Previous Posts: April 2024
Louvre Unveils Conserved Delacroix
April 30 2024
Picture: Delacroix, La Liberté guidant le peuple APRES restauration© GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Adrien Didierjean / Mathieu Rabeau-jpg
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Louvre in Paris have revealed Eugène Delacroix's freshly conserved and iconic La Liberté guidant le peuple. The conservation project, the first since 1949, was undertaken by Bénédicte Trémolières and Laurence Mugniot and consisted mostly of removed old yellowed varnish. Apparently, this has led to many new perspectives on the work, including the fact that Liberty's tunic is mostly grey and not uniformly yellow.
The work will be on display again to the public in the Mollien Room from 2nd May 2024.
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As mentioned previously, it is very impressive that the Louvre, a museum which has famously resisted restoring many of its works of art, is apparently looking afresh at this tradition. The benefits, if undertaken in a restrained and considered way, can be outstanding. However, the cleaning of a picture can also make you look at it in an entirely different way - I cannot see Fragonard's The Swing in the same light after its cleaning back in 2021, for example. I know that there was a conference on the subject of conservation in the museum a few weeks ago but I missed it, alas.
Recent Release: Radiography and Painting
April 30 2024
Picture: brepols.net
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Here's an interesting recent publication which I missed from the end of last year. Radiography and Painting is a two-volume book by Elisabeth Ravaud, a doctor of medicine and a PhD in art history, and examines the history and application of x-rays in the world of paintings.
According to the book's blurb:
Radiography is a technique that has been employed in the study of paintings for more than a century. The history of this method of analysis indicates that its development has been modest since the 1960s, as its use has been limited to reductive approaches that take into account no more than the immediately intelligible signs. By systematically considering the physical mechanisms involved in the creation of an image, this volume seeks to demonstrate that we can access new fields of radiological analysis by identifying two categories of 'signs': those that may be obvious but whose meaning is misleading, and those which are not immediately comprehensible.
This study has been primarily based on a thorough and essential reviewing of current literature concerning the materials and processes used for the making of paintings. The semiological analysis is based on the understanding of the physical phenomena occurring in the formation of the image, and on correlations between the radiographic images of a painting and the information stemming from its observation, other scientific results, and the restoration reports. Furthermore, a number of experiments were conducted to consolidate certain assumptions regarding image-formation mechanisms. Ultimately, this book hopes to show how data resulting from radiographic analysis can be seen and set in a broader context of information on a specific work or a group of works, in order to enrich our knowledge of art history, history of technology, and conservation as well as restoration.
The Rubenshuis Partially Reopening in August 2024
April 30 2024
Picture: rubenshuis.be
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Rubenshuis in Antwerp will be partially reopening on 30th August 2024. This includes areas such as the Garden, the 'Rubens Experience' (a new multimedia exhibition, it seems) and the Library. The artist's residence, the main portion of the house, is due to reopen in six years time, at some point in 2030 (!)
Manchester Art Gallery Taking Stock with 'Open Store'
April 30 2024
Picture: manchesterartgallery.org
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Manchester Art Gallery are opening free tours of its reserve collection, which is currently being hung temporarily in one of its galleries. The initiative is part of its 'Taking Stock' project, which encourages visitors to 'join the discussion as we explore ideas of what the city’s art collection looks like now and how it can best meet the needs of the future.'
The Bath Preservation Trust are hiring!
April 30 2024
Picture: Bath Preservation Trust
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Bath Preservation Trust are hiring a Curator (maternity cover).
According to the job description:
We are recruiting an experienced curator to work together with the Senior Curator on caring for BPT’s accredited collections and loans at No. 1 Royal Crescent, The Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Beckford’s Tower and the Museum of Bath Architecture, as well as the archive and the library held by BPT.
This role will involve both collections management and documentation as well as researching and curating exhibitions across the museums, maintain our accredited status and reinstate and maintain GIS at BPT museums in line with our forward plans.
The job comes with a salary of £27,281 and applications must be in by 20th May 2024.
