of Warwick Castle (one of my unhealthy obsessions, I must confess). The painting is visible on the left-hand side of this old black & white photograph (see below). Do let me know if any reader of AHN spots it out in the wild one day!
Early Rediscovered Poussin coming up at Ader
October 1 2024
Picture: Artnet
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Artnet have shared news of an early rediscovered Poussin which is coming up for sale at the French auction house Ader later in November. Vénus Épiée par Deux Satyres, which was researched with the assistance of Eric Turquin and featured in an exhibition last year in Lyons, will carry an estimate of 'up to €1m'.
Rare Lely Sketch Unveiled at Dickinson
September 5 2024
Picture: @milo.dickinson via Instagram
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The London dealers Simon Dickinson have unveiled on Instagram their discovery of a rare sketch by Sir Peter Lely.* In this video, presented by Milo Dickinson, the significance of the sketch, sitter and 'another face' lurking in the background is explained!
* - The painting has already been sold, as you might imagine!
Constable Sketch at Woolley & Wallis
September 3 2024
Picture: Woolley & Wallis
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The auctioneers Woolley & Wallis will be offering an unpublished sketch by John Constable tomorrow. The painting, known as Gravel Pits of Hampstead, was completed between 1820 - 1822 and has the blessing of the Constable scholar Anne Lyles. It will be offered with a very tempting estimate of £50,000 - £80,000.
Ralph Sheldon's Portrait of Henry VIII Reidentified
July 8 2024
Picture: Warwick Shire Hall via ArtUK
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I published a short blog over the weekend regarding an accidental discovery I made of a missing Portrait of Henry VIII. Having spotted it in the background of a photograph posted on 'X' / Twitter, I managed to work out that this distinctive arched topped portrait (now hanging in Warwick Shire Hall, owned by Warwickshire County Council) was originally part of the famous set assembled by Ralph Sheldon (c.1537–1613) in the 1590s for Weston House in Warwickshire. Fortunately, the portrait is housed in the same carved medallion frame as other surviving examples from the set, and the very same composition of Henry holding a sword is found in a later engraving of the Long Gallery at Weston.
Update - Click here for relevant articles from the BBC, CNN, The Times and The Smithsonian Magazine.
Click here to watch a YouTube video of BBC Midlands Today's coverage of the story.
From Christie's London to Getty Museum
July 2 2024
Video: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles have just announced their acquisition of the rediscovered Madonna of the Cherries by Quentin Metsys which sold at Christie's London this evening for £10,660,000 (inc. fees).
According to the museum's press release:
“The tender beauty and accessibility of Metsys’ representation of the familial bond between the Virgin Mary and Christ Child represents a major innovation in early Netherlandish painting that greatly heightens the emotional impact of the image,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the Getty Museum. “Painted at the height of his career, and preserved today in excellent condition, Madonna of the Cherries is among Metsys’ most appealing and influential compositions. Acknowledged as a masterpiece in its day, the painting became especially famous in the 17th century, after which its whereabouts were lost. I have no doubt that its spiritual and artistic resonance will make it one of the most beloved works in our collection.”
First known portrait commissioned by an American born into slavery on display in Baltimore
June 25 2024
Picture: The Washington Post
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Washington Post have reported on news that the first known portrait commissioned by an American born into slavery will be going on display at the Baltimore Museum of Art this week. The painting, attributed to the artist James Alexander Simpson, is believed to depict Mary Ann Tritt Cassell, a woman of mixed race whose mother was enslaved on Stratford Hall plantation in Westmoreland County, Va. The article explains the research which has gone into uncovering the life of the sitter and her family.
Bellissimo! in Freiburg
June 6 2024
Picture: freiburg.de
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I failed to spot that a new exhibition opened in the Augustinermuseum in Freiburg last month entitled Bellissimo! Italian paintings from the Lindenau Museum Altenburg (via @bastianeclercy).
