Previous Posts: February 2025
Giovan Battista Trotti in Piacenza and Cremona
February 21 2025
Picture: ilpiacenza.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The artist Giovan Battista Trotti will be celebrated with two exhibitions in Piacenza and Cremona later this spring. The shows are partly to celebrate the reunification the so-called Salazar Triptych, after two missing wings (to accompany the central panel which belongs to Bank of Piacenza) were discovered on the Italian art market. Click on the link above for more details.
Nationalmusée Luxembourg acquire Bartholomäus Sarburgh
February 21 2025
Picture: @ruudpriem
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Ruud Priem, curator of the Nationalmusée Luxembourg, has announced on 'X' the museum's acquisition of a portrait by Bartholomäus Sarburgh. The portrait captures the likeness of Sebastian Sporlin, a burgomaster of Basel, and was acquired from the London dealers Rafael Vals Ltd.
Wheelie bin Romney up for sale
February 21 2025
Picture: Roseberys
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Amusing news that a drawing by George Romney, that was discovered in a wheelie bin in upstate New York, is going to be featured within an upcoming sale at Roseberys. The drawing is said to depict Henrietta Greville, 2nd Countess of Warwick.*
According to the article linked above:
The collector, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "When I first found it buried in the wheelie bin it looked interesting but I had no idea it was nearly 300 years old.
"After taking it home and doing some research I couldn't believe it. How did this mid-18th century drawing from England end up in the trash in upstate New York?"
The drawing will be offered for sale on 12th March 2025 carrying an estimate of £600 - £800.
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* - As it happens, the Earls and Countesses of Warwick are one of my pet subjects. The identification comes from what appears to be a much later inscription on the mount and is curious since the work does in no way resemble Romney's portrait of the Countess and her children (now in the Frick) or a lost portrait of her that was engraved. Was the identification made at some point in the 20th century by someone who had knowledge of the Frick collection painting, which happened to have been acquired in 1908? A mystery.
Upcoming: Simone Cantarini Exhibition in Urbino
February 21 2025
Picture: michelangelobuonarrotietornato.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news that the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche in Urbino will be opening a monographic exhibition dedicated to Simone Cantarini in May. Organised in collaboration with the Barberini and Corsini galleries in Rome, the show will contain 54 paintings by the artist and run from 22nd May until 12th October 2025.
Rosalba Carriera Pastel Soars!
February 19 2025
Picture: Drouot
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The following pastel by Rosalba Carriera, a rather beautiful example of its kind which was given by the artist to the celebrated collector Jean de Jullienne in 1721, soared to 78,000 EUR over its 8k - 12k EUR estimate at Baratoux-Dubourg Enchères in Bourdeaux this afternoon (spotted via. @neiljeffares).
Musée d'Orsay acquires Anna Boch
February 19 2025
Picture: Musée d'Orsay
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
La Tribune de l'Art has published news that the Musée d'Orsay acquired a work by Anna Boch at the end of last year. The work, entitled Cueillette and dated 1890, had been exhibited in a travelling show on the artist last year. Here's the full catalogue note from the museum if you'd like to read more about the painting's history.
SMK acquires Clara Peeters from Koller sale
February 19 2025
Picture: Koller
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm a little slow to news that the National Gallery of Denmark (SMK) has announced its aquisition of Clara Peeters' Bird Still Life which appeared at Koller in Zurich at the end of last year and made a respectable 622,000 CHF (inc. premium) over its 300k - 500k CHF estimate. The picture is now the earliest dated painting by a woman artist in the SMK collection.
Jordaens to be conserved in open studio at Snijders&Rockox House
February 19 2025
Picture: codart.nl
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
CODART (the international network of curators of Dutch and Flemish art) has shared news that Jacob Jordaens' Christ and the Fishermen will be conserved in an open studio at the Snijders&Rockox House in Antwerp over the next few months. The picture is usual on display at the city's Sint-Jacobskerk and will be on display in the museum until the end of the year.
