A forgotten Bernini (?) Withdrawn from Sale?
November 29 2021
Picture: arsmagazine.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Spanish arsmagazine.com have published an article on news that the gilded bronze above representing The Ganges River was withdrawn from auction last week.
The auction house La Suite in Barcelona had removed the bronze from sale just an hour before it was due to start. Further information has emerged that a government ministry had placed an export ban on the item so that more time could be spent on research.
The bronze has been connected to a small scale sculptural fountain produced by Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X. This sculpture survives in an altered state in the Patrimonio Nacional without the figures that once adorned it.
Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille Acquire Drawing by Louis Joseph Watteau
November 26 2021
Picture: Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
La Tribune de l'Art have published news that the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille have acquired a drawing by Louis Joseph Watteau (1731 - 1798). The work was purchased at auction earlier in the summer and is now the fifth work on paper by the artist owned by the museum.
Caravaggio and Artemisia: The Challenge of Judith
November 26 2021
Picture: @BarberiniCorsin
Posted by Adam Busakiewicz:
The Palazzo Barberini in Rome have opened their latest exhibition today entitled Caravaggio and Artemisia: the Challenge of Judith. Violence and Seduction in 16th and 17th Century Painting.
According to the museum's website:
The exhibition celebrates the fifty years since the acquisition by the Italian State and the seventies since the discovery of the famous painting by Caravaggio Giuditta beheading Holofernes.
The painting, created in Rome at the beginning of the Seventeenth Century, is kept in Palazzo Barberini.
A series of masterpieces from all over the world, including the beautiful Judith and Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi, document the overwhelming novelty triggered by Caravaggio’s work in contemporary painting.
The exhibition will run until 27th March 2022.
Dutch Paintings Exhibition at Serpukhov Museum, Moscow
November 26 2021
Picture: mk.ru
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Serpukhov Museum of History and Art near Moscow have just opened a new exhibition entitled Image and Meaning. Dutch painting of the XVII century from museums and private collections of Russia. The exhibition contains more than 80 works from 11 regional museums and 4 private collections and will also celebrate the influence of Holland on Russia from the period of Peter the Great onwards.
The exhibition will run until 10th April 2022.
Versailles Acquires Marie-Antoinette from Auction
November 26 2021
Picture: Aguttes
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from France that the Palace of Versailles have stepped in to acquire Joseph-Siffred Duplessis's Portrait of Marie-Antoinette. The portrait sold at Aguttes auction house yesterday for €175,500 (inc. commission) over its €20k - €30k estimate.
BMAG Raising Money to Conserve Burne Jones and Tapestry
November 24 2021
Picture: BMAG
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) are raising funds to have two works of art conserved. The Museum have started a JustGiving page to raise £25,000 to have Burne Jones's The Star of Bethlehem (pictured) and William Morris's Holy Grail Tapestries professionally treated and conserved.
According to their JustGiving page:
The Star of Bethlehem is the worlds largest watercolour and its been on display at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery for 130 years. Its essential we replace its fragile glazing as well as carefully assessing and conserving the painting.
The delicate Holy Grail tapestries are at serious risk of weakening and even tearing. They need conservation and a really good clean. We havent been able to display them since 2015 and they are currently in storage.
These monumental artworks have an important place in the history of British art as well as being stars of Birminghams collection. This vital fundraising campaign will ensure that they can be enjoyed by you and thousands of other visitors for many years to come.
New Release: Faithful and Fearless
November 24 2021
Picture: gilesltd.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Wallace Collection's Director, Dr Xavier Bray, has just had a new book published on Dog Portraits. Faithful and Fearless: Portraits of Dogs has been published by Giles in association with The Wallace Collection.
According to the blurb:
This is a wonderful overview of the remarkable range of dog portraits—there are no human sitters—produced over the last 250 years. It features well-known works such as Rosa Bonheur’s Brizo, (one of the best-loved portraits in The Wallace Collection), George Stubbs’ Turk, Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of his two dogs Tristram and Fox, Lucian Freud’s oil painting of Pluto, his pet whippet, and David Hockney’s dachshunds Stanley and Boodgie.
