Virtual Dante Exhibition at the Uffizi
January 6 2021
Picture: The Uffizi Gallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is celebrating the 700th anniversary of Dante's death by running a free virtual online exhibition. To Rebehold the Stars features a click through exhibition based on various themes relating to the poet's work. Descriptions in English are forthcoming, the website explains.
Included are very nice images of illustrations of the Divine Comedy by Federico Zucarri (pictured). This is supposedly only the third time the drawings by Zucarri have been seen in public, albeit this time in an online format.
London Art Week Videos
January 5 2021
Video: London Art Week
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Apologies for being extremely late to this, but I would thoroughly recommend heading over to London Art Week's YouTube channel if you'd like to catch up on any of their very interesting recorded panel talks and lectures.
The above video is a panel discussion on Demystifying the Old Masters Market. It is chaired by Megan Corcoran Locke, Old Master Paintings Research, ArtTactic and features panellists David Pollack, Auctioneer & Senior Vice President, Specialist, Old Master Paintings, Sotheby's, Dr Molly Dorkin, Associate Director, Old Masters and Head of Research, Simon C Dickinson, Ltd. and William Elliott, Founder & Director, Elliott Fine Art.
New Book: Provenance Research Today
January 5 2021
Picture: Lund Humphries
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Here is a recent publication that might interest some readers.
Provenance Research Today was edited by Arthur Tompkins and published last month by Lund Humphries.
As the blurb explains:
Covering key aspects of provenance research for the international art market, this accessible publication explores a range of themes including challenges and best practice to considerations specific to Nazi looted art and the trade in illicit antiquities.
Provenance research is a crucial component of any art-market transaction. Without a provenance it is often difficult to establish a work’s authenticity, its true value or who has legal title. Whether buying, selling or simply maintaining an artwork in either a private or a public collection, the days when a blind eye could be turned to the history (or the lack of a known history) of a work have long gone. Proper, thorough and effective provenance research is the minimum required and demanded in today’s art world – a world that is increasingly recognising the need for greater and more effective self-regulation in the face of fakes, forgeries and challenges to ownership or authenticity that are now commonplace.
Here's a slightly more in-depth look by the Art-Crime blog.
Future of Carmen Cervera Collection Loans Decided this Month
January 5 2021
Picture: Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Spanish Government have set the deadline of 31st January 2021 to decide upon an agreement regarding the collection of Carmen Cervera.
Cervera, widow of the tycoon and collector Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza, has been loaning works by the likes of Monet, Picasso and Degas from her collection to the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid for many years. Discussions regarding a renewed loan agreement between Cervera and the Spanish Government have been dragging on for a considerable time, with several works having been sold at auction. There had been a failed attempt to sell the remaining collection in full to the Spanish Government after the last agreement expired in 2010.
It also transpires that a loaned work by Paul Gaugin entitled Mata Mua (In Olden Times) has recently left the museum, a fact which has been confirmed by the organisation. It has been suggested that the work might be put up for auction in the near future.
Update - The Spanish state has secured a new 15 year deal with Cervera. The deal includes a €6.5m a year fee to keep the €1bn paintings in the museum.
El Greco Attribution Controversy
January 5 2021
Picture: The Art Newspaper
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A reader has kindly drawn my attention to an article published by The Art Newspaper.
The piece revolves around the attribution of the above painting of Christ Carrying the Cross in a private collection which was recently announced as being by El Greco by the Centre d’Art d’Època Moderna (CAEM) at the University of Lleida, Catalonia. However, the El Greco scholar Fernando Marías Franco of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid disagrees.
Marías Franco is quoted as saying:
Although I have only seen the pictures in El País and on Twitter, the painting is doubtful [as an autograph work by El Greco]. It looks reworked and restored—the mouth is terrible, so are the cross, hands and signature.
As it happens, the painting was researched and reattributed with the help of Carmen Garrido Pérez, the former director of technical documentation at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid. Pérez, who was employed by the Centre, died last month. Their work has pointed towards a possible mention in an 1614 inventory of El Greco's assets made by his son after his death, however this loose link has been criticised.
It seems that the picture hangs in the balance, as the Centre are addressing the many criticisms brought by Marías Franco. Watch this space.
Do Television Dramas Increase Prices at Auction?
January 4 2021
Picture: Tatler
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Telegraph and other news sources have posted articles in the past few days concerning the alleged effect of Netflix's series The Crown on increasing the price of works by Winston Churchill at auction. It has been suggested that his sympathetic portrayal in the show has perhaps helped to bolster the price of his works.
Sotheby's Senior Director of Modern & Post War Art Simon Hucker is quoted as saying:
What The Crown does is bring these figures from British political history very much to life – and makes them very human. John Lithgow portrayed Churchill as this warm and genial old man, guiding the young Queen as best he can, whilst his own health fades and perhaps it is this side of Churchill that people see in his paintings.
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Personally, I think this is just a bit of click-bait marketing spiel. Television series surely have some effect placing certain individuals in the spotlight, but it must be near impossible to judge its effect on sales results. The case of Churchill is particularly difficult. He is a figure who has always been in the spotlight in this part of the world at least. If anything, there has been a noticeable growing trend by certain groups seeking to revise his legacy in a less positive light.