Good luck if you're applying!
Christie's New York 20th Century Sale
April 29 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Christie's New York upcoming 20th Century Evening Sale (which also includes Impressionist works) has been uploaded online today. The auction will take place on 16th May 2024.
Highlights include this exquisite Van Gogh garden at $28m - $35m, a David Hockney view of water sprinklers at $25m - $35m, a large Warhol picture of flowers at $20m - $30m, a very fine Venetian view by Monet at $12m - $18m, and a painting of a lady in a hat by Picasso at $20m - $30m.
Close Encounters : Cross-Cultural Exchange between the Low Countries and Britain 1600-1830
April 29 2024
Picture: RKD
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The RKD in the Netherlands have published papers from a 2022 conference on the subject of Close Encounters : Cross-Cultural Exchange between the Low Countries and Britain 1600-1830. The texts, all accessible for free online, were edited by Karen Hearn, Angela Jager, Sander Karst, Rieke van Leeuwen, David Taylor and Joanna Woodall.
Here's a list of the interesting research which is now available for free!:
1. REFUGEES AND FORTUNE SEEKERS - Rieke van Leeuwen
2. NICHOLAS STONE THE ELDER (C. 1587-1647) AND HIS CIRCLE - Adam White
3. BETWEEN TWO COURTS: GERARD VAN HONTHORST AND STUART PATRONS IN LONDON AND THE HAGUE - Michele L. Frederick
4. FIRE AND PLAGUE: SAMUEL VAN HOOGSTRATEN’S CAREER IN ENGLAND - John Loughman
5. THE VAN DE VELDE STUDIO AT THE QUEEN’S HOUSE - Allison Goudie and Imogen Tedbury
6. DUTCH TERMINOLOGY IN ARTISTS’ WORKSHOPS IN LONDON - Ulrike Kern
7. LEATHERWORK AND KWAB FRAMES - Gerry Alabone
8. COPYING THE CARTOUCHE: ANGLO-DUTCH ENCOUNTERS IN CARTOGRAPHY AND SLAVERY - Eleanor Stephenson
9. JOHN VAN COLLEMA: A DUTCH INDIA GOODS MERCHANT IN LONDON - Amy Lim
10. THE PRINT COLLECTION OF WILLIAM CARTWRIGHT (1606-1686): A RECONSTRUCTION - Ellinoor Bergvelt
11. THOMAS WORLIDGE'S CLAIM TO FAME - Rebecca Welkens
12. THE GRIFFIER FAMILY OF PAINTERS AND THE YOUNG THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH - Rica Jones
13. WILLEM VAN DE VELDE'S FAME IN 18TH-CENTURY ENGLAND - Remmelt Daalder
14. IN THE WAKE OF THE OLD MASTERS - Quirine van der Meer Mohr
Masterpieces from the oeuvre of Jan Davidsz. de Heem
April 29 2024
Picture: snijdersrockoxhuis.be
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Snijders&Rockoxhuis in Antwerp opened a new exhibition over the weekend entitled Masterpieces from the oeuvre of Jan Davidsz. de Heem. The show was organised to coincide with curator Fred G. Meijer's recently published catalogue raisonné.
The display will continue until 1st October 2024.
17th-century Dress Study Day at Gawthorpe Hall
April 29 2024
Picture: britishportraits.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Understanding British Portraits network are hosting an interesting study day dedicated to 17th-century Dress, Textiles and Portraiture. The day will be hosted at Gawthorpe Hall in Lancashire on 14th May 2024. It appears that this event is mostly aimed at academic professionals, however, registration seems to be open to a much wider audience (no costs / fees are published).
UK Museum Entry Fee Debate
April 29 2024
Picture: The Times
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Times published an article over the weekend about the growing calls to reinstate museum entry fees (behind a paywall, alas). This comes as the government is increasingly squeezing the purse strings more than ever. Bendor has provided a short commentary on 'X' (formerly Twitter), which calls for governments to see national collections as an entire entity, rather than often leaving out regional museums of the picture whose financial futures are increasingly more uncertain.
