How to Attract a New Generation to Old Masters
July 28 2020
Picture: Artsy.net
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The online platform Artsy have published this interesting article on how auction houses and dealers are trying to capture a new generation of collectors to old master paintings.
There are some encouraging observations contained within. This includes the suggestion that the spread of buyers is slowly increasing around the globe and that there are more collectors aged between 35-50 than there were a decade ago. The increasing use of social media is also highlighted, allowing sellers and buyers to connect in many more immediate ways than before. The breakdown of 'categories' also features, alongside the movement away from 'scholarly' collection building.
Picasso Old Master Portrait
July 28 2020
Picture: Artmarketmonitor
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Art Market Monitor has published a brief article bringing attention to this artwork by Picasso that made $728,000 (inc. fees) at Phillips this month. This linoleum cut print (yes a print) was inspired from a portrait by the sixteenth century German painter Lucas Cranach the younger (d.1586). The work, dating to 1958, is entitled Portrait de jeune fille, d’après Cranach le Jeune.
I wonder how many original portraits one could acquire at the upcoming old masters sales for $728,000? Let's hope interest in such pictures might spark investment in more ancient artworks too.
Andrew Graham Dixon at Sotheby's
July 28 2020
Video: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Tonight's the night that Rembrandt's Self Portrait will be offered for sale at Sotheby's in London. Carrying an estimate of £12m - £16m, the eyes of the old master paintings world will surely be fixed on this event.
In the meantime, here is a guided tour of the upcoming sale with art historian Andrew Graham Dixon. Just goes to show that museums aren't the only arts venues where you can make a good video documentary.
Update - The Rembrandt made £12,600,000 (hammer price). More commentary to come after the sales...
Update 2 - Other curious news that several paintings have been withdrawn from the sale, including the Hals portrait and Verrocchio study on the old masters front.
OldMasterArtists.Org (?)
July 27 2020
Picture: AnthonyVanDyck.Org
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
My attention has been drawn to some curious websites, domain names and addresses that have taken by some unknown organisation or individuals. This includes the .org addresses for many artist names, including the likes of Durer, Van Dyck, Rubens, Rembrandt etc. It seems like it would have taken quite an effort to acquire this substantial online real estate, but for what purpose exactly?
Currently, most of these websites are just filled with meaningless marketing bumph for selling prints.
The sites also contain the following curious disclaimers:
Disclaimer: www.anthonyvandyck.org is a personal website covering the career of famous Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck, but is in no way an official website for Anthony van Dyck and www.anthonyvandyck.org does not claim to be that in any way. The Estate of Anthony van Dyck and their presence hold all necessary copyrights and licences for all of his paintings and other works. All prints, paintings and photos included in www.anthonyvandyck.org are provided as an affiliate to Art.com who hold necessary permissions. Art.com pay us small commissions based on any prints or paintings that you buy as a result of using this website.
Alternatively, might the acquisition of these sites be part of a long term plan to hold any future academic online projects to ransom? Let's hope not.
Update - A reader has got in touch regarding his own difficulties in securing a domain name for his academic project relating to Giorgione. This problem might not be consigned to the distant future...perhaps?
Roman Busts Transformed
July 27 2020
Picture: medium.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Ever wanted to visualise the face behind a roman bust? Some clever computer experts have been busy making photorealistic portraits of Roman Emperors using ancient busts as guides. Magically, using a program that is given the rather sinister name ArtBreeder, we are now able to stare at the faces of Emperor Augustus and Maximinus Thrax.
The notion of transforming sculpture into real life is a very ancient one. Anyone who knows the story of Pygmalion will understand this narrative well. For me, at least, I relish the ability of art to defy human life and time, rather than to capitulate to it. Isn't the magic of seeing a piece of sculpture, or any work of art for that matter, is that you're given an opportunity to see something that you will never get to see in real life.
Job Cuts in Museums
July 27 2020
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
There have been a few stories in the press over the past few days highlighting the increasing number of job losses in UK Museums sector.
First off is news of a protest by employees of the Tate Museums (pictured above) against impending job cuts. 300 jobs are said to be at risk across all sites. The Tate is due to receive £7m of emergency funding, much of which doesn't seem to be earmarked to help preserve jobs.
The already strained Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Trust has also announced that it has entered a period of redundancies. Their blog above states that around half of their staff are at risk.
The organisation that runs the Glasgow Museums, including the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, have announced that they are facing a £38m black hole. Job losses haven't been mentioned, but it seems a very likely consequence of efforts to get a hold of their finances.
A few weeks ago the commercial arm of the National Gallery announced that 24 jobs were at risk.
The Historical Royal Palaces (HRP) are also in the process of organising voluntary redundancies across their sites as part of a major restructuring project.
