'Canova's George Washington'
May 22 2018
Video: Frick
Here's a good video from the Frick Collection, on their new exhibition devoted to Antonio Canova's portrait of George Washington. The film tells us that Washington had been dead for 14 years before the commission. Which may explain why the sculpture looks more like Canova himself than Washington.
The exhibition opens tomorrow, and runs until September 23rd. More here. Remember, children are not allowed.
Van Dyck before and after - Royal edition
May 22 2018
Picture: Adam Busiakiewicz
Back in 2015, I reported on the rather sad news that the owners of Warwick Castle (the listed company, Merlin Entertainment) were flogging off some of the Old Masters that have hung in the castle for centuries, including a full-length Van Dyck of Henrietta Maria. The portrait was offered at Sotheby's in London, and now belongs to a private collector in the USA. The painting was originally, when painted by Van Dyck, a half-length and was added to in the 18th Century to make it into a full-length.
The present owner has now removed the additions, which might sound shocking but actually I think it was the right thing to do. The additions weren't especially competent, and in getting the proportions slightly wrong made the Queen look as is she was wearing stilts. We have to consider that had Van Dyck originally conceived the picture as a full-length, he would have adjusted the foreshortening to account for the fact that the Queen would have been viewed from a different height and perspective. There was a suggestion that Sir Joshua Reynolds had made the additions, but for what it's worth I wasn't persuaded by that myself.
Anyway, the picture is now on loan at the Yale Center for British Art (but not spelling) in the USA. On his blog, Adam Busiakiewicz - who used to work at Warwick Castle - sets out the picture's story.
Restitution news (ctd.)
May 22 2018
Picture: CTV News
The Max Stern project in Canada has tracked down another painting, this time a Gerrit Claesz Bleter stolen by the Nazis in the 1930s. More here.
'New Rembrandt discovery in Holland' (ctd.)
May 22 2018
Here, on a Dutch TV chat show, you can see Jan Six unveiling his newly discovered picture in front of a studio audience, and he gives a much longer and very revealing interview (with English subtitles). The host brandishes a copy of the Christie's catalogue in which the picture was described as 'Circle of Rembrandt' as Jan tells us how he went about researching the picture before the sale. He says two particularly interesting things: first, that he showed a photo to the leading Rembrandt scholar Ernst van der Wetering before the sale (I've always though that's cheating!); that van der Wetering had himself not been asked for an opinion by anyone else before the sale. Which is surprising.
Update - you can buy Jan's book on the discovery here. It sets out all the evidence behind the attribution. A wise move, for in this game there's no end of people determined to say you're wrong, merely on the basis of looking at a few photos on the internet. When it's a big discovery, the blinkers go on, and the knives come out.
Waldemar goes to America
May 21 2018
Video: BBC
The Great Waldemar has a new series on the BBC; "Big Sky, Big Dreams, Big Art: Made in the USA". It starts on Wednesday, 9pm on BBC4. I'll be watching! More here.
'Diary of an Art Historian' (ctd.)
May 17 2018
Picture: Titian's 'Pesaro Madonna', Frari Church, Venice, pre-conservation, via TAN
My May column for The Art Newspaper has gone online, here. My June column will be out in the printed edition shortly.
New Rembrandt discovery in Holland
May 15 2018
Picture: NRC
Exciting news from Amsterdam; a newly attributed portrait by Rembrandt has been unveiled at the Hermitage museum. The painting was discovered by the art dealer, Jan Six, at auction in London in 2016. His hunch that it was by Rembrandt has been endorsed by subsequent research and conservation, and by a number of Rembrandt scholars, including Prof. Ernst van der Wetering of the Rembrandt Research Project.
More here at NRC (in Dutch), and there's also an interview with Jan Six. Jan is, incidentally, a descendant of the Jan Six painted so memorably by Rembrandt. How wonderful that four centuries later, the name Jan Six can still be associated with heralding new paintings by Rembrandt.
The painting was offered in London as 'Circle of Rembrandt', with an estimate of £15,000-£20,000, and ultimately made £137,000. For what it's worth, I was one of the underbidders. Although I'm absolutely not a Rembrandt specialist, I thought on seeing the picture that it had an excellent chance of being by Rembrandt himself, painted in the early 1630s. The brilliantly painted collar in particular I thought was almost as good as a signature, and entirely consistent with the collar on the painting by Rembrandt of Philip Lucasz in the National Gallery, which was painted in 1635. What was interesting is that from the photos, the painting did not look that impressive. But in person, it was almost as one was looking at a different painting. That's a common connoisseurial challenge these days of course; photos so rarely do justice to good paintings.
As you can imagine, the days before the sale were rather tense ones in AHN towers. But when the sale came, we soon ran up against our limit. There's always a feeling in situations like this that if only you'd gone for one more bid, you might have got it. But in the NRC interview, Jan Six tells us he was able to bid significantly higher, so we'd never have got it. I am so pleased that the painting has now found its rightful status. Many congratulations on the excellent sleuthing Jan!
Modigliani's 'Nu Couché' makes $157m
May 15 2018
Video: Sotheby's
A full-length nude by Modigliani became the most expensive painting ever sold at Sotheby's tonight. But AHN wonders if there's not a wider story here, for the painting sold only to the pre-sale guarantor, at a hammer price of $139m. Before the sale, there was talk of the painting 'setting a new auction record' simply by virtue of having a record estimate of $150m. In the event, the painting didn't reach its low estimate.
