Previous Posts: November 2023
Marcus Richard Fitzroy Thomas Renamed
November 6 2023
Picture: yale.edu
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Here's a fascinating piece of research from last year that I believe was missed from this blog. It concerns to reidentification of a boy featured in the Yale Center for British Art Joshua Reynolds’s Portrait of Charles Stanhope. Due to some incredible sleuthing by Alice Millard and later Victoria Hepburn, the identity of this unknown sitter was tracked down via baptismal records and Reynolds' sitters book. An interesting read, giving hope to paintings researchers out there who are endlessly met with dead-ends!
Update - Apologies, I've been corrected that the discovery was actually initially made by the archivist Alice Millard, who wrote a blog about her journey which can be accessed here!
Vallayer-Coster at the Galerie Coatalem
November 6 2023
Picture: La Tribune de l'art
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
La Tribune de l'art have reported on news that the Galerie Coatalem in Paris* have a temporary exhibition on at the moment dedicated to Anne Vallayer-Coster. This show, which contains twenty works by the artist, will run until 16th December 2023.
* - The dealers, who are very good at publishing their catalogues online, don't have any details about the show on their website yet alas.
The University of Melbourne is Hiring!
November 3 2023
Picture: unimelb.edu.au
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The University of Melbourne in Australia is hiring a Lecturer in Art History and Curatorship.
According to the job description:
You will serve as a Lecturer within the Art History and Curatorship Program, focusing on Art Curatorial Studies. You'll play a pivotal role in advancing the program's teaching and research objectives, benefiting from a rich history of leadership in the field and extensive cultural resources at the University of Melbourne.
Your responsibilities will include:
Subject coordination, delivery of lectures and seminars, curriculum design, and technology-based teaching and assessment program development.
Producing research outputs, securing research grants, graduate research supervision, and public engagement.
Active participation in service, leadership, and coordination roles, committee engagement, and fostering national and international institutional partnerships
The job comes with an annual salary of $114,645.00 - $136,136.00* and applications must be in by 30th November 2023.
Good luck if you're applying!
* - This is the equivalent of roughly £60,000 - £70,000.
Sleeper Alert!
November 3 2023
Picture: gazette-drouot.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News has arrived that the following painting catalogued as 'Altmeister 17./18. Jahrhundert Portrait' realised around €66,000 at Antikauktion Krefeld back in September. Let's see if appears anywhere interesting.
Cleveland Acquires a Zoffany
November 3 2023
Picture: cleveland.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
It appears that I was a little tardy at the end of last month to spot that the Cleveland Museum of Art has just acquired Johann Zoffany's brilliant The Dutton Family in the Drawing Room of Sherborne Park, Gloucestershire, c. 1772. The painting was last sold at Sotheby's in 2001 and later exhibited at the RA in 2012.
According to the article linked above:
Cory Korkow, the museum’s curator of European paintings and sculpture said the museum has sought for more than a decade to acquire a painting like the Zoffany, which is known as a “conversation piece,’’ an English genre scene in which a group of people are portrayed in their customary surroundings.
“Even though the environment of the picture may seem incredibly foreign and stuffy, it’s something every one of us can empathize with because of the drama’' involving the Dutton family, Korkow said.
Korkow was thrilled to learn unexpectedly several months ago from Christie’s, the global auction house, that the Zoffany was available for purchase in a private sale.
“It was surreal; it’s like someone was anticipating” what the museum wanted, Korkow said. “This is the holy grail moment we’ve been waiting for.”
It's Official - the Louvre has bought the Kitchen Cimabue...
November 3 2023
Picture: lesechos.fr
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
After recent speculation, the Louvre has finally announced its acquisition of the Artcurial Cimabue found in a kitchen and which later sold for €24.18m.
Upcoming in 2024: Rembrandt – Hoogstraten Color and Illusion
November 3 2023
Picture: KHM
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I simply cannot wait for the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna's upcoming autumn 2024 exhibition. Rembrandt – Hoogstraten: Color and Illusion looks to be a very interesting examination of the relationship between these two artists. Any fan of this period will know that several paintings have been flip-flopping between the two artists over the past decades, including examples such as Chicago's Young Woman at an Open Half-Door, which is now called 'Workshop of Rembrandt' on the museum's website.