Considering the all consuming nature of the COVID crisis, it is no surprise that the economic fall-out would be catastrophic across all sectors. We can be sure that the examples above won't be the last we hear of museum job losses. This suggests a few things. Firstly, that the UK government's £1.57bn bail-out wasn't substantial enough to protect the sector entirely. Secondly, that the end of the furlough scheme was, like many other industries have experienced, a temporary plaster on a fatal wound. Would an extension of the scheme help museums find their feet again, one wonders?
Bail-outs and grants will only go so far. It seems that the only way to truly save museums is eliminate the fears that individuals have in resuming their lives. Partial re-openings with social distancing seems to be a suitable stop-gap, but it won't suit every organisation's operational and economic realities. A vaccine may be the only way to get the genie back into the bottle.
Comments are welcomed as always.
Update - The York Museums Trust has also announced that it will be looking at redundancies after experiencing a £1.5m loss due to the virus crisis.
Hans von Aachen Drawing Smashes Estimate
July 27 2020
Picture: Zisska & Lacher
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News via Twitter (@auctionradar) last week that the above drawing by Hans von Aachen made €150,000 over an estimate of €2,000 at Zisska & Lacher earlier this month. Obviously, the estimate was far too low.
Some have already spotted that the work relates to a finished painting entitled Self Portrait with Donna Venusta that was with Galerie Canesso at TEFAF this year.
Michael Jaffé Paintings at Christie's
July 23 2020
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's will be auctioning off several paintings that belonged to the late Michael Jaffé (1923-1997) later this month. Jaffé was one of the great scholars on the Flemish School. His published works on artists such as Rubens and Van Dyck are widely used by art historians to this day.
Two panels which are of interest are the above, which are catalogued as 'Circle of Van Dyck' (LEFT) and 'Circle of Rubens' (RIGHT) respectively. You'll be able to see from the catalogue notes that the attribution of these two sketches has changed a lot over the years. In regards to the 'Rubens' panel, it seems that Jaffé had actually published the picture as a Rubens in full in 1989. The 'Van Dyck' sketch was exhibited at Agnew's in 1968 and given to the artist in full. It seems that scholarship has since downgraded both of these works.
Obviously, we cannot expect scholars to be infallible with their judgements. Attributions have the ability to change over time and it is sometimes difficult to be entirely objective about a picture that you're attached to. It would be interesting to read exactly what he thought about the quality of the paintings. I'm sure a description is given in his 1989 publication (which I don't have access to at the moment).
Another of his paintings in the sale is this very fine Guercino of Saint Alexius, which carries an estimate of £50k - £80k.
Vermeer Milkmaid Examined
July 22 2020
Picture: @Rijksmuseum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam shared the above photograph on their Twitter account yesterday. It shows Vermeer's Milkmaid undergoing an examination by the museum's 'Macro XRPD Scanner'. This will allow the conservation and science department to understand more about which materials and techniques went into making this work of art.
Famously, Vermeer is known to have used costly lapis lazuli in his shadows, which has become one of the unique markers of his method. This proved crucial in supporting the attribution to Vermeer which sold at Sotheby's in 2004.
Let's hope the museum will make a nice video explaining the results of this study.
Rohatyn Canaletto Preview
July 22 2020
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
This very fine Canaletto of the Rialto Bridge in Venice is currently on view at Sotheby's in London until 28th July. The painting will be offered up for sale in New York later this autumn alongside many other works from the collection of Ambassador and Mrs Felix Rohatyn. The artwork will carry an estimate of $3m - $5m.
Other artists represented in the sale include Bernardo Bellotto, Francois Boucher, Jean Antoine Watteau, Marco Ricci, Jean-Baptiste Greuze and many others.
Sleeper Alert!
July 22 2020
Picture: Sworders
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News on Twitter (via. @Mcewangallery) that two drawings of soldiers 'Attributed to Jacob de Gheyn the Younger' just realised £125,000 over an estimate of £200 - £300 at Sworders in Essex.
Update - It's been pointed out on Twitter (via. @RembrandtsRoom) that the works on paper are preparatory drawings for etchings in a weapons instruction manual produced by De Gheyn for Prince Maurits in 1607.
Despite their significance, this is still a princely sum!
The Courtauld are Hiring!
July 22 2020
Picture: The Courtauld Institute of Art
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Courtauld Institute of Art in London are hiring a Lecturer in Conservation of Easel Paintings. The post will focus on teaching postgraduate students. This part-time role carries a salary of £30,734 per annum.
The closing date for applications in 19th August 2020. Good luck if you're applying!
El Greco Loan from In-Laws Causes Controversy
July 21 2020
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The New York Times have reported on complaints from a whistleblower regarding the loan of a painting of St Francis by El Greco by the Detriot Institute of Arts. The complaint revolves around the fact that the painting was loaned from the father-in-law of the Institute's Director Salvador Salort-Pons.