Over 50 works, arranged by theme, are drawn from major British collections, including the Royal Collection, the V & A, Tate Britain, the British Museum, and a wealth of regional museums and private collections. In addition there are memorabilia and souvenirs, including bronzes, photos, brooches, Fabergé works, and even stuffed dogs, many relating to the British royals, especially Queen Victoria and her children.
The release, coinciding with the Christmas present season, is perhaps no coincidence at all...
Elton John Gifted Rod Stewart 'Rembrandt Painting' for Christmas
November 24 2021
Picture: Ebay / Castle Fine Art
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I was bemused to come across a curious old masters reference in a recent interview with pop-star Rod Stewart published in The Guardian. In the said interview, Stewart claimed that Elton John had once gifted him a 'Rembrandt Painting' as a Christmas gift.
As Stewart explained:
We used to live 20 minutes from each other in Berkshire, so for Christmas I bought him a pop-up fridge from Harrods. You pressed a button and there’d be steam and lights and a bottle of champagne. It cost me £600; a lot of money in the 70s. We swapped presents and he said: “Oh very nice, dear, thank you.” He gave me a Rembrandt painting! I’ve never felt so stingy.
I wonder if the 'Rembrandt Painting' looked anything like the two masterpieces above?
New Release: A Biographical Dictionary of British and Irish Engravers, 1714–1820
November 24 2021
Picture: Yale University Press
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Paul Mellon Centre have shared news of a new Biographical Dictionary of British and Irish Engravers 1714-1820 by David Alexander published by Yale University Press.
In case the title doesn't sell itself:
This biographical dictionary of engravers working on copper encompasses both those who produced fine art prints, and also those who engraved book illustrations for medical, technical and literary works, all of which played a more important part than is usually realised in spreading information in the age of Enlightenment. Some 4,000 biographical entries draw on much unpublished information, researched over four decades, notably records of apprenticeship, genealogy, insurance and bankruptcy as well as newspaper advertisements and contemporary accounts.
Unrecorded Lawrence to lead Bonhams December Sale
November 24 2021
Picture: Bonhams
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Bonhams London have uploaded their upcoming December Old Master Paintings sale online. The sale will be held on 8th December 2021.
Their top lot is a previously unrecorded portrait by Thomas Lawrence, depicting Jane Allnutt with her pet spaniel. The artist is known to have painted several members of the Allnutt family, who made their fortune in selling wine and brandy.
The Lawrence will be sold on 8th December carrying an estimate of £150k - £250k.
The Lady Lever Art Gallery Conserve and Redisplay Portrait
November 23 2021
Picture: @LeverArtGallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Lady Lever Art Gallery in the Wirral have conserved and redisplayed Jean-Baptiste Santerre's 1705 Portrait of Catherine-Marie Legendre. The painting "is the only item in the gallery’s collection, from the 18th century, to depict a person of colour."
According to the gallery's website:
This disturbing portrait by Santerre is designed to impress by showing the sitter’s wealth and position in society. It shows a young boy, who is an enslaved African person, brought from a plantation to work as an unpaid house servant. He is wearing a decorative metal slave collar around his neck. His name is not known, but the sitter is Catherine-Marie Legendre (or Le Gendre, died 1749), the wife of French nobleman, Claude Pecoil (1629-1722), Marquise de Septème.
The painting will be displayed with a label which asks: “Does this portrait belong on the walls of the gallery today? Does its display help us tell and understand the history of slavery? Or does it continue to honour someone who benefitted from the slave trade? In light of recent international events, we want to know what our visitors think. We are displaying the portrait to be transparent with visitors and begin this conversation.
'Creating Constable' in Ipswich
November 23 2021
Picture: visitsuffolk.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Christchurch Mansion’s Wolsey Art Gallery in Ipswich, Suffolk, will be opening their latest exhibition entitled Creating Constable this Saturday.