Little Beasts at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
February 18 2025
Picture: nga.gov
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. will be opening their latest Old Masters exhibition in May 2025 entitled Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World (spotted via CODART).
According to the gallery's website:
Art played a pivotal role during the dawn of European natural history in the 16th and 17th centuries. Advancements in scientific technology, trade, and colonial expansion allowed naturalists to study previously unknown and overlooked insects, animals, and other beestjes, or “little beasts.” Artists such as Joris Hoefnagel and Jan van Kessel helped deepen and spread knowledge of these creatures with highly detailed and playful works that inspired generations of printmakers, painters, decorative artists, and naturalists.
A delight for all ages, this exhibition features nearly 75 of these paintings, prints, and drawings in a unique presentation alongside specimens and taxidermy from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Learn about the rich exchange between artists and naturalists that sparked a fascination with earth’s living creatures, big and small. See how this intersection of art and science continues to inspire us today in a new film by artist Dario Robleto.
The show will run from 18th May until 2nd November 2025.
Witt Italian Pictures are Live!
February 18 2025
Picture: courtauld.ac.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news that the Italian pictures of the Witt Library are now live and free to browse online! There are exactly 349,029 cards in this national school, with some exciting discoveries to be made I am certain! Happy browsing.
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As a small aside, this resource is proving to be something of a treasure-trove for misattributed pictures, and the system generally makes sweeping through artists very efficient (more so than it was for opening endless stacks of boxes, it's true). Here's a harmless rediscovery I made just last week, a self-portrait by my favourite minor Georgian artist John Westbrooke Chandler (left) which had been parading as a work by John Opie in the 1950s (compared to another self-portrait by him which was sold by Christie's a few years ago(right)). I wonder where it is now.
Do get in touch if you make any of your own discoveries that you're willing to share.
Restored 'Botticelli' Teased before Redisplay in Naples
February 18 2025
Picture: ilcorrierino.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Regular readers might remember a story from November 2023 regarding the rediscovery of a lost 'Botticelli' by the Italian police. The painting (left) was found in a private home in Naples and had at the time been connected to a work which went missing from Santa Maria delle Grazie over half a century ago. The Italian press (spotted via. @Mweilc) have just shared very blurry images of the now-restored work (right) before it goes on display in an unspecified museum in Naples. The work was undertaken by Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence. More news and photos when they appear...
How to be a Tudor player at the Folger Shakespeare Library
February 18 2025
Picture: Folger Shakespeare Library
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. are about to open a very intriguing exhibition entitled How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition.
According to the library's website:
Social climbing was a competitive sport in Tudor England, requiring a complex range of skills, strategies, and techniques. How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition invites you into a world of lace ruffs, jousting, hawks, bad handwriting, scandal, and political factions. Experience the playbooks, the people, and the spectacular fails, as courtiers tried to navigate the minefield of working for a boss who could shower you with riches or chop off your head.
The exhibition features more than 60 objects from the Folger’s collection to demonstrate the “rules” for how to be a successful courtier. They show how historical and literary figures ranging from royal advisors to household staff used cunning, cutthroat, and creative means to acquire power and curry favor with the Tudor monarchs.
The show will open on 21st February 2025.
Postdoctoral Researcher at the Henry Moore Foundation
February 18 2025
Picture: Henry Moore Foundation
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Henry Moore Foundation are inviting applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher.
According to the advert:
This is an excellent opportunity that will enable a recent PhD graduate or Early Career Researcher to gain experience in a thriving cultural and research institution, as well as the opportunity to develop their own research portfolio in a supportive and well-established research environment.
The successful candidate will be a pro-active and knowledgeable postdoctoral researcher, whose expertise in the histories of sculpture will complement that of the Research Team at the Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, and will form a key element of our public programmes.
The position comes with an annual salary of £25,600 (£32,000 FTE) and applications must be in by 31st March 2025.
Good luck if you're applying!
Restoration Studio assembled in Museo di Capodimonte
February 17 2025
Picture: ansa.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Museo di Capodimonte in Naples is the latest museum to set up a conservation studios in their galleries to allow visitors to peer in to the process of restoring pictures. The project will examine roughly twenty works mostly from the Bourbon collection from the 14th - 16th centuries. Click on the link above to find out which works will be included.