Yet, it's seemed to me that Churchill's prices at auction had already been growing rather steadily over the past decade or so. In fact, Bendor penned this post for AHN back in 2011 on this very trend.
But if I'm wrong about this, let's have more drama series on old master painters, I'd say!
Van Dyck Drawing at Sotheby's
January 4 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The highlight of Sotheby's upcoming Old Master Drawings sale in New York is this rather fine Study of an Old Bearded Man by the young Anthony Van Dyck.
The work is a preparatory drawing for his painting of Christ Healing the Paralytic, a version of which is currently on display in the Royal Collection's Queen's Gallery. Quite hard to imagine that Van Dyck was barely twenty years old when he completed it.
The estimate of $2.5m - $3.5m seems rather punchy. With that money you could buy several of this monumental Van Dyck portrait that failed to sell in Sotheby's London December sale. One supposes that they're comparing it with the Rubens drawing that was sold from private collection of Netherland's Monarchy in 2019. That particular example, which estimated at the same price, eventually made $8.2m (inc. commission). The stylistic similarities are very evident. Will the unfinished face make any difference to its appeal?
British Museum Acquires Vouet Drawing
January 4 2021
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
La Tribune de l'Art has published news that the British Museum in London has acquired the above drawing by Simon Vouet.
The three-coloured chalk drawing of an unknown gentleman aged 75 years sold for €162,500 (inc. commission) at Christie's last May. A related drawing of Cardinal Mazarin in the same sale was purchased by the Louvre last year.
New Joslyn Art Museum Book
December 30 2020
Picture: Joslyn Art Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, has published a new book on their collection of European Art. The collection features a rather impressive collection of paintings, including works by Rembrandt, Veronese, Titian, El Greco and Claude. This new publication was edited by the museum's curator Dr Taylor J Acosta and features contributions from other scholars and experts.
In anticipation of this post, Bendor and I exchanged a few thoughts about this rather nice portrait currently catalogued as 'Unknown Artist (Flemish, 17th century)'. Bendor had cautiously suggested Erasmus Quellinus, who had worked alongside Rubens and knew his manner intimately. The portrait had formerly appeared as a Van Dyck in Eric Larsen's very flawed 1988 catalogue raisonné of the artist. It definitely looks as if some name might be given to it! Here's the painting's entry on the RKD.
For those who haven't heard of the collection, the museum's website features a rather comprehensive list of their European paintings highlights online.
Cleaning Rubens at the National Gallery
December 30 2020
Video: The National Gallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery in London posted this very informative video last week regarding the conservation of Rubens's Het Steen. Head of Conservation Larry Keith talks us through the various processes behind cleaning and conserving this enormous landscape, which coincidentally Rubens had painted for himself.
Goya Portrait Conserved
December 29 2020
Video: Prado
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz;
The Prado in Madrid have posted a rather nice video to celebrate the recent conservation of Goya's portrait of The Countess of Chinchón. The work had not undergone any treatment since entering the museum's collection from the Countess's descendants in 2000.
Sotheby's NY Evening Sale
December 29 2020
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's have uploaded their upcoming NY Old Master Paintings Evening Sale online. The sale will take place on 28th January 2021.
Alongside the aforementioned $80m Botticelli Portrait and $20m-30m Rembrandt are some other rather fine pictures that are worth pointing out. Firstly, a rare Descent from the cross by Hugo van der Goes carrying an estimate of $3m - $5m; an Ecce Homo by Guido Reni carrying an estimate of £1.2 - £1.8m; a marvellous still life by Willem Claesz Heda carrying an estimate of $2.5m - $3.5m; a beautifully preserved still life by Rachel Ruysch estimated at $1m - $1.5m; and two fine Wright of Derby works including a double portrait of Mr and Mrs Chase estimated at $300k - $500k and a Cottage on Fire estimated at $100k - $150k.
Also included is this rather interesting upgraded portrait of the Earl of Strafford by Sir Anthony Van Dyck estimated at $700k - $1m. It had sold at Christie's in 2012 for £15,000 (inc. commission) where it was catalogued as by a 'Follower of Van Dyck'. They have supplied some interesting infra-red images which shows the pentimenti in the positioning of the figure.
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One imagines that this sale will really draw a great deal of attention. How high will the Botticelli go for, and will the uncertainty of the current global events have any effect on prices? We'll wait and see.
Guido Reni Country Dance Back in Rome
December 29 2020
Picture: Galleria Borghese
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Galleria Borghese in Rome has acquired the above Country Dance attributed to the Bolognese Baroque painter Guido Reni.
The work had been in the collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese before it was sold in 1892. It appeared for sale at Bonhams in 2008 which lead to an investigation as to the painting's provenance and attribution. Having been accepted by Reni scholars and identified in an 1693 inventory, the painting was offered at this year's TEFAF by Galleria Fondantico from whom it was acquired by the gallery.
This rare landscape by Reni will be on display when the museum reopens after lockdown.
