Previous Posts: articles 2023
Stolen Salvator Mundi Returned to Naples Basilica
January 18 2021
Video: Videoinformazioni News
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A version of Leonardo's Salvator Mundi that was stolen from the Basilica di San Domenico Maggiore in Naples has been returned. The stolen painting, which was taken two years ago, was discovered in a flat in the city recently by the authorities. The video above shows the painting being rehung in the Muscettola Chapel by a mask-wearing priest.
Update - The Daily Mail has published better images of the work.
Update 2 - Ben Lewis, art critic and author on the Salvator Mundi, has commented on Twitter that this painting was restored and exhibited in Rome last year. It seems like the timescale of the thefts might be a little off.
Must Have Books for Conservation
January 18 2021
Picture: IIC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) have published an interesting list of books on conservation which they consider the 'must haves'. This might be of interest to some readers who enjoy the work undertaken by professional conservators. Alternatively, it might be useful for those who are looking to redeem book tokens they received for Christmas.
Toledo Museum of Art Acquires a Ligozzi
January 18 2021
Picture: Artnet
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio has acquired a painting of Saint Francis Adoring the Cross by Jacopo Ligozzi (1547-1627).
The museum's senior curator Lawrence W. Nichols is quoted as saying:
'Saint Francis Adoring the Cross,’ presumably, was commissioned for a patron’s private devotions, to encourage the viewer to emulate the extreme religious conviction of the saint. The restricted color palette augments the painting’s emotional intensity. We are very pleased to have acquired this painting that fills a significant area in our Italian painting collection. While Ligozzi is not a household name, he is an important figure in this time period, and this acquisition makes Toledo one of only three American museums with one of his works.
Here's a write up from La Tribune de l'Art.
Istanbul's National Painting Palace Reopens After Renovation
January 18 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Istanbul that the city's National Palaces Painting Museum has reopened after a 3-4 year renovation project. The museum, which was first opened in 1856, houses a vast collection of paintings from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries drawn from various palaces. The latest exhibition there will loan 3,000 works from the Topkapı Palace.
The photo above shows Turkey's president ErdoÄŸan examining Felix-Auguste Clement's Hunt in the Desert, the largest orientalist painting in the country supposedly.
Cornelis van Poelenburgh Self Portrait Soars Past Estimate
January 18 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A rare Self Portrait by the Dutch landscape painter Cornelis van Poelenburgh (1594-1667) soared at Sotheby's last Thursday. It made £100,800 (inc. commission) over its £5k - £7k estimate. Sotheby's catalogue note suggests that it was made when the artist was staying in London and producing cabinet pictures for King Charles I between the years 1637-41. The prestigious provenance must have helped too, as it was reputedly owned by William Beckford and later made its way into the collection of the Dukes of Hamilton.
Update - I've just spotted that the painting has already appeared on dealer Sander Bijl's Instagram page.
Kunstminute at Pinakothek Museums
January 15 2021
Video: Pinakotheken
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A recent article published by the Süddeutsche Zeitung has drawn my attention to this rather nice set of short videos produced last year by the Pinakothek Museums in Munich, Germany. Kunstminute consists of 23 one minute videos on various paintings presented by curators and experts. Well worth browsing through if you have a spare minute or twenty three.
Changes Afoot at BMAG
January 15 2021
Picture: BMAG
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) has announced some changes to its 2021 schedule. Firstly, the museum will close throughout 2021 and reopen in 2022 to allow for an essential electrical upgrade. The city will host the Commonwealth Games in 2022, and it seems that this is factored into this decision.
Aesthetically speaking, the museum has also announced a radical change to its famous Round Room (pictured), which houses an impressive selection of its collections in a vaguely nineteenth century format. It seems the displays in the space have changed a lot over the course of the twentieth century.
As their official press release explains:
A radical new display of this stunning gallery will reflect the people of 21st Century Birmingham. In a sweeping change from the current paintings of landscapes, historic subjects and dignitaries from the past, the new We Are Birmingham display will present a vibrant celebration of the city that Birmingham has become. It will draw on new artworks as well as historic items from Birmingham’s Collections.
Cook with the Uffizi
January 14 2021
Picture: Uffizi
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence will be teaming up with some famous Italian chefs to produce a series of videos for their website and Facebook channel. Uffizi da Mangiare, or 'The Uffizi on a Plate', will see chefs take well known masterpieces from the gallery's painting collection and transfer them into dishes. This includes works by the likes of Caravaggio, Willem van Aelst and Jacopo Chimenti. The series begins this Sunday 17th January 2021.
The gallery's director Eike Schmidt is quoted as saying:
The idea came to us in these Covid times. We were talking to chefs from restaurants in Florence because they want to know when we will reopen and when the tourists might start returning. Quite a few of them turned out to be interested in art. They were enthusiastic when we came up with the idea... For some, it could be a little more abstract – they might be inspired by the colour of the composition.
Kauffman Article in Apollo
January 14 2021
Picture: Apollo
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Art historian Emma Barker has written an article for Apollo on Angelica Kauffman, and why it is a terrible shame that her 2020 exhibition at the Royal Academy was cancelled due to the virus crisis. Fortunately, the RA are selling the catalogue online in case you'd like to experience the exhibition in printed format.
Attribution Controversies Cuts Short Exhibition (?)
January 14 2021
Picture: Valenciaplaza.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Spanish digital media outlet Valencia Plaza has published an article regarding the attribution controversy surrounding the above Portrait of a Lady in Profile.
