Previous Posts: August 2021
Mapping the Provenance of a Vermeer
August 13 2021
Picture: The Frick Collection
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Frick Collection have published a short blog on a map which charts the provenance of Vermeer's Mistress and Maid. They've managed to work out that the painting had travelled at least 8,300 miles during its lifetime.
Young Gainsborough: Rediscovered Landscape Drawings
August 13 2021
Picture: York Art Gallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The York Art Gallery have announced a new exhibition which will open on 1st October 2021. Young Gainsborough: Rediscovered Landscape Drawings will be the first time that the twenty-five drawings recently rediscovered in the Royal Collection will be on display.
According to the gallery's website:
They will be presented alongside paintings and works on paper borrowed from collections across the UK and Ireland, including the National Gallery’s recently conserved masterpiece Cornard Wood (1748). Together, they will shed new light on Gainsborough’s early landscape practice and the techniques which made him one of the country’s most significant and influential artists.
The show will run until 13th February 2022.
A Superb Baroque: Art in Genoa, 1600–1750
August 12 2021
Picture: NGA
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. will be opening their latest exhibition next month. A Superb Baroque: Art in Genoa, 1600–1750 was due to open last year, although, the ongoing virus crises resulted in a delay.
According to their website:
A Superb Baroque presents the grandeur of 17th-century Genoa on a scope and scale unprecedented in the United States. Five centuries ago trade and banking transformed the Mediterranean port city of Genoa into a cosmopolitan center of wealth and culture. The newly rich, eager to display their prosperity, invested in constructing and decorating churches, chapels, and palaces. Attracted by lucrative commissions, Rubens, Van Dyck, and other leading painters across Europe swarmed to Genoa. There, they joined local artists in utilizing the opulent baroque style to create the splendid paintings, sculptures, and works on paper seen in this exhibition.
The catalogue is already published and available for purchase.
The show will run from 26 September 2021 - 9 January 2022 and will then move to Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, in March.
Update - Extremely sad news to report, the exhibition has had to be cancelled due to the ongoing virus crisis.
The New Courtauld Galleries
August 12 2021
Video: Courtauld Gallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Courtauld Gallery in London has uploaded a video providing a short tour of the gallery's newly refurbished rooms.
There seems to be a lot of white surfaces, which confused my eyes a little when trying to admire the architectural quality of the space. It will be very exciting to see them once art has been reintroduced!
The British Art Network's New Website
August 12 2021
Picture: britishartnetwork.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The British Art Network, managed by staff at the Paul Mellon Centre and Tate, have launched a brand-new website. This online resource looks to be a must for anyone wanting to share their research on British Art within academic and professional spheres. The 'current research groups' seem to represent several themes that have become rather popular in recent times amongst scholars within the discipline.
The National Gallery Open-Air
August 12 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery in London have decided to hang some of their masterpieces outside in the open-air on Trafalgar Square. Worry not, they're only 'reproductions' and are part of Westminster Council's Inside Out Festival to bring visitors back into the capital.
Considering that we are living in an age where technology is increasingly attempting to replace the physical original with the virtual, let's hope these copies have the desired effect and lead people within the gallery's doors!
The British Library are Hiring!
August 12 2021
Picture: BL
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The British Library in London are looking for a Curator of Prints and Drawings.
According to the job description:
The British Library is looking to recruit a full-time Curator with a specialist interest in 16th-18th century prints. This post is supported by a grant from the Getty Foundation as part of its Paper Project initiative. It offers an exceptional scholarly and professional development opportunity to an emerging works-on-paper curator who will create records for prints in our national collection which have remained hidden and under-studied, categorised to date as books, maps, manuscripts or music. They will be a fully integrated member of the curatorial staff of the Printed Heritage department and supported by colleagues across the Library.
The salary on offer is £26,000 per annum* and the deadline for applications is 12th September 2021.
Good luck if you're applying!
* - As a side note, here's an equivalent position at the Rijksmuseum that was advertised last month. The salaries are not so equivalent, as you'll be able to see...
Uffizi Director offers to send Art Works to Mars
August 11 2021
Picture: Uffizi
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Italian Press have been sharing news of Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk's visit to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence today (pictured). Musk and his partner Grimes were said to have been particularly taken with works by Paulo Uccello, Beato Angelico and Piero della Francesca.
In addition, Uffizi Director Eike Schmidt has been quoted (a rough translation) offering to send artworks to Mars as part of his plans to decentralise the Uffizi:
When you install a space station on Mars, we'd like to bring you some works for our project of the Diffusi Uffizi.
SMK Update Online Collections Website
August 11 2021
Picture: open.smk.dk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst) have revamped their online collections database on their website. It seems that one is now able to search through and to zoom into many of their beautiful works of art with ease. Furthermore, a great deal of their collection is in the Public Domain - a significant bonus for art historians!
Upcoming Release: Everyday Rococo
August 11 2021
Picture: Unicorn Press
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Here's an upcoming release that might be of interest. Dame Rosalind Savill's new book Everyday Rococo: Madame de Pompadour & Sèvres Porcelain will be published by Unicorn Press later in October. To celebrate, the French Porcelain Society will be holding a what will surely be a fascinating two-day symposium on the subject at The Wallace Collection in December.
