Previous Posts: articles 2023
Rosalba Carierra Pastels Acquired by the Frick Collection
March 29 2021
Video: The Frick Collection
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Frick Collection have made the above video to celebrate the recent acquisition of two pastel portraits by Rosalba Carriera. Both works were bequeathed by Alexis Gregory in 2020.
Hyacinthe Rigaud at Versailles
March 29 2021
Video: Château de Versailles
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Good news that le Château de Versailles's exhibition Hyacinthe Rigaud or the Sun Portrait has been extended until 13th June 2021.
As the exhibition blurb explains:
Laid out chronologically and by theme, the exhibition illustrates Hyacinthe Rigaud’s career from his early years in Catalonia to his consecration in Paris. Special focus is given to the artist’s self-portraits painted throughout his life, while a particularly spectacular section is entirely dedicated to portraits of Louis XIV.
In another section, visitors will be able to discover the very process of making a portrait, from the choice of format through to popular distribution through engravings, including the production of sketches and their presentation to the models. The portraits on display reflect the remarkable diversity of Rigaud's clientele from both France and abroad. The exhibition also highlights his sensitivity for sculpture: in 1695, his final trip to Catalonia was motivated by his desire to capture the features of his mother, Mme Rigaud (born Marie Serre), and to have them set in marble by the sculptor Antoine Coysevox.
Hermitage to put on NFT Exhibition
March 26 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakeiwicz:
The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, has announced that it will be hosting an NFT exhibition later this year. This will make it one of the first major museums to host a show dedicated to these digital artworks which have become the latest craze in the art world. The show will be supported by the Aksenov Family Foundation and aims to 'study new forms of audience involvement in cultural practices.'
Spring Flowers in the Kunsthistoriches Museum
March 26 2021
Video: Kunsthistoriches Museum Wien
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna has uploaded a nice video tour of their floral still lives for Spring. They have also recently begun a 'Thursday Evening in the Museum' feature on their YouTube channel, which are always rather interesting.
The video is in German, with fine Austrian accents which I'm very fond of, but you'll also be able to use auto-translate subtitles if you'd like to get the gist.
Sotheby's Modern and Renaissance Results
March 26 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Last night's Modern and Renaissance sale at Sotheby's London brought in a total of £96,860,164 with 87.24% of lots sold, minus three lots that seem to have been withdrawn before the sale.
The two old masters in the sale just about managed to hit their low estimates. Piero del Pollaiuolo's Portrait of a Youth made £3,900,000 (hammer price), £4,564,000 (with fees), which was right at the bottom end of its £4,000,000 low estimate. The newly upgraded Giulio Romano portrait also just managed to hit its low estimate at £378,000 (with fees).
The most impressive results came from twentieth century works. Arshile Gorky's Garden in Sochi made £8,585,700 over its £2.2m - £2.8m estimate, Edvard Munch's Summer Day or Embrace on the Beach (The Linde Frieze) made £16,284,000 over its £9m - £12m estimate, Frank Dobson's Female Torso made £2,041,750 over its £250k - £350k estimate, and František Kupka's Le Jaillissement II (Tryskání II) made £7,551,600 over its £1.5m - £2.5m estimate.
On the same day at Sotheby's Paris, Van Gogh's Montmarte scene brought in €13,091,250, smashing through its €5m - €8m estimate.
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Overall, it seems as if the new cross-category sales are going rather well. Although, from an Old Masters point of view, it was noticeable that the sale featured far fewer pictures compared to last July's Rembrandt to Richter auction. As the name suggested, it was very much a Modern and Contemporary Sale with two nice Renaissance portraits thrown in. With no works represented from the seventeenth, eighteenth or nineteenth century, it's hard to claim that this was a truly cross category offering. However, as we all know, the comparable scarcity of high value old master paintings does also play its part in dictating what sort of sales auction houses can put together.
We shall look forward to seeing what the July sales bring!
Fragonard Philosopher Reappears
March 25 2021
Picture: Gazette Drouot
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A long lost painting of a philosopher by Fragonard has been rediscovered in Champagne, France, by the auctioneers Petit et le cabinet Turquin. The painting was known only by written references before now. As is evident from the fabulous brushwork, the painting channels the energy of seventeenth century painters including the likes of Frans Hals and Rembrandt. However, it is perhaps the lighter palette that gives it away as a painting of the late eighteenth century. A corresponding work from the same series, dating to 1764, is found in the Kunsthalle Hamburg.
The painting will be offered for sale later this year with an estimate of €1.5m - €2m.