According to the city's website:
Magnificent golds and bright colors, elegant lines and refined artistic techniques - this is how precious Italian paintings by Fra Angelico, Guido da Siena or Sandro Botticelli inspire. They were created in famous art centers such as Florence or Siena. The exhibition shows the pictorial world of churches and private devotion, but also offers insights into the art of stately courts. The Lindenau Museum in Altenburg owns one of the most important collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the early 16th century abroad. On the occasion of its renovation, the treasures are guests in Freiburg.
The show will continue until 3rd November 2024.
Beale & Son Acquired by Tate Britain
June 6 2024
Video: Philip Mould & Co
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I made a trip to Tate's recently opened Now You See Us exhibition yesterday afternoon, and what a visual feast it was. One of the first great surprises was the fact that Tate have just acquired Mary Beale's Portrait of Anne Sotheby, a picture which was only recently uncovered by Philip Mould & Co. in their exhibition as a collaboration between Mary and her son Charles (watch Lawrence Hendra above explaining its significance). A very fine acquisition indeed, which complimented the nice array of her works on display there.
The show is full of some very interesting pictures, many of which I've only ever seen poor black and white photographs of. One of the most striking features of the show is how many of the paintings on display remain nestled away in private collections, supplemented by loans predominantly it seems from The Royal Collection and other aristocratic sources mixed in with works from the trade. One wonders whether the ever-increasingly high prices for such rare and important works might tempt more pieces out into the open in due course.
Among the highlights was seeing this very refined Self Portrait by Katherine Read, who is well represented in the show with both oils and pastels. I would recommend having a read through Neil Jeffares' entry on the artist for his Pastellists website, which remarkably remains one of the most thorough and scholarly accounts of her life to date!
The show will run until 13th October 2024.
Sculptural Portrait of Brunelleschi Discovered
May 24 2024
Picture: ansa.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Italy that a terracotta bust of the famous architect Filippo Brunelleschi has been discovered. The work by Andrea di Lazzaro Cavalcanti called il Buggiano (1412-1462) was discovered in a Florentine residence and has been purchased by the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore for €300,000. Click on the link to see a photograph of the bust.
Cornelis van der Geest's Quentin Metsys Discovered
May 23 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's London have released news that the prime version of Quentin Metsys' Madonna of the Cherries has been discovered. The work had actually appeared as 'Studio of' back in 2015 (pictured left), however, the recent cleaning of the picture has shown it to be a painting of high quality. Furthermore, it appears that this picture is the same that was once owned by Cornelis van der Geest and appears in a famous painting of his gallery by Willem van Haecht.
The painting will be offered in the upcoming Christie's London Old Masters Part I sale carrying an estimate of £8m - £12m.
Reattributed Fabritius Revealed in Stockholm
May 15 2024
Picture: Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
CODART (the international network of curators of Dutch and Flemish art) have drawn attention to a recently published paper by the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm's which reveals a newly attributed work by Carel Fabritius. The painting has been in the museum's collection since 2012. Click on the link above to read the full story, including a link to the museum's full article.
National Trust painting turns out to be a print
May 10 2024
Picture: nationaltrustcollections.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The BBC have reported on news that The National Trust have discovered that a painting, previous catalogued as a work on paper, is in fact a print. The work of art at Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk was previously believed to be a straightforward copy of a Van Dyck executed in oil on paper. This was until it was sent away for conservation and its true identity and author was revealed.
According to the press release:
It was discovered the reproduction of the Three Eldest Children of Charles I was in fact a print by Jacob Christoff Le Blon, who first created the three-colour printing process.
"Only three Le Blon prints of it are known to survive, so to have discovered a fourth is really exciting," said National Trust curator Jane Eade. [...]
He was the first to create a three-colour printing process – the forerunner of the CMYK colour printing used today, external.
The revolutionary method used mezzotint, a monochrome printmaking process, with separate plates inked in blue, yellow and red, and superimposed on one another in order to create variable depth of hue.
Rediscovered Caravaggio Conserved and Hung in Prado
May 9 2024
Picture: apnews
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news broke earlier this week that the rediscovered Caravaggio that reappeared back in 2021 has been conserved and hung in the Prado Museum in Madrid. The loan of the painting has been handled by Colnaghi, whilst the restoration was undertaken by Andrea Cipriani 'and his team in collaboration with two London dealers, Filippo Benappi of Benappi Fine Art and Andrea Lullo of Lullo Pampoulides gallery.'
