Previous Posts: articles 2023
Brian Sewell Archive Online
May 18 2020
Picture: PMC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The catalogued archive of art critic Brian Sewell (1931-2015) has been published online by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.
The database entry states that the collection contains;
1,958 files; 15 journals; 1 coat; 1 portrait.
Ps. A wide ranging set of frank and honest interviews with Brian Sewell are available to watch on YouTube.
Sleeper Alert!
May 18 2020
Picture: Kiefer.de
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News on Twitter (via @AuctionRadar) that this drawing described as 'After Raphael' sold for €32,000 over an estimate of €360 in Germany last week.
Curate an Exhibition with ArtUK
May 18 2020
Picture: ArtUK
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
ArtUK has launched an online platform for users to 'curate' their own virtual exhibitions with art works from the public collection. After you have selected your pictures you can arrange them in any way you wish with fancy blurbs and introductory pieces etc. Your results will then be shared with other users online.
Sounds like a very creative way to spend a few hours during these uncertain times.
Update - Bendor adds that he's had a go already, with an assembly of paintings that feature cheese. Just what the world needs right now.
Portrait of Millicent Fawcett Reidentified
May 14 2020
Picture: Royal Holloway, University of London
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Guardian have reported on the recent reidentification of a portrait of suffragist Millicent Fawcett in the collection of Royal Holloway, University of London. The portrait had long been misidentified as an image of one of the university's former headmistresses Dame Emily Penrose. Its reidentification was established after archival research undertaken by Dr Imogen Tedbury which proved it was a gift from the artist Theodore Blake Wirgman.
Dorotheum June Auction
May 14 2020
Picture: Dorotheum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Dorotheum in Vienna has uploaded their June old master paintings auction catalogue online. There are many interest pictures as always, including a few works that have appeared on the art market in recent years.
One very eye catching painting is the above. This scene of The Conversion of Saint Paul by Puria di Valsodo (1561-1589) painted straight onto an ornate slab of alabaster.
BEWARE: This is the most obscene old master I've seen in a long time...
Fondation Custodia Online
May 14 2020
Picture: Fondation Custodia
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A quick post to highlight the Fondation Custodia's superb collection of old master drawings, many of which have been uploaded to their website. The superb images they have provided are very captivating, and I have already lost a significant portion of time zooming in on their many treasures. The image above is a superb portrait by Ottavio Leoni.
This Parisian museum was founded on the collection of historian Frits Lugt (1884-1970). Lugt is a name all picture researchers will know, especially in his role of cataloguing auctions and sales.
They are still in the process of uploading their paintings, miniatures, prints and other objects. I look forward to seeing it when it's all complete!
How Did Rembrandt Make His Paint?
May 14 2020
Video: Rembrandthuis
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Rembrandthuis Museum in Amsterdam have made this short video giving an introduction to paintings and pigments of the seventeenth century. English subtitles are included for non-Dutch speakers.
Blue Boy Project
May 12 2020
Picture: The Huntington
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Earlier this spring The Huntington in California concluded a three-year research and conservation project on Thomas Gainsborough's famous painting known as The Blue Boy. The website that accompanies the project is filled with interesting images and videos showing what knowledge has been gained from their work.
Art Trade to Reopen Before Museums?
May 12 2020
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Arts Newspaper have published an interesting article concerning the reopening of auction houses and commercial art galleries in the UK as part of the phase-two easing of lockdown. This could mean that such businesses could be reopened as early as 1st June. Museums are part of the third phase and thus provisionally scheduled for reopening from 4th July.
These dates are contingent on the fact that the infection rate does not experience a surge or second peak. Watch this space.
Quiz: Find the Original
May 12 2020
Picture: Hermann Historica
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
This painting described as Fine portrait of a young female artist, probably German, c.1800 is coming up for sale in Germany later this month. This is a copy of a known painting. Can you find the original? Should be rather easy for any lover of art!
No prizes, just for fun.
Update - Congratulations to Barthélémy Jobert who recognised this to be a copy of Vigée Le Brun's self portrait in the Uffizi. The guilloche frame on this one is rather beautiful.
Sleeper Alert!
May 12 2020
Picture: Dams Casa d'Aste
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
This painting of Saint John the Baptist catalogued as 'Caravaggist School, 17th century' made an impressive €131,000 over an estimate of €7,000 in Rome last week (alerted by @AuctionRadar on Twitter).
Painting by 17th-Century Nun Smashes Estimate
May 11 2020
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Artnet have reported on the very impressive result achieved at Sotheby's last week for this painting (pictured) by the seventeenth century Italian nun Orsola Maddalena Caccia (1596–1676). Still Life of Birds sold for £212,500 (inc. fees) more than 14 times its high presale estimate of £15,000. Works by the artist are incredibly rare and it is hoped that more might come to light after this impressive result.
The Future of Auction Salerooms?