The article puts forward the case levelled at the Institute's director:
“A museum official (or close relative) who loans an object to the museum for display then sells it after exhibition would likely earn an enhanced price for the object,” said Greg Stevens, director of the Institute of Museum Ethics at Seton Hall University. “And it would also cause the appearance of impropriety to arise — namely, that the museum used its prestige, resources, and reach to enrich the official.”
Salort-Pons asserts that his family connections to the loan were fully disclosed and that the loan was approved by the institute's chairman. The institute's own guidelines explain that family loans are possible and that "care should be used to achieve objectivity in such cases." The Institute has employed a Washington Law firm to review their loan procedures and policies to ensure they had been followed.
Sleeper Alert!
July 21 2020
Picture: Antiquesandthearts.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The sale of a reverse glass painting in the USA last week has attracted some interest online. The intriguing colonial era painting, described as being by Mather Brown, was sold for $84,000 to an online bidder over an estimate of $6,000 - $8,000. The work bears an inscription explaining that it represents the Delivery of the Definitive Treaty by the Hostage Princes into the hands of Lord Cornwallis.
Update - A surviving fragment of Mather Brown's original painting survives in the Bowes Musuem.
French Appeal to Acquire Louis XIV Bronze
July 21 2020
Picture: La Tribune de l'Art
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Le Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rennes are making an appeal for corporate sponsorship to acquire the above bronze of Louis XIV. The work is a reduced model of a statue by Antoine Coysevox (1640-1720) which sat outside the Parliament building in Rennes before the Revolution. The museum began the appeal last autumn to raise the €2,370,000 required to purchase the work from a private collection in Britain (which one, I wonder?). Sponsors are offered a 90% tax rebate on the work by the French State, so it seems.
York Art Gallery Exhibition by Vote
July 21 2020
Picture: York Art Gallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The York Art Gallery is reopening to the public on Saturday 1st August. In celebration of this occasion they are running a public vote for their new exhibition entitled Your Art Gallery which opens on 20th August.
The public are being asked to vote on 20 artworks selected from their collection and are given the opportunity to write labels for their favourite pieces. There are only 2 / 3 Old Master Paintings to choose from, which is a bit disappointing for us.
Voting ends on 29th July 2020.
Titian in Basel
July 21 2020
Picture: Kunstmuseum Basel
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Here's a story that AHN seems to have missed last September. Xavier F Salomon, Deputy Director of the Frick Collection, penned a interesting article regarding his involvement in the rediscovery of Titian's 1527 portrait of the poet Pietro Aretino (pictured). The attribution of this painting had been the subject of much conjecture during the twentieth century.
Last June Salomon had gone to the Kunstmuseum in Basel to inspect the painting alongside recently commissioned x-ray images. Detailed examination revealed that painting suffered from poor restoration in the past including having been cut down. It is the opinion of Salomon that this fragment may well have been the original painting that Titian had sent to Federico Gonzaga in the 1520s.
Here is a link to the museum's website where high-resolution images can be viewed online.
Hever Castle Stolen Miniatures
July 20 2020
Picture: Hever Castle
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Dr Owen Emmerson, resident historian of Hever Castle in Kent, has renewed a public appeal on Twitter to find three portrait miniatures stolen from the castle in 2003. The three miniatures in question are of Thomas Cromwell, Mary Queen of Scots and Anne of Austria (pictured). They were stolen after thieves forced open a glass display cabinet.
Nantes Cathedral Fire
July 20 2020
Picture: La Tribune de l'Art
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
France awoke to the tragic news on Saturday morning that Nantes Cathedral was on fire. Despite the shocking photos and videos of the destruction it seems that the damage wasn't as devastating in comparison to the 2019 fire at Notre Dame in Paris.
One of the casualties of the Nantes fire was Hippolyte Flandrin's 1836 painting of St Clair Healing the Blind (pictured). Flandrin, one of Ingres's most celebrated pupils, completed the work whilst in Rome. A copy of the picture by Hippolyte's brother Paul survives in the Louvre. The fire narrowly missed a marvellous and important tomb of François II and Marguerite de Foix. The cathedral's organ, the core of which dated to the early seventeenth century with later additions made in 1784, has perished in the flames. Investigations are ongoing in the causes of the fire, but it seems that malfunctioning electrical equipment might be to blame.
Here's a full write up of the damage in La Tribune de l'Art.
Sleeper Alert!
July 20 2020
Picture: Vassy-Jalenques
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News on Twitter (via. @auctionradar) that the above portrait of Portrait d'un jeune artiste dessinant devant le buste de Winckelmann 'attributed to Domenico Dupra' made €40,000 over an estimate of €6,000 last week. I wouldn't be surprised if the portrait reappears somewhere with a firm identification and attribution.