In 2017 Carmen Garrido Pérez, curator and former head of technical documentation at the Prado, unveiled this painting as an early Italian-period canvas by Diego Velázquez. The work was exhibited in the Museum of Fine Arts in València from the Delago Private Collection. Parts of the collection, including the above painting, were due to remain on loan to the museum for 5 years. However, this has been cut short.
The article suggests that controversial attributions of some of the paintings highlighted by experts has played a part in this decision. Carmen Garrido Pérez was also behind the recent controversy regarding a recently upgraded El Greco.
Georgian Group Journals Published Online
January 14 2021
Picture: The Georgian Group
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Georgian Group, a conservation charity which promotes the protection of and research into classical buildings in Britain, has published their back catalogue of journals online. This free resource will be of great interest to any scholars or enthusiasts of architecture and design in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The years from 1986 through to 2017 are covered thus far.
Monastery Art Sale to Catalonian Museum Barred
January 14 2021
Picture: Heraldo.es
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Interesting news from Spain that the sale of 95 works of art from the Monasterio de Sijena to the National Museum of Art of Catalonia has been barred by the Spanish Supreme Court. The works have been deemed as integral to the history of the monastery and thus are protected by the appropriate laws in place. It seems that much of the collection of the religious institution had been looked after by the museum, with several works being sold to them in the 1990s.
German Govt Gives Museums €32m for Security
January 13 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The German Government has announced that it is giving museums €32m worth of grants to increase security provisions. This comes after several high profile thefts, including from the Dresden Green Vault in 2019.
German culture minister Monika Grütters is quoted saying:
Preserving our cultural infrastructure is one of the most important cultural policy goals of the federal government, especially in these times of crisis, culture creates identity and cohesion.
The Duke of Buccleuch's Rembrandt Re-hung
January 13 2021
Picture: The Sunday Times
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Sunday Times published a story last weekend in regards to a Rembrandt owned by the Duke of Buccleuch.
The Duke has recently rehung the painting of A Lady Reading (pictured) in Drumlanrig Castle after it had spent years hanging up high in an obscure room. This previous arrangement was sought after a Leonardo was stolen from the castle in 2003. Fortunately, the Rembrandt is now hanging in a secure position at eye line in a more prominent room.
Van Eyck Scanned by the University of Antwerp
January 13 2021
Video: Museabrugge.be
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I've spotted this interesting video (on Twitter via. @auctionaugur) that the University of Antwerp is undertaking some scans of Van Eyck's Madonna with Canon Joris van der Paele. The scans undertaken onsite in the Groeningemuseum in Bruges will allow researchers to understand more about the material and techniques that went into this masterpiece.
Sotheby's Master Paintings II Sale
January 13 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's have published their NY Master Paintings Part II Sale onto their website. This online sale, the equivalent of the old 'day sale', will be held between 22 - 30 January 2021.
There are lots of pictures worth highlighting, but I don't want to spoil too much of the fun. Perhaps worth pointing out is Van Dyck's Virgin and Child, estimated $400k - $600k. This version was taken by William III from the British Royal Collection back to the Netherlands. Recent conservation has revealed many pentimenti, some of which are now visible, showing perhaps that the other version in the Royal Collection might be a repetition of the present picture.
A few others worth pointing out are a Madonna and Child by Lorenzo di Bicci estimated at $200k - $300k; a Roelandt Savery of Venus and Adonis estimated at $150k - $200k; a recently upgraded Gerrit Honthorst violinist estimated at $200k - $300k; and a Guercino Mars at $150k - $200k.
Stolen Bacon Allegedly Revealed in Video
January 11 2021
Picture: @brand_arthur
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Art Investigator Arthur Brand has posted a video on his Twitter account allegedly showing a painting by Francis Bacon which was stolen from a Madrid Gallery in 2015. The video was purportedly made by thieves who are trying to sell the painting for €4m on the black market. Here's an article which gives a little more of the background to the thefts and this recording.
Vermeer Exhibition in Dresden
January 11 2021
Picture: The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden will be opening a new exhibition in June 2021 entitled Johannes Vermeer. On Reflection.
This exhibition will focus on the recent conservation of the gallery's Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window. The removal of old overpaint shows that Vermeer had intended the scene to include a painting of cupid in the background. This detail, which also features in Vermeer's Lady at the Virginals in London, was overpainted at some point.
The show will also feature loans from the Rijksmuseum, The National Gallery in London and other works by Vermeer's contemporaries.
It seems that the gallery have pushed back the dates of the exhibition to 4th June 2021 - 12th September 2021.
Bernini & Son up for Auction
January 9 2021
Video: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
It's not often that you get the chance to purchase an Bernini. Let alone a piece of sculpture by the hand of two Berninis! But it seems that these unprecedented times are bringing all sorts of treasures to the marketplace. Sotheby's New York have made the above video to accompany the sale of an early marble sculpture of Autumn by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and his father Pietro. The work will be sold later this month with an estimate of $8m - $12m.
Unrecorded Jan Massys at Christie's
January 9 2021
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's are offering a previously unrecorded painting of Mary Magdalene by the Flemish mannerist Jan Massys (1509-1575) in their upcoming sale of the collection of Mr & Mrs John H Gutfreund. It will be offered for sale on 26th January 2021 and carries an estimate of $120k - $180k.
The painting doesn't seem to have been known to Max J. Friedländer, who compiled the most authoritative catalogues of early Netherlandish paintings during the 1970s. Christie's catalogue note explains that other versions are known, yet the quality of this particular work suggests that it is the primary autograph version on which the others were based.
The work also bears the artist's signature and date (albeit slightly scrubbed):