Christmas Greetings
December 23 2020
Video: Adam Busiakiewicz (w/ images from The National Gallery, London; Sotheby's; Christie's).
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
In case no big stories over next few days, I want to wish all readers of AHN a very Merry Christmas. I do hope you and your families are keeping safe and well during these strange times, wherever you may be.
To celebrate this yuletide season, my brother, sister-in-law and myself (on lute) decided to present this rather lovely medieval Christmas song entitled 'There is no rose'. This fifteenth century setting is found in a manuscript in Trinity College Cambridge. Do pat yourself on the back if you can identify all the paintings within!
Update - and a very happy Christmas to you all from me, Bendor; rather absent these last few months, but Adam has been doing a fantastic job keeping us all informed of what's been going on in our world. I am most grateful to him! What an extraordinary year it has been - here's hoping 2021 is a little calmer.
US Congress Approves $15bn for Arts Venues
December 23 2020
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The US Congress has approved a $15bn stimulus package for arts venues a few days ago. This is part of a wider $900bn stimulus package which will benefit the entire nation's economy.
It seems that museums and art galleries will be also be eligible for this support. Earlier this year many US regional museums and galleries had explained that many might face closure if support was not forthcoming in the face of lockdowns. Organisations will have to show that they have lost at least 25% of their income to qualify. Those who have lost 90% of income are said to be first in line.
Queen Pulls Plug on 'Surveyor of Pictures' Position
December 23 2020
Picture: The Times
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Times have reported on rather shocking news that the Royal Collection Trust is abolishing the post of 'Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures'. This cull is part of a 'wider restructuring plan' and has meant that the current holder Desmond Shawe-Taylor has been made redundant. The position of Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art, currently held by Rufus Bird, has also been axed.
This integral position for one of the world's greatest collections of art has existed since 1625. More recent holders of the role include the likes of Anthony Blunt and Kenneth Clark (pictured above).
The Royal Collection have been quoted:
The posts of surveyor of the Queen’s pictures and surveyor of the Queen’s works of art will, for the time being, be lost and held in abeyance. The director of the Royal Collection, Tim Knox, will assume overall responsibility for the curatorial sections, supported by the deputy surveyors of pictures and works of art.
The article suggests that the loss of revenue to the virus crisis is to blame. It is expected that the Royal Collection Trust will have a £64m drop in incoming between 2020-21.
Sleepy Sleeper Alert!
December 22 2020
Picture: Wannenes
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Here's a drawing that swept through social media yesterday (via. @auctionradar / @jansixxi and others). The drawing on parchment catalogued as 'Follower of Cornelis Visscher' made €160,000 (hammer) over its €800 - €1,200 estimate at the auction house Wannenes in Italy.
The Royal Academy is Hiring!
December 22 2020
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Royal Academy in London is hiring a Curator of Paintings & Sculpture (RA Collections).
According to their job description:
The Curator of Paintings and Sculpture has overall responsibility for all paintings, sculptures, including medals, dies, cameos, and intaglio gems, plaster casts (including pastes of gems), historic skeletons relating to teaching in the Schools, objects of memorabilia, including artists’ tools and materials, historic silver and silverplate, historic items of furniture, picture frames and certain fittings and fixtures within Burlington House. The objects under the care of this Curator which are not on display are stored at both the Royal Academy and an offsite store.
The position carries a salary of £35,000 - £38,000 depending on experience. Applications must be in by 21st January 2021.
Good luck if you're applying!
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Let's hope the position doesn't include the brief of working out how to sell off their Michelangelo tondo...
NPG Acquires Gainsborough Portrait
December 21 2020
Picture: NPG
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Portrait Gallery in London has announced it has acquired a portrait of Gaetan Apolline Balthazar Vestris by Thomas Gainsborough. Vestris was a famous dancer who came to perform at the King's Theatre in London during 1780-1. Indeed, I've dug this quote by Horace Walpole describing the applause after one of his performances:
the men thundered, the ladies forgetting their delicacy and weakness, clapped with such vehemence, that seventeen broke their arms, sixty-nine sprained their wrists, and three cried bravo! bravissimo! so rashly, that they have not been able to utter so much as no since, any more than both Houses of Parliament.
The picture was acquired through the acceptance in lieu scheme from the collection of the late George Pinto.
Coincidentally, here's an article by the scholar Martin Postle on another portrait of Vestris identified in the Tate's collection back in 2004 (where I lifted the above quote from, I should add).
Botticelli Exhibition at Musée Jacquemart-André for Autumn 2021
December 21 2020
Picture: Cincinatti Art Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Art Newspaper has published an article on news that the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris will be putting on a Botticelli exhibition next Autumn. The show will include loans from across the globe including some works from private collections.
It seems that the focus will be on Botticelli as the head of a workshop. The article quotes co-curator Pierre Currie:
"[The Exhibition] will present Botticelli in his role as a creative artist and also as a businessman and master known as a capobottega [workshop head]”. Botticelli will be presented as a "designer, the head of a major studio in Florence producing paintings, of course, but also drawings for embroideries, marquetry, prints and illuminations."
The exhibition is due to run from 10th September 2021 - 24th January 2022.