May 11 2020
Picture: Dreweatts
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
In light of the current health crisis the auction house Dreweatts has introduced a new online virtual saleroom service for their upcoming auctions.
In their own words;
The service provides a virtual tour of the galleries at our picturesque Donnington Priory salerooms, allowing you to walk through each room, browsing and interacting with the lots as you go, just as if you were there in person. All from the comfort of your own home, at your own pace and at a time that suits you!
Some museums have been operating such platforms on recently closed exhibitions. They allow visitors to virtually glide around galleries at the click of a mouse.
Will it catch on in the commercial art world? Might such online-only platforms becoming an increasingly permanent feature for auctions? It all depends how buyers will react to not being able to have a chance stand in front of the objects they are buying. For old master paintings it is often only when you're physically stood in front of an artwork that you can make judgements on its condition and quality. Although photography is increasing in quality, digital images can still obscure these all important factors.
In contrast, the recent successful OMP sales at Sotheby's shows that there is confidence in buying pictures online for considerable prices. It will be interesting to see how the July sales fare if strict social distancing is still enforced.
Early American Art Lecture
May 11 2020
Picture: Martin Randall Travel
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
As art tourism has ground to a halt in recent months the cultural tour company Martin Randall Travel have been uploading some rather interesting lectures recently from their portfolio of experts.
The image above is from a beautifully illustrated introductory lecture on Early American Portraiture given by art historian Mary Lynn Riley It is always fascinating to see how American artists observed British fashions yet imbued their own distinctive style into their artworks.
Free Pre-Raphaelite Webinar
May 11 2020
Picture: BMAG
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Victoria Osborne, curator of fine arts at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, is presenting a free webinar on the Pre-Raphaelites on Wednesday 13th May 4pm (BST). The webinar is being run by Newark Museum in New Jersey, USA. Viewers will also have a chance to participate in a Q&A after the lecture, a wonderful chance to put any questions you may have to a museums professional.
The event is free but you will be required to sign up to Zoom to join in.
Marcel Roethlisberger (1929-2020)
May 8 2020
Picture: YouTube
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News has reached us of the passing of art historian and scholar Marcel Roethlisberger (1929-2020). Born in Zurich, and having been educated at the universities of Bern, Cologne, Paris, Florence and Pisa, his studies eventually brought him to the Courtauld Institute in London. After completing his thesis on Jacopo Bellini he was encouraged by Anthony Blunt to develop an interest in the paintings of Claude. He went on to become a leading scholar in the works of Claude, Liotard and several Swiss artists.
Pastels specialist Neil Jeffares has published his own relfections on the significance of Roethlisberger in his blog.
Sotheby's Results
May 8 2020
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Yesterday's mid-season old masters sale at Sotheby's brought in a very respectable £3.37m (including fees), with 86% of lots sold. This is further encouraging proof that the market for old masters is still going strong despite these strange times. It is also a sign that buyers have confidence in bidding online, something that has not always been taken for granted.
There were several lots that sold particularly well. The most impressive result was Bernado Zenale's Saint John the Baptist, standing in a landscape (pictured) which brought it £225,000 over an estimate of £20,000 - £30,000. The majority of the Earl of Clarendon's set of full length portraits sold above their upper estimates too. This shows that copies of fine pictures can still command respectable prices.
Oranges in Paintings
May 7 2020
Video: Paleis Het Loo
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Paleis Het Loo, the Palace of the House of Orange-Nassau, have made a rather nice video exploring the theme of Oranges in paintings. Conservator Hanna Klarenbeek explains their symbolism and significance particularly in relation to the Monarchy of the Netherlands.
Non-Dutch speakers will have to switch on the auto-translate feature on YouTube to get subtitles in your own language.
Mystery of Portrait Donor Solved
May 7 2020
Picture: The Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Godfrey Kneller's portrait of the poet and diplomat Matthew Prior (1664-1721) was one of the highlights of the recent Tate exhibition British Baroque: Power and Illusion. Few painters could capture the confidence and haughtiness of their sitters like Kneller could.
The painting's lender, Trinity College Cambridge, have published a blog about the recent discovery of the painting's donor. The work was presented to the college in 1908 under the strict conditions that the donor should remain anonymous and that the portrait should be hung "anywhere except in the hall".
It transpires that the canvas was a gift from artist and benefactor Charles Fairfax Murray (1849-1919). The identity of the donor was recently unearthed in a handwritten letter by M.R. James, the then Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum and famous writer of ghost stories.
A high-resolution image of the painting, superb painterly flourishes and all, can be found here.
Free Ruskin Lecture
May 7 2020
Picture: @SuzanneFagence
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Dr Suzanne Fagence Cooper, author of the book Why Ruskin Matters, is giving a free lecture on John Ruskin as artist, thinker, polemicist and environmental campaigner. The lecture is in collaboration with the Watts Gallery as part of their 'Watts and Home' series.
The lecture goes live at noon today (BST 7th May 2020) on YouTube, and should be available to watch on demand after the event.