According to the press details:
The ‘Creating Constable’ exhibition, explores the work of one of Suffolk’s most famous artists – John Constable and opens at Christchurch Mansion’s Wolsey Art Gallery from 27 November 2021 to 24 April 2022. The exhibition coincides with the 200th anniversary of The Hay Wain, one of Constable’s most famous works. It is also 200 years since the death of Suffolk artist George Frost, who was Constable’s early mentor.
To mark this significant bicentenary, the ‘Creating Constable’ exhibition explores Constable’s artistic roots, revealing stories about Suffolk artists, family, friends, and early supporters who provided him with the foundations on which his career was built.
Four early Constable works recently acquired by Ipswich Museums, with support from the Friends of the Ipswich Museums, the Art Fund, and the V&A Purchase Fund, will also be on public display for the first time. The recently discovered artworks were found in a scrapbook compiled by Constable’s relations, the Masons in Colchester, and include a portrait of his brother Abram and early landscapes.
Amis du Louvre Acquire Master of the Osservanza
November 23 2021
Picture: amisdulouvre.fr
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Amis du Louvre have announced their acquisition of St Joseph's Dream by Master of the Osservanza (active 1430 - 1450) for the Louvre. The painting was acquired in memory of the former Director of Louvre Michel Laclotte. The subject of the work was identified during the MET's 1988 exhibition Painting in Renaissance Siena. 1420-1500.
The Getty Museum are Hiring!
November 23 2021
Picture: Getty Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The J. Paul Getty Museum are hiring a Curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture.
According to the job description:
The J. Paul Getty Museum seeks a Curator of Decorative Arts with expertise in French Decorative Arts of the 17th and 18th centuries. This position within the Department of Sculpture and Decorative Arts will play a key role in a proposed redisplay and reinterpretation of the Museum's world-renown collection of French Decorative Arts. The successful candidate will have a track-record of curating engaging and meaningful exhibitions and displays of decorative arts and sculpture; the broad art historical background to bring context and insight to the interpretive program; and the ability and willingness to develop compelling and inclusive narratives for diverse audiences. Reporting to the Senior Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts, the Curator of Decorative Arts will be a team player, working closely with other curators in the Department, as well as with colleagues from Conservation, Design, Exhibition, Education, Interpretive Content, Registrars, Imaging Services and Preparators. They will also oversee for all the curatorial duties related to the collection and exhibitions.
The job comes with a salary of between $90,362 - $117,437 per annum.
Good luck if you're applying!
The Factory of the Renaissance Creative processes, market and production in Vicenza
November 23 2021
Picture: mostreinbasilica.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Basilica palladiana in Vicenza will be opening their latest exhibition next month entitled The Factory of the Renaissance Creative processes, market and production in Vicenza.
According to the gallery's website:
Something unique, indeed in some ways incredible, took place in the mid-16th century in Vicenza. Among the most dynamic areas in Europe for the production and trading of silk, the city, thanks to its increasing wealth, took a gamble on the transformation of its image from a “provincial location”, through avant-garde art and architecture, into a true capital of culture. Cultured and cosmopolitan clients, Vicenza’s nobility believed in the visions of a group of talented, ambitious young artists, who would become famous all over the world. What bound them together was their passion for new art nourished by that of Antiquity, born in the Rome of Michelangelo and Raphael, the art that Vasari was to define as the “modern manner”. It was very clear to the young artists that the resounding strength of this new language would enable them to challenge and undermine the venerated and celebrated masters and their traditional models, which were dominant in Venice at the time.
It was the genius of the architecture of Andrea Palladio, of the painters Paolo Veronese and Jacopo Bassano and the great sculptor Alessandro Vittoria.
