Previous Posts: articles 2023

I was interested about your comments about the damage computer and I pad screens do to your eyes. I sit every night before I go to sleep and look at auction sites, mainly paintings. I had laser treatment on my eyes by Dr David Gartry at Moorfields eye hospital some years ago. My eyes were perfect until recently and I am sure it's the I pad. Too many auctions to look at and that habit has taken its toll on my eyes. I totally agree with your comments.

I'm in no way affiliated with it but I use a neat little tool called f.lux you might like to try alongside all the new spectacles. It essentially links your screen's 'blueness' to the day's natural cycle - in the day you'll see no change but as the sun sets in your time zone the screen's light becomes warmer in tone to compensate for it, should you be using your computer at sunrise you'll see it gradually shift from the warm tones to a cooler, daylight one. Which probably sounds rather odd but the software is free, the link is https://justgetflux.com/ and the site has a 'f.luxometer' which gives a demonstration of how it alters the night-time screen colour for various models of computers and devices. 

You can switch it on and off if you're viewing art and need an unfiltered sense of the colours in a piece but its warmer evening shades are fantastic at reducing eye strain when writing or reading late into the night.

As a contact lens wearer who works with screens and a laptop everyday and reads entirely too much, I suspect f.lux might be the sole reason my vision has remained stable over the last two years and I stopped having migraines. Anyway, I hope you find it of interest and/or use.

Sorry to hear about the eye problems Bendor, as a photographer, I know how the eyes tire somewhat. Even getting on a bit things change ! 

Just to let you know I read AHN everyday, and have learnt a lot from you wise musings.. and have found a sleeper awhile back at my bootfair..by Richard Ansdell..though as it was waterlogged [ a sixth of the painting was missing..]

Read your updates today. Congratulations on your impressive viewing figures; surely there must be a way for you to financially benefit on these!

"We are still trying to find out more about our collection and to reveal the secrets of the artworks in the museum."

The picture’s poor condition makes it difficult to attribute with certainty, but it is evidently an original Venetian composition, related to Titian’s early Giorgionesque phase, c.1510-15.

I have only two old (concise and inadequate) lists of the Wallace collection: 1970 gives 'Attributed to...', and 1979 gives 'Follower of....', and now the website as you say gives ' Ascribed to....'  -  all round the houses. I did look at the BM Van Dyck Italian sketchbook drawing that one entry refers to (no doubt that has increased your interest in the Wallace 'Titian'. It is a hasty sketch of the figures of Venus and Cupid, said to be copied from the Wallace painting - that has differences but what do I know? As a Van Dyck nerd (?) I'm sure you do.  I do think you should pursue it - looks good to me - and it has a top-notch pedigree / provenance. If nothing else, a bit of prodding might get them to crowd-fund (!) cleaning and research. You presumably remember the insouciance that the Wallace accepted the demotion of their Rembrandts many years ago - it seems they are now back in favour - with van de Wetering's reappraisals. The collection, being fixed, seems to have adopted a less than troubled attitude to such external opinion and accepted the RRP verdicts, and now the changes. What difference would it make to have (another) Titian to add to their already bursting treasure chest of art. As you suggest, it would matter to some people outside the ivory tower of the Wallace.

Thank you for reminding me about the Ascribed to Titian on the ground floor of the Wallace.

When I saw it last year I also was struck by the similarities to other early Titians, and was disappointed that it was hung in such a difficult place. 

Good luck with your efforts. If nothing else, perhaps you can get it hung somewhere where it is possible to look at it closely.

A fine thing indeed though I have concerns about the anatomy of the female figure and, BTW, they already have a Titian of course [Perseus and Andromeda, which was once owned by Van Dyck, but which alas is in pretty ropey condition, perhaps even worse than the Venus and Cupid].

Was there the other day and wondered about their skying of the excellent Eworth – I don’t think I’ve been closer than a couple of metres in nearly 40 years of going to the Wallace.

As a further step in its sales innovation strategy, Christie’s introduces a new themed week of sales, Classic Art Week which will take place at Rockefeller Center, New York in April 2016. This week of sales will include Old Master Paintings, Sculpture, Antiquities, and Christie’s signature Exceptional Sale of decorative arts.

A new curated sale entitled “Revolution” will be the centerpiece of this auction series, and will feature masterworks from the 18th to the 20th centuries, including paintings, drawings, prints, photography and sculpture, which will explore the radical social, political and artistic changes that defined this period of history.

“This classic series of sales and exhibitions will provide a wonderful contrast to our 20th Century art series which generated so much interest and electricity in our salerooms in May. The Classic Art Week will provide an opportunity for the world’s collectors to see the very best in each field as Rockefeller Center transforms itself into a museum of classical art,” noted Jussi Pylkkänen, Global President, Christie’s International.

“We have spoken to the collectors, art dealers and museum curators in these fields and so many are supportive of this new Classic Art Week concept and April provides the perfect moment in the auction calendar. The series promises to invigorate interest in these wonderful fields that are the DNA of the art market. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Rockefeller Center to celebrate the very best in Old Master Paintings, Antiquities, Sculpture and Decorative Art.”

Christie’s postponing their NY January OM sales is not a novelty as you write. It also happened in 2006, when they were shifted to April. At the time, some said it had to do with the Venetian Turner that fetched 35 million. [...]

 Anyway it a daft thing to do.

As someone who has never been terribly impressed by Goya’s work, I believe that a more appropriate caption for the short video by Bray would be, “Curator Xavier Bray tries to make the case.”  

