Previous Posts: August 2024
Wells Festival of Literature
August 22 2024
Picture: BG
One of the events I'm really looking forward to speaking at in the Autumn is the Wells Festival of Literature. It's on Friday 25th October, 8pm, and you can book tickets here.
'The Invention of British Art'
August 19 2024
Picture: Elliott & Thompson
Hi everyone, Bendor here, to give what I'm afraid will be the first of many plugs for my new book, The Invention of British Art. It starts with Ice Age cave art and ends with Turner, and explores how we got from one to the other. It is a book about beginnings: the historical, cultural and economic circumstances from which British art emerged; why it took so long to emerge, relative to other nations; and the overlooked impact art has, in turn, had on British history.
Publication date is October 10th, and you can even pre-order it here at Waterstones.
I'll be speaking at various events in the Autumn, including the Cheltenham and Wells literature festivals, and will post more news of those here soon!
British Pictures at Witt Library Website Live!
August 3 2024
Picture: courtauld.ac.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Courtauld Institute in London have just gone live with their latest digitisation of the British Picture cards from the Witt Library (thanks to Neil Jeffares for altering me to this). This first collection of photographs and clippings from old auction, exhibition and historic photos contains over half a million objects, which is staggering.
The opening of this resource is going to change picture research forever, I think. A seminal moment for both academia and the art market. I can't wait to see the discoveries start pouring in.
More national schools are on the way, it's time to get hunting!
Fitzwilliam Museum acquires Edme-Adolphe Fontaine
August 1 2024
Picture: Elliott Fine Art
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The London dealer Will Elliott, who has recently moved into premises in Jermyn Street in St James's, has announced the Fitzwilliam Museum's acquisition a studio scene by Edme-Adolphe Fontaine (1814-1883).
To quote part of Will's write up on Instagram:
Fontaine’s depiction of his family studio was exhibited at the Salon of 1878, where it was shown under the laconic title ‘Intérieur d’atélier’. At its essence, this is exactly what the painting depicts and yet it is so much more than a simple studio view: intensely autobiographical, the painting is imbued with layers of meaning and is replete with vibrant, animated, detail.
In the Fontaine family studio in Versailles, with the day’s sunlight modulated by a green cloth strung across the window, a young lady wearing an artist’s smock, a sign of her professional status, diligently paints the portrait of a seated woman of similar age. The artist is Marie-Claire Fontaine, daughter of Edme-Alphonse, and she is in the process of painting her portrait of ‘Mlle E.B.’, likewise exhibited at the Salon of 1878. [...]
‘Intérieur d’atélier’ is so many things at once: a biography of a family; a tribute to a daughter; a memorial to a wife; an insight into the professional status of women artists in late 19th-century France; and, finally, a demonstration of the importance of the studio in family life.
Uffizi acquire Pierre Subleyras Mystical Marriage
August 1 2024
Picture: Uffizi
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news that the Uffizi in Florence have acquired Pierre Subleyras's The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine de' Ricci. The painting, which is signed and dated 1746, was acquired from Filippo Benappi's stand at TEFAF earlier this year.
According to the related press release:
The Director of the Uffizi Galleries, Simone Verde, stated: "The 'Mystical Marriage' is a work of primary importance for 18th-century art and will be a prominent new addition to the museum's 18th-century rooms. Besides its refined aesthetics and compositional elegance, it significantly reflects the taste of the circle of nobles and intellectuals around the Roman Curia in the mid-18th century. It is a true masterpiece, rare to find on the market, that will enrich the Uffizi's 18th-century collections, filling a significant gap and representing another step towards completing the pictorial history of Italy pursued by Luigi Lanzi, a mission that remains central to the museum today due to its national and international collection significance."
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This was a truly magical painting to see in-person and I even took some photographs of it on my phone to try and capture something of its beauty. The interaction of the figures, putti and their respective faces and gestures seems to allow for a suspension of time. Only the best paintings can do this, I think.
I don't know why the museum hasn't uploaded a better image online, the photograph above does no justice to it at all!