The Grey Horse on display in Munnings Museum
August 10 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Alfred Munnings' famous painting The Grey Horse, Ned Osborne on Grey Tick has gone on display in the Munnings Museum in Dedham, Essex. Despite this picture being one of the artist's most iconic works the painting is rarely seen due to it remaining in a private collection. The article above provides more details about the horse and sitter, whose story is being celebrated during this temporary loan.
Carving Grinling Gibbons' Cravat
August 10 2021
Video: V&A
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London have published this rather excellent video showing the processes behind Grinling Gibbons' superb carved wooden laced cravat. The video features the work of woodcarver Clunnie Fretton, who provides some lovely insights into the way Gibbons would have worked.
The original lace cravat, owned by the V&A, is currently on display in the free Gibbons exhibition being held at Bonhams in London. This leg of the exhibition will continue until 27th August 2021 until it moves to Compton Verney in late September.
Meadows Museum acquires Spanish Portrait
August 10 2021
Picture: Meadows Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News has emerged (via. @Mweilc and arsmagazine.com) that the Meadows Museum in Dallas has acquired a Portrait of a Lady by Bartolomé González Serrano (1564-1627). The painting was acquired in part to celebrate the 15 years Mark Roglán has been head of the institution, alongside providing a vital gap between the works of Antonis Mor, Pantoja de la Cruz and Velázquez. It was purchased from Christie's in December 2020 and has since been restored.
New Series of 'Fake or Fortune?'
August 9 2021
Picture: BBC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Apologies, in my absence I forgot to mention that the BBC has begun broadcasting a new series of Fake or Fortune? Both Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould have already investigated two potential works by Henry Moore and Jean-Léon Gérôme. The next episode, which airs on Wednesday at 9pm, will examine a work that may or may not be by the famous painter of animals, Sir Edwin Landseer.
The NGA Acquires Sustris Drawing
August 9 2021
Picture: NGA
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery in Washington D.C. has acquired a drawing by Friedrich Sustris (c.1540-1599).
According to their press release:
Of Netherlandish origin but born in Padua, Italy, Sustris trained with his father, Lambert, a painter in Titian’s circle. He worked briefly in Rome and went on to spent four years in the painter Giorgio Vasari’s studio in Florence. His first decorative project was in the Fugger Palace (1568–1573) for a powerful banking family in Augsburg, Germany.
One of the very few studies that can be directly connected to that project, the drawing depicts Euterpe, the muse of music, holding a lyre and organ pipes. Sustris combined Italianate iconography with a technique reminiscent of Vasari and an extreme refinement of form found in works by Parmigianino. This drawing provides evidence of the original appearance and rare beauty of the fresco cycle, which was badly damaged in World War II.
Regis University are Hiring!
August 9 2021
Picture: Regis University
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Regis University in Colorado are hiring an Assistant Professor in Art History.
According to the job description:
This position will be the sole full time Art Historian within a Fine Arts Department of eight full time faculty members (four in Visual Art and four in Music). As a result, our Art Historian position will have a great deal of autonomy in shaping the Art History program. The search is open to all specializations within Art History, but we would particularly welcome a candidate with a dual background in Western and Non-Western Art History (desirable areas of specialization/research include, but are not limited to Indigenous, African, Latin-American, Non-Western art history), who would feel comfortable teaching Non-Western upper division courses. This position will suit an art historian who identifies as a generalist and is excited to teach a wide variety of classes.
The salary on offer is $58,000 per annum and applications must be in by 15th November 2021.
Good luck if you're applying!
Recent Release: Polish XVI Century Portraits
August 9 2021
Picture: wilanow-palac.pl
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Professor Przemysław Mrozowski, a director of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, has recently published a new book on Portraits in Sixteenth Century Poland. The publication focuses on placing early Polish portraits within its European context, alongside catalogue notes of significant examples of the period.
Apologies...
August 9 2021
Picture: AB
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Apologies for the non-existent service last week. I’m off visiting one of my favourite cities, Saint Petersburg. Personally speaking, I think this city offers as much culture and beauty as any other in Europe.
Drifting through the streets and alongside canals, one truly has the feeling you have passed through into another age. The historic character of the city is remarkably preserved, which lends itself well to almost every cultural and aesthetic pursuit. A short distance outside the centre are marvellous palaces, whose architectural qualities seem to be often underappreciated further west.
The State Hermitage Museum is a palace for art lovers. The building and collections are absolutely vast and filled to the brim with masterpieces from every national school. I spent a good five hours yesterday enjoying solely the Dutch and Flemish pictures in nearly empty galleries guarded by Russian бабушки. Most casual visitors will head straight for the Rembrandts, however, it was a real education to spend time focusing in on the innumerable canvases on display.
I’m very much looking forward to heading back during the next few days to spend equal time examining the French and Italian pictures.
I would heartily recommend a visit to anyone, if you ever get the chance. Don’t let the faff with visas put you off, as the experience of enjoying this historic cultural marvel is very much worth it. From my own experiences here, the people are friendly and warm hearted, and the food is excellent too.