The painting, alongside a special new study by several academics on the artist and period, will be on display until October 2024.
We've Conquered Raphael, and now onto Constable - says the University of Bradford
April 26 2024
Picture: BBC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Researchers at The University of Bradford have been hard at work trying to use technology to crack the code of various artists throughout history. Last year, the university's Centre for Visual Computing and Intelligent Systems famously came up with the result that a late copy was in fact by Raphael's hand, a system which is said to be 98% accurate but has since been refuted by several art historians in The Art Newspaper.
Today, the BBC have published news that another researcher at the University is now using technology to crack the code of John Constable (pictured). Equipment such as a CT scanner and 3D microscopy equipment will be used to do so, including 'tests include assessing the painter's technique'.
According to the BBC article:
Dr Alex Surtees, a lecturer in forensic science at the university, said it would ultimately be down to art experts to give the final say - but science could offer helpful clues.
"It’s certainly very exciting," he said.
"If I can be involved in the actual verification on work being a Constable, then I would be very proud."
He added: "This is me helping the art world make a decision."
18th Century Masterpieces from the Uffizi in Shanghai
April 18 2024
Video: International Channel Shanghai
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Bund One Art Museum in Shanghai opened a new exhibition last week of 18th Century Masterpieces from the Uffizi in Florence. The show contains no fewer than 80 paintings including works by Francisco Goya, Canaletto, François Boucher, Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin, Bernardo Bellotto, Jean-Étienne Liotard, Giuseppe Maria Crespi and others.
The show will run until 25th August 2024.
Catharina van Hemessen (?) Unveiled in Cincinnati
April 17 2024
Picture: eu.cincinatti.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Curious news from Cincinnati that a private collector has loaned a purportedly rediscovered religious work by Catharina van Hemessen to the city's University library for a special exhibition entitled Rediscovering Catharina van Hemessen’s Scourging of Christ: Women Artists, Patrons, and Rulers in Renaissance Europe. The signed work (see above) was brought to the university's attention after technical analysis was undertaken on it by a conservator.
According to the article linked above:
Before the painting landed in Cincinnati, it was briefly displayed in Detroit. The painting's frame reads "collection of E. Raymond Field," a previous owner, and "Exhibited Detroit Institute of Arts."
The exhibition in Detroit was one of only two times in the last 50 to 75 years the "Scourging of Christ" was publicly displayed, [Chris] Platts said.
"Most people don't even know it exists because it's not on public display. It's not in a lot of the Hemmesen books and articles," he said.
"So curators who are doing a show on famous Renaissance women or Baroque women artists wouldn't even know about its existence, or if they do, they wouldn't know where to find it," he added. "That's what makes it special to have it here."
The painting will be on display until 30th April 2024, and it appears that no other comments from other Italian paintings experts have been supplied.
Potter's Bull Restored Live
April 2 2024
Picture: denhaag.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Visitors to the Mauritshuis in the Hague will be able to watch the conservation of Paulus Potter's famous The Bull live! The 18-month project will include a detailed examination alongside a full restoration of the work, which will be able to be seen behind a glass screen (pictured).
In fact, a discovery has already been made during preliminary research for the project:
Preliminary research has revealed that the National Gallery of Ireland (Dublin) owns a painting that can be linked to The Bull [Pictured on the left side in the photo above]. Paintings Conservator Jolijn Schilder of the Mauritshuis discovered that Potter once made a large painting (approx. 2.10 m x 1.70 m) depicting The Abduction of Europa. It turns out that the oval painting Head of a White Bull was once part of this larger painting -- much of which has been lost, leaving only this fragment. The two bulls are different colours, but the heads are depicted in a very similar way. As a result, the ‘Irish’ bull will be an invaluable research companion for the ‘Dutch’ bull. The art historical and technical research into the Head of the White Bull is a collaborative project between the National Gallery of Ireland and the Mauritshuis. Both bulls will be on view during the technical examination at the Mauritshuis between March and May 2024.