Tintoretto's Crucifixion Unveiled after Conservation Project
February 17 2025
Picture: savevenice.org
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Venice that Tintoretto's famous Crucifixion for the Scuola Grande di San Rocco has been unveiled to the public after a long restoration project. Discoveries made during treatment include evidence that the artist used complex grids to organise the spatial relationships between figures. Click here to read more from the organisation Save Venice on the specifics of the project.
Louvre acquires Pierre Puget St John the Baptist
February 17 2025
Picture: Louvre via Nicolas Milovanovic
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Louvre's curator Nicolas Milovanovic has shared news that the museum has acquired Pierre Puget's The Head of St John the Baptist. Although Puget is more widely known as a sculptor, this rare example of him working in oils had recently been with the dealers H. W. Fichter Kunsthandel of Frankfurt (according to a Google search).
Split Manets to be reunited in May 2025
February 17 2025
Picture: Oskar Reinhart Collection / National Gallery, London
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news that two paintings, which were original one until their creator Edouard Manet decided to split them into two, will be reunited at the National Gallery in London later in May. This is the first time in 150 years Au café and Corner of a Café-Concert will be displayed together, thanks to a temporary loan from the Oskar Reinhart Collection (who own the canvas depicted on the left, above). The temporary exhibition will run from 27th May 2025 until 15th December 2025.
Big Turner Show at YCBA in March 2025
February 14 2025
Picture: YCBA
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Yale Center for British Art are opening a sizeable show on JMW Turner on 29th March 2025 entitled J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality. The exhibition will contain no fewer than 75 paintings and prints by the artist.
According to the press release:
This exhibition will draw from the Center’s rich holdings of the artist’s work, encompassing all media and phases of his nearly sixty-year career. This is the first show at the YCBA to focus on Turner in more than thirty years, displaying the complete arc of his radical artistic evolution. The exhibition will examine the contradictory nature of this revolutionary figure, who was as inspired by the past luminaries of the European landscape tradition as he was determined to surpass their greatest achievements.
“We are thrilled to welcome visitors back to the museum to reconnect with our extraordinary collections,” said Martina Droth, Paul Mellon Director. “Turner is an artist whose groundbreaking works continue to inspire. His work has long been a cornerstone of our collection and we are excited to show our returning and new visitors the full range of our Turner holdings.”
The exhibition will run from 29th March until 10th August 2025.
Prado Publishes Goya Printed References Online
February 13 2025
Picture: museodelprado.es
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Prado in Madrid have announced that they have published their latest online digital project. Repertorio de referencias impresas. 1771-1828 brings together all the printed references on Goya published during his lifetime. Containing 30,000 works, this digital project seems to set the bar for what is achievable in relation to providing original source material online (relating to a single artist) for art researchers and enthusiasts!
Courtauld scan reveals figure under Picasso
February 13 2025
Picture: courtauld.ac.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Courtauld Institute in London has shared news that x-ray and infra-red scans undertaken within its conservation studios have revealed a figure (or 'mystery woman') underneath Pablo Picasso's 1901 Portrait of Mateu FernaÌndez de Soto.
According to the institute's website:
Conducted in collaboration with the Oskar Reinhart Collection, ‘Am Römerholz’, Switzerland, the unknown artwork was discovered when The Courtauld took x-ray and infrared images of Portrait of Mateu FernaÌndez de Soto – a portrait depicting Picasso’s sculptor friend painted in 1901 and one of the earliest examples of the artist’s Blue Period – ahead of its display as part of the upcoming The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Goya to Impressionism. Masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection, opening 14 February.
The Courtauld’s analysis of the painting reveals it played an important role at a crucial stage in the young Picasso’s stylistic development, at a time when he was moving away from colourful, Impressionistic paintings towards a distinctly more melancholy artistic style which became the defining phase of his career known as his Blue Period.