Here is the write-up from La Tribune de 'Art.
New Release: Visions of Heaven - Dante and the Divine Light
March 24 2021
Picture: Lund Humphries
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Oxford University art historian and Leonardo scholar Professor Martin Kemp has a new book out entitled Visions of Heaven: Dante and the Art of Divine Light.
To provide a short blurb:
Publishing on 25 March, to coincide with International Dante Day and the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death, Martin Kemp's major new study is the first book to consider the impact of Dante’s vision of divine light on visual artists of the Renaissance and Baroque. It combines a close reading of Dante’s poetry with analysis of early optics and is lavishly illustrated with masterworks by Giotto, Fra Angelico, Piero della Francesco, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Bernini and others. It also looks at what the rival media of poetry and painting can do.
In case you'd like to know more, Lund Humphries are running a free online conversation tomorrow with Kemp and Alessandra Buccheri, Professor of Art History at Accademia di Belle Arti di Palermo, and Simon Gilson, Professor of Italian Studies at Magdalen College, Oxford. The panel discussion will be broadcast on 25th March 2021 at 5pm (GMT).
'Selling your top masterpiece is not an option' says RA CEO
March 24 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Evening Standard have published an interesting interview with the chief executive of the RA, Axel Rüger. In this wide ranging interview Rüger speaks his mind on several points that are affecting the museum world at the moment.
On the prolonged wait for museums to reopen he has expressed:
It defies any logic — we provide a much more controlled environment than retail — you have to register, tickets are timed, numbers are tightly controlled, spaces are generally bigger and airier than most retail environments. Plus, commercial galleries are allowed to open and we are not. Before Christmas I walked through shops and thought how is this safer than the gallery?
He has also hit out against the calls last year for the RA to sell its prized Michelangelo marble:
Selling your top masterpiece is not an option. These works were entrusted to us to pass on undamaged to future generations. We have an obligation. They are not bargaining chips to sell on a rainy day. The Academy and other institutions have an obligation to organise their business model and income streams so that they can fulfil their core tasks and one of those is to protect and preserve the objects that we are trusted with. Selling a work is not a long-term solution.
Louvre Abu Dhabi Buys 27 Artworks
March 24 2021
Picture: artnet.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz;
Artnet.com have published an article on the latest news that the Louvre Abu Dhabi has purchased 27 major artworks over the past year. This includes the aforementioned painting by Georges de La Tour which made €4.3m with fees last December. Other significant works purchased include pieces by Marc Chagall and Auguste Rodin.
Cranach the Younger Soars
March 24 2021
Picture: Beurret Bailly Widmer Auktionen
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News on Twitter (via. @auctionradar) that the above portrait of a Lady by Lucas Cranach the Younger soared past its 80,000 - 120,000 CHF estimate to make 740,000 CHF (roughly £577,000) at Beurret Bailly Widmer Auktionen in Switzerland today.
Sleeper Alert!
March 24 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's sale of the family collection of the late Countess of Mountbatten of Burma has already had its first sleeper!
The above portrait of Matthew Parker (1504-1575), Archbishop of Canterbury, catalogued as by a Follower of Holbein, has just made £189,000 over its £2,000 - £3,000 estimate.
Update - And another! This portrait of Thomas, Lord Seymour, just made £94,500 over its £4,000 - £6,000 estimate.
New Louvre Collections Website
March 24 2021
Picture: Louvre
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Louvre in Paris have launched a new collections website. At a glance, the website seems very easy to use with all the usual functions required to make advanced searches. The images available are also rather good quality, although they don't allow in-depth zoom capabilities like some museums are now offering.
The website also explains that the re-use guidelines for educational purposes are also rather generous.
Thomas Lawrence: Coming of Age - Panel Discussion
March 23 2021
Picture: Bloomsbury
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A reader has kindly alerted me to this fascinating sounding panel discussion on the youthful works of Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830). More specifically, the panel will focus around author Amina Wright's new book on the artist (pictured). Other panellists include dealers Lowell Libson (Lowell Libson & Jonny Yarker Ltd) and Ben Elwes (Ben Elwes Fine Art). The discussion will be moderated by the television art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon.
The discussion will be broadcast on Zoom on 25th March 2021 at 5pm (GMT). It's completely free to attend but registration is required.
Workshop of Giambologna Ostrich at Cheffins
March 23 2021
Picture: Cheffins
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Here's a story I haven't spotted in the English speaking art press yet.
The auction house Cheffins will be offering a rare Ostrich by the Workshop of sculptor Giambologna in their upcoming April sale. It's believed the piece may have been created in collaboration with Pietro Tacca of Carrara.