It is from these premises that this unique exhibition takes its cue, which, by interweaving absolute masterpieces of painting, sculpture and architecture, combined with books, fabrics, precious objects and tapestries, will transport visitors back in time, inside the amazing “factory” of the Renaissance, telling of thirty years of the exceptional artistic life of Vicenza, from 1550 to the inauguration of the Olympic Theatre in 1585.
The exhibition will run from 11th December 2021 until 18th April 2022.
Art History for Six-Year-Olds and Under
November 22 2021
Video: Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze have produced a new series of YouTube videos specifically aimed for children up to the age of six. OPEN ART consists of ten videos (including those in the English language) that will be released each week on the gallery's website.
Here is the first edition, which features a thirteenth-century depiction of Saint Mary Magdalene by the Maestro della Maddalena. Not surprisingly, you won't hear what Mary Magdalene was also associated with...
US Museums Struggling to Find New Directors
November 22 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Artnet.com have published an interesting article on the fact that there are a growing number of vacant Directorship positions going in Museums in the US. The article has shown that there are currently around two dozen museums actively looking for Directors, including the likes of J. Getty Paul Getty Trust (pictured), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to smaller ones that serve as pillars for their local communities, such as the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Frist Art Museum in Nashville, and the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut.
The article points at the potential reasons for this:
The question now is whether there are enough qualified—and, perhaps more importantly, interested—candidates to fill these roles at a time when the job of museum director is considerably less desirable than it used to be.
The article also points towards other issues, including the perceived difficulty of balancing the 'wealth gaps' between board members and staff.
Conservation of Pompeo Leoni's Gilded Bronzes
November 22 2021
Picture: Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
For those able to read Spanish, @Boro_PR on Twitter has drawn attention to this rather fascinating looking report published earlier this year on the conservation of Pompeo Leoni's gilded bronze funerary statues of the Duques de Lerma preserved in the Colegio de San Gregorio de Valladolid, Spain. These exquisite works of art were produced by Leoni in the early seventeenth century, a few years before his death in 1608.
Rediscovered Constable Study at Sotheby's
November 22 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
It seems that this season's Old Masters sales will truly be the battle of the Constables.
Now that Sotheby's have uploaded their full catalogue note for Constable's study for Glebe Farm, one is able to appreciate what an interesting rediscovery the picture is. The provenance is particularly curious and raises the question of how such a notable picture could have been forgotten within such a short period of time. Despite having been publicly exhibited and passed through the hands through the likes of Arthur Tooth & Sons, the painting had been sold in October last year as 'After Constable' in a regional auction house in the US.
Probably the artist’s studio sale, London, Fosters, 15–16 May 1838, lot 13 (one of two in the lot, together with a ‘Salisbury Cathedral’), to Carpenter; Probably William Hookham Carpenter (1792–1866); Probably his sale, London, Christie’s, 16 February 1867, lot 79, to Joseph Hogarth for £91 (a high price, suggesting a study of some importance); With Arthur Tooth & Sons, London, circa, 1917; Edward William Edwards (1874–1956), Cincinnati, by 1922; By descent to his grandson, Thomas Edwards Davidson (1928–1994); Thence by descent until sold, Cincinnati, Cowan’s Auctions, 2 October 2020, lot 3 (as after John Constable), where acquired by the present owner.
Furthermore, the auction house have also uploaded a full technical analysis undertaken by Sarah Cove, an interesting text which is worth reading too.
Hermitage Recreates Sounds of the Master of the Female Half-Lengths
November 22 2021
Video: State Hermitage Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
As today is Saint Cecilia's Day, it seems only right that I share this brilliant new video produced by the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The video (featuring English subtitles) shows a recreation of the music found in a painting by the Master of the Female Half-Lengths.
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This painting and composition has intrigued me for many years, especially as there are a few known versions that have survived. I've always been intrigued by the open and empty lute case that is found hanging on the wall behind the players. It is so purposefully placed there one imagines it had a specific meaning. A suggestion perhaps that these women were unmarried (?) Other suggestions I've heard are far too graphic to be retold here.