Sotheby's New York Modern Sale
April 29 2024
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's New York have published their upcoming Modern Evening Auction. The auction will take place on 15th May 2024.
Among the top lots are an 'estimate on request' Monet haystack, a Magritte sunset at $15m - $20m, a $12m - $18m Leonora Carrington, a $10m - $15m Rothko, a $7m - $10m Manet still life (pictured), and a $8m - $12m Picasso.
Curate Early Netherlandish and German paintings at The National Gallery!
April 26 2024
Picture: BBC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery in London are hiring a Curator of Early Netherlandish and German Paintings.
According to the job description:
This role oversees, with other relevant Collection Curators, the care and growth of the Gallery’s Renaissance collection. They are responsible specifically for the care and display of the Gallery’s early Netherlandish and German pictures, and in charge of overseeing the conception and production of associated scholarly research, publications, and interpretation.
The postholder takes the lead for seeking and recommending relevant new acquisitions and loans, and for in-house exhibitions, collection displays and gallery refurbishment projects. They will be heavily involved in the Gallery’s ‘NG200’ programme for its bicentenary in 2024, including the major redisplay of the collection ‘The Main Event’.
The job comes with a salary of £66,837 and applications must be in by 12th May 2024.
Good luck if you're applying!
Drawing the Italian Renaissance at the King's Gallery in November 2024
April 26 2024
Picture: RCT
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I've spotted on the Royal Collection Trust's website that they'll be opening a new exhibition on Drawing the Italian Renaissance in November 2024.
According to the website:
The Renaissance period saw a dramatic transformation in the way that artists worked, with a new-found appreciation for creativity pushing artistic boundaries. Drawing became central to this development, evolving from an essential tool of workshop practice to an exciting art form in its own right.
The Royal Collection holds one of the world’s greatest groups of Italian drawings. Through around 160 works on paper by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian alongside lesser-known artists, this exhibition will reveal the diversity and accomplishment of drawing across Italy during this revolutionary period.
The show will run from 1st November 2024 until 9th March 2025.
18th Century Watermelon Regatta Conserved in Florida
April 26 2024
Video: fox13news.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
New from the The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Florida that an 18th century painting known as The Watermelon Regatta has been conserved. The work had been gifted to the gallery by the museum's first Director but had never been in display due to its poor condition. It will be on display in the galleries until later in May.
The Mona Lisa to be Moved?
April 26 2024
Video: Firstpost
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News broke yesterday that the Louvre in Paris are considering moving Leonardo's Mona Lisa into a new room. The plans are part of an acknowledgement that the current visitor experience in its current position is poor, a fact accepted by the museum's Director Laurence des Cars.
The article quoted above explains more about the overhaul plans:
A new underground chamber for painting would be part of a future “Grand Louvre” renovation, with a new entrance to the museum. Visitors would bypass the glass pyramid entry and be lead directly to underground rooms: one for the Mona Lisa and the other for temporary exhibitions.
“The mood in the museum is now ripe,” said des Cars. “We have to embrace the painting’s status as a global icon, which is beyond our control.”
The budget for the Louvre’s overhaul is estimated at €500 million, according to Le Figaro. But the French economy has yielded worse-than-expected debt and deficit forecasts, resulting in President Emmanuel Macron’s government trying to reduce state spending by €25 billion in its next annual budget.
Here's a video above of the story published by the Indian news channel Firstpost.
Compare Tintorettos at the Palazzo Grimani
April 26 2024
Picture: Palazzo Grimani
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A new exhibition has opened recently at the Museum of Palazzo Grimani in Venice, dedicated to Jacopo and Domenico Tintorettos' members of the Grimani family. The display has been made possible by several loans, including works from a private collection, organised by Colnaghi, and others lent from the Schorr Collection and the Rijksmuseum.
The show will run until 8th September 2024.