I see Goya’s skills in portraiture as being much more akin to those of the American, Gilbert Stuart or the Scott, Henry Raeburn than to the greater abilities of portrait painters who actually reached the highest levels of this specialty — van Dyck, Holbein the Younger, Hals, or among closer contemporaries, the great 18th century English portraitists or even the Italian, Batoni.  While others proclaim the glory of Goya’s portraits, too often I see little more than stiffly posed subjects depicted in mundane colors through less-than-impressive brushwork. And instead of penetrating studies of individualistic character, I much more often encounter modestly described faces staring blankly into voids. Even those few Goya portraits which are rather impressive on some levels, such as that of the Dowager Marchioness of Villafrance, with her imposing crown of hair, the artist still doesn't actually reveal very much about his sitters' personalities, inner joy, or conflicts. My eyes strain to see much more than what Goya might have achieved by painting mannequins dressed up in the fashions of the various classes of 18th/early 19th century Spanish society.  I know, I'm overstating my case, but I would contend that I am closer to the truth than those critics who are placing Goya's art on the highest pedistal only after first admiting that the artist doesn't always make a good first impression.

Perhaps Goya’s oeuvre is more impressive when many examples are seen in close proximity, but these monographic exhibitions often show the opposite to be true. And I suspect that with Goya, we will see that more isn’t merrier, regardless of how many of his portraits are making their London debut.

Further to interesting discussion regarding merits or otherwise of Goya. It strikes me, as somebody who takes a good deal of interest in British portraiture but who knows very little of the 'Continental' craft, that his 'greatness' stems from two particular factors 

a) He is the only Spanish portrait painter most of us have ever heard of*

b) His style may be odd, stiff and arguably rather bland but it is distinctive and that is important these days when for most connoisseurship has (regrettably) given way to the realm of instant impressions.

*I suspect Valasquez is far less widely known.

possess a high level of knowledge of contemporary art, with specialist expertise in British art, and have significant relevant experience in an art gallery, museum, collection or similar. Besides having a strong track record of devising and delivering exhibitions with curatorial flare and imagination for diverse audiences, of working on commissions, and of published writing on contemporary art, the successful candidate will possess the ability to lead a team and to work with others to achieve results. This is an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to Tate Britain’s programmes.

This is a position that requires commitment to and awareness of issues of equality and cultural diversity as they affect the work of a major museum. 

The first episode features the following voice-over introduction from our stars:

Brosseau: Buying art is not for the faint of heart.

Gaffney: It’s a multibillion-dollar industry…

Brosseau: …and the biggest party around. The art world is our world.

Gaffney: Cuba! Vegas! Hollywood?

Brosseau: We travel the globe in search of the chicest galleries and hottest artists.

And so forth. With the exception of Jack Shainman—a dealer of great American artists, including Nick Cave, Hank Willis Thomas, and Carrie Mae Weems—whose brief appearance on this show is, as far as I can tell, a low point in his career, I’ve never heard of most of the “chicest” galleries nor of almost any of the “hottest” artists. (This isn’t to say that I’m the last word on the contemporary canon, or that these people aren’t perfectly nice, but hey, I also watch the art market every day, to paraphrase my subjects. I want a TV show, too!) One of my favorite moments on Art Breakers comes when Brosseau and Gaffney walk into a Los Angeles gallery called Kopeikin Gallery (I have never heard of it) and inquire about a photograph by an artist named Blake Little (I have never heard of him). They have the following exchange with a gallery employee.

Brosseau: Is that Blake Little?

Gallery Employee: Yeah, he dumps ten gallons of honey on each of his models.

Brosseau: That’s so hot.

Gaffney: He is the most cutting edge—he is hot right now.

Gallery Employee: He’s super hot.

Recently, on Art Breakers...

Brosseau:  *squints while reading small sign next to portrait on gallery wall*  "Hey, it says this dude with the sunflower is Anthony van Dyck."

Gaffney:  "Hey, my mom says he was in that old-school movie 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'". 

Brosseau:  'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' is so hot right now. 

Gaffney:  So hot. 

* Opening credits *

I'm not surprised that the authenticity of this painting has been doubted in the past.

Clearly someone has  over painted the eyes (the whites are too white and stick out), the line along the edge of the nose (Whistler never does anything so unsubtle) and the fussy curls on the forehead (ditto). Whistler's own hand is clearly visible however in the heavy impasto (lead white) of the dress. It will be very interesting to see what it looks like after cleaning.

Revivalism in art, design and architecture is a foundational aspect of modernism, though it has often been overlooked. This volume seeks to investigate the diverse dimensions of revivalism, exploring its meanings and impacts across cultures and media between c.1850 and 1950. Bringing together case studies that highlight revivalism in fields as diverse as Armenian architecture, German glassware and contemporary tattooing, Revival: Memories, Identities, Utopias counteracts perceptions of revivalism as a practice opposed to canonical modernism, instead highlighting its international and interdisciplinary presence. This book challenges established viewpoints on intersections between past and present, offering new perspectives on what makes revivalism a force for innovation and not a mode of conservatism. Revivalism, this collection argues, looks forward into a present and indeed a future that is built upon persistent echoes of history. 

The same is said in NYC and Chicago. In nearby Philadelphia records show that people continue to vote for up to five years after they're dead. Talk about the dead ruling the living.

Have been trying to but won't work .

Am persevering.