According to the KHM's blurb:
For the first time, the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna is presenting an exhibition on the important Baroque painter Rembrandt. Never before has it been possible to admire such a wealth of international loans by the master in Austria. His powerful art left a lasting impression on his gifted pupil Samuel van Hoogstraten. The fascinating interplay between Rembrandt and Hoogstraten is on display in a unique way – you have never seen Rembrandt like this before. Discover around 60 paintings and drawings, and immerse yourself in Dutch Baroque painting. This will be the cultural highlight of 2024.
The show will run from 8th October 2024 until 12th January 2025.
Help the Stanley Spencer Gallery Keep Patricia
November 2 2023
Picture: stanleyspencer.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham are raising money to keep the artist's Patricia at Cockmarsh Hill in the gallery. This beautiful painting of the artist's wife set amongst the surrounding Cookham landscape has been on loan to the gallery for twelve years, but, it seems that the owner has decided to remove and potentially sell the work of art. Amazingly, the gallery have already raised a staggering £130,000 to buy it, however, they need another £20,000 before the end of the year to meet the asking price.
If you'd like to donate to their very worthy campaign click here.
Carlotta Gargalli Exhibition in Bologna
November 2 2023
Picture: ansa.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Interesting news from Italy that an exhibition has just opened dedicated to the female artist Carlotta Gargalli (1788-1840). Carlotta was the first lady to be admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna and painted portraits, mythological and religious works. The exhibition at the Museo Ottocento Bologna, which contains around twenty works or so, will be running until 7th January 2024.
Burlington November Issue
November 2 2023
Picture: burlington.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
This month's edition of The Burlington Magazine is dedicated to sculpture and three-dimensional works of art. The magazine's free editorial on History of art after Brexit is also well worth the read.
Here's a list of the articles in the November edition:
A medallion of Abbess Jacqueline de Lalaing of Flines - BY ANNA KOOPSTRA,MICHAEL CARTER
Silvio and Vincenzo Cosini in Venice and the altar of Girolamo Priuli in S. Salvatore - BY ANNE MARKHAM SCHULZ
A 1550 ‘double Jubilee’ medal by Alessandro Cesati - BY GIULIA DANIELE
George I’s Kensington Palace: the sculptural dimension - BY JONATHAN MARSDEN
Michael Kauffmann (1931–2023) - BY PAUL WILLIAMSON
Sotheby's Paris November Sale
November 2 2023
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's Paris have just uploaded their upcoming Tableaux et Dessins 1400-1900 sale.
Highlights from the sale include works by Johann Richter, François Boucher, Frans Floris and a set of four landscapes Attributed to Philippe de Momper.
Bidding for this online sale will open on 7th November 2023.
Hidden Room of Michelangelo Sketches Opened in Florence
November 1 2023
Picture: The Guardian
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Guardian have reported on news that a 'tiny chamber' beneath the Medici Chapels in the Basilica of San Lorenzo have been opened to members of the public. These rooms contain sketches on the walls which Michelangelo made whilst in hiding there in 1530, escaping a death sentence ordered by Pope Clement VII. The sketches were uncovered in 1975 and contain drawings of his previous works, including the famous David.
Recent Release: Aniello Falcone e i pittori della sua cerchia (1625-1656)
November 1 2023
Picture: silvanaeditoriale.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Neapolitan specialist and scholar Nicola Spinosa has recently had a new book published on the artist Aniello Falcone, most famous for his paitings of battle scenes. Alongside a description and catalogue of his works, chapters are also dedicated to the artists in his orbit, including Agostino Beltrano, Carlo Coppola, Andrea de Lione, Domenico Gargiulo, Marzio Masturzo, Salvator Rosa and Giuseppe Trombatore.
Demon Uncovered in Petworth Reynolds
November 1 2023
Picture: BBC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Trust shared a suitable Halloween story yesterday regarding a demon uncovered during a recent conservation project. The conservation of Joshua Reynolds' The Death of Cardinal Beaufort lead to the reappearance of a demon hiding in the shadows and beneath layers of dirty varnish.
To quote the article linked above:
John Chu, the National Trust's senior national curator for pictures and sculpture, explained: "It didn't fit in with some of the artistic rules of the times, to have a poetic figure of speech represented so literally in this monstrous figure.
"When it was first shown at the Shakespeare Gallery in 1789 it generated more controversy than any other work on show.
Critics argued that "while it was considered acceptable in literature to introduce the idea of a demon as something in the mind of a person, to include it visually in a painting gave it too physical a form", said Mr Chu.
Several friends and commentators tried to persuade Sir Joshua not to include it - or, on the painting's completion, to paint it out.