We've Conquered Raphael, and now onto Constable - says the University of Bradford
April 26 2024
Picture: BBC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Researchers at The University of Bradford have been hard at work trying to use technology to crack the code of various artists throughout history. Last year, the university's Centre for Visual Computing and Intelligent Systems famously came up with the result that a late copy was in fact by Raphael's hand, a system which is said to be 98% accurate but has since been refuted by several art historians in The Art Newspaper.
Today, the BBC have published news that another researcher at the University is now using technology to crack the code of John Constable (pictured). Equipment such as a CT scanner and 3D microscopy equipment will be used to do so, including 'tests include assessing the painter's technique'.
According to the BBC article:
Dr Alex Surtees, a lecturer in forensic science at the university, said it would ultimately be down to art experts to give the final say - but science could offer helpful clues.
"It’s certainly very exciting," he said.
"If I can be involved in the actual verification on work being a Constable, then I would be very proud."
He added: "This is me helping the art world make a decision."
The Arts in France during the reign of Charles VII
April 26 2024
Video: Pixelucis
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I missed the news last month that a new exhibition opened at the Musée de Cluny dedicated to the Arts in France during the reign of Charles VII. The show focuses on works produced during the end of the 15th century, troubled by the last outbreaks of the Hundred Years' War and prone to influences from Flanders and Italy.
The show will run until 16th June 2024.
Klesch Collection Scholarship
April 25 2024
Picture: Klesch Collection
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Klesch Collection, a private collection of art assembled by A. Gary and Dr. Anita Klesch, are accepting applications for the 2024–2025 Klesch Collection Scholarship, which is available for graduate studies in Baroque and Renaissance painting.
According to the website:
These scholarships have supported the global studies of graduate students (MA, MPhil, or PhD level), with the aim of contributing to their academic and professional development. Scholarship recipients are chosen based on merit and quality of their application.
Who can apply?
Any graduate student who has been accepted into a full-time Art History MA, MPhil or PhD course of study worldwide, beginning the next academic year. PhD students are welcome to apply for any year in their programme. Applications will be considered from students who will focus/are focusing their studies on European and British painting of the Renaissance and Baroque periods (c. 1400–1700).
What does the Klesch Collection Scholarship offer?
- A grant towards the yearly cost of the university fees.
- A paid internship opportunity at the collection for a minimum of 1 month.
Applications must be submitted by 20th June 2024.
Good luck if you're applying!
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Whilst looking for a photo to add to this post, I stumbled across this outstanding Van Dyck of Charles II when Prince of Wales (pictured), a painting which was presumably acquired by the collection when it appeared at Sotheby's back in 2018. In 2018 the work had come straight from a private collection and was covered in a very thick yellowed varnish which made the surface rather hard to read. Click the link above to see the work in its present restored state, the transformation has been magnificent by the looks of it. Although Van Dyck's brush was very smooth in this late period, these paintings have a distinctive magic and aura about them which is wonderful in their own right I think.
Liverpool Allotted Monet and Degas Accepted in Lieu
April 25 2024
Picture: liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool has been allocated two paintings by Monet and Degas as part of the Acceptance in Lieu scheme. The Epte in Giverny (1884), by Claude Monet (pictured), and Modiste Decorating a Hat (1891-1895), a pastel by Edgar Degas, will be on display in the gallery from this weekend onwards.
According to the museum's press release:
Kate O’Donoghue, Curator of International Fine Art at National Museums Liverpool, said: “Claude Monet’s landscapes and Edgar Degas’ scenes of everyday life epitomise the Impressionist movement and it’s difficult to overstate quite how special it is to obtain these new works by two of Europe’s most famous artists.
“The artworks will sit alongside works by artists such as Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse, helping us to tell the story of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism in a way that will no doubt inspire visitors for many years to come.”
The new acquisitions come from the collection of Mary Elliot-Blake (1904-1996) and have been owned by the Montagu family by descent. Due to the family's connection to the city of Liverpool, the paintings were allocated to the Walker.