The work had previously been in the collection of Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill before it was eventually sold to John Dunn-Gardner of Suffolk where it descended to the present owners. The work was spotted by the auction house specialists after the same owner had consigned some paintings for a previous sale.
The Ostrich will be offered with an estimate of £80,000 - £120,000 on 21st April 2021.
The Legacy of Carmen Sánchez GarcÃa
March 23 2021
Picture: Prado
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Prado in Madrid have opened yet another exhibition this month celebrating the acquisition of several paintings made possible by the legacy of Carmen Sánchez García (d.2016). García, a school teacher who had connections with the museum, left over 750,000 euros to the institution with the proviso that the money would be spent on acquisitions or restoration projects. The museum has purchased several paintings with the money, including artists not previously represented in the collection. Some of the highlights include works by Alonso Berruguete, Mariana de la Cueva, Gabriel Antonio Corvoysier, François Clouet (pictured), Adriaen Thomaszoon Key and María Blanchard.
Colección Banco de España
March 23 2021
Picture: Colección Banco de España
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I've spotted on Twitter (via. @cultura_hola) that Banco de España have digitised their art collection. The bank's collection of paintings is rather interesting, and filled with impressive works by many Spanish Old Masters. Equally impressive is the quality of images they have uploaded, which makes the experience even more enjoyable.
Fifteenth Century Painting of Dante Restored
March 23 2021
Picture: The Telegraph
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A recently restored fifteenth century portrait of Dante has been unveiled at the Uffizi in Florence. The painting was originally one of nine famous figures painted in fresco by Andrea del Castagno on the walls of a villa outside Florence between 1447 and 1449. It will be included in the Uffizi's recently announced Uffizi Diffusi Project, which will see important works of art travelling to different parts of Tuscany.
MET Acquires Portrait of Bengali Nursemaid
March 22 2021
Picture: MET
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News on Instagram (via. @adameaker) that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have acquired a rare eighteenth century portrait of Joanna de Silva, a Bengali nursemaid, painted by William Wood. Joanna was employed by a family of an officer of the British East India Company and later returned to England with them. This portrait was produced in 1792 when she had arrived in Britain and inscribed with the details above.
The painting was sold at auction in New York last September where it was estimated at $2,000 - $4,000. The acquisition was made possible through the Bequest of Mary Jane Dastich, in memory of her husband, General Frank Dastich, by exchange and Charles B. Curtis Fund, 2020.
US Museum Directors Defend Deaccessioning
March 22 2021
Picture: BMA
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Art Newspaper has published an article on the most recent defence of the directors of the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) and the Brooklyn Museum in their deaccessioning plans. Their comments were taken from a recent conference on the topic held by an American University.
In particular, Francis Bedford of the BMA, whose recent plan to sell $65m of art was thwarted last year, is quoted saying:
"the most important thing a museum can nurture is in fact not its collection but rather its community”, he calls for an aggressive reckoning with systemic bias at art institutions “in all categories, using any and all means”.
"[Museums] are not membership clubs. To reach and serve all communities, not just those in historically established spaces of privilege, it is an imperative of the present to reckon with the inequities of the past and the institutional systems that uphold those inequities."
Anne Pasternak from the Brooklyn Museum, who have accumulated $35m for 'collection care' thus far, is quoted:
“We ought to be more than static repositories for art,” she said. “It is unrealistic to accumulate endlessly.”
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On the surface of it, it seems like Bedford wants to be in charge of a local community centre, rather than an art gallery. No one can disagree with the notion that museums can do more to diversify their collection if the opportunities present themselves. However, is plundering your existing and inherited collections the best way to do this? Equally, are we living in a moment where an increasing amount of museum professionals are losing their faith in objects?
Gerstenmaier Collection Donated to Museo de Bellas Artes in Valencia
March 22 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The press in Spain have reported on news that 41 paintings from the collection of the recently departed Hans Rudolf Gerstenmaier have been donated to the Museo de Bellas Artes in Valencia.
The majority of the gifted works are Flemish, including Rubens's 'The Cumberland Virgin' and other paintings by the likes of Jan Brueghel the Elder, Hendrick Goltzius, Martin de Vos and Gaspar Peeter Verbrugghen.
Two years ago an additional 11 works were gifted to the Prado in Madrid.
Update - @Boro_RR on Twitter has pointed out that the aforementioned Rubens is actually the same 'Studio of Rubens' painting that sold at Christie's in July 2010.