Now, it's worth pointing out that the painting made seven times what it last sold for in 2003. But it follows on from a Picasso last week - 'Young Girl with a Basket of Flowers' - which was also expected to soar away at Christie's in New York, but also sold to a pre-sale gurantor at the low estimate. Are both pictures a case of optimistic estimating? Or is there now a lack of oxygen up at the dizzying heights of the modern art market?
'The Art of Money'
May 14 2018
Picture: BBC
There's a good new programme by John Wilson on BBC Radio 4 looking at some of the new money buying art these days, especially Middle Eastern oil money. It's available here.
Incidentally, I spoke to someone involved in Middle Eastern governing circles about the purchase of the Salvator Mundi, and who was aware of when of and how the picture was bought. He said two things: first, that the Saudis really had nothing to do with the purchase, and second, that the story of the buyer and underbidder mistakenly bidding against each other was just made up.
UK Heritage Lottery grants fall
May 14 2018
Picture: HLF
Bad news for UK museums; the Heritage Lottery Fund has significantly cut its annual grants, from £434m in 2016/17 to £305m last year. It seems far fewer people are buying National Lottery tickets. More here from Martin Bailey in The Art Newspaper.
HLF grants were the staple diet for major museum fundraising campaigns, especially for acquisitions since 2010. Does this mean that what I called a 'golden age' for museum acquisitions in the UK is coming to an end?
'The New RA'
May 14 2018
Video: The Royal Academy
I'm looking forward to seeing the new galleries and rooms at the Royal Academy's Burlington Gardens extension. How wonderful to see a proper space devoted to the RA's own collection at last. More here on Charles Saumarez Smith's blog.
'Own a piece of art history!'
May 8 2018
Picture: Ebay
Here's a weird one: a US museum has attempted to sell, via Ebay, the brushes used to restore Leonardo's Salvator Mundi. Here was the Ebay pitch made by the Columbia Museum of Art:
Own a piece of art history! These seven paintbrushes were used to restore Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which set a new record for the price of an artwork when it sold for $450 million in 2017. [...]
In 2014, Columbia Museum of Art Chief Curator Will South was discussing the restoration of this painting with his friend and colleague Dianne Modestini. He asked if she might be willing to donate the brushes she used to restore the painting to the Columbia Museum of Art. She was. These brushes are now up for auction to support the CMA's mission to celebrate outstanding artistic creativity through its collection, exhibitions, and programs, interacting in ways that engage the mind and enrich the spirit.
Dr. South framed a photocopy image of the painting in a circa 1900 vintage carved wooden frame matted with archival, acid-free materials. One of the brushes is mounted with micro Velcro for easy removal below the photocopy. The remaining six brushes will be shipped in their box along with the framed brush and image along with a printout of emails that establish their provenance. The museum's curatorial team created a special wooden shipping crate to ship the frame and brushes to the buyer.
The sale was alas unsuccessful; no bids were lodged to meet the $1,000 reserve.
Update - a reader writes:
One would expect that Columbia Museum of Art would know that the 'circa 1900 vintage carved wooden frame' is actually plaster and therefore a rather less attractive offering
The Met Gala
May 8 2018
Video: Vogue
Last night's annual Metropolitan Museum Gala has dominated social media today. Whether you approve of disapprove of the fashion excesses on show here, it's worth pondering how far away British museums are from ever getting this much celebrity and media attention. They're light years away, caught in a web of their own earnestness.
Michael Sittow exhibition
May 8 2018
Video: NGA
You've only a few days left to visit what looks to be a fascinating exhibition in Washington, 'Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe' (closes May 13th). Above is a talk by the National Gallery of Art's curator, John Hand, about Sittow's life. He tells us that only 13 works by Sittow are now considered autograph in the latest book on Sittow. Although there must be more out there somewhere; can an artist become as accomplished as Sittow with so little practice?
Update - thanks to those readers who have pointed out that the show will soon be Estonia. More here.
'Thomas Cole: Eden to Empire'
May 8 2018
Video: National Gallery
I'm looking forward to the National Gallery in London's forthcoming exhibition on the American landscape artist, Thomas Cole. It opens 11th June. More here.
Thomas Baker of Leamington
May 8 2018
Picture: Robert Mulraine
Here's a wonderful development in the world of digital art history; Robert Mulraine has created an online database of the works of the British artist, Thomas Baker. Baker is not exactly a household name, but was a talented landscape artist of the early-mid 19th Century, and also a scrupulous diarist. He made a detailed record, usually with a thumbnail sketch, of every work he made, which has allowed Robert Mulraine to track down his works all over the world.
The latest example of a lost Baker re-discovered, as discussed on the blog of Robert's son, James Innes-Mulraine, was identified in a sale in the south of France, misattributed to Thomas Barker. By comparing it to Baker's diaries, Robert and James were able to confirm their connoisseurial hunch.
Art history trunks
May 8 2018
Picture: Sanfederico
Fancy hitting the beach in a pair of Michelangelos? Then click this way; but they're retailing for $142 - ouch. I'll stick to my poundland Speedos. Also in the range are trunks featuring Picasso's Guernica, Botticelli's Venus, and others.
Update - Michelangelo is so on trend! Here's Ariana Grande wearing him at the Met Gala last night.
New home for Benin Bronzes?
May 4 2018
Video: BBC
Martin Bailey in The Art Newspaper reports on new developments in the battle over where to display the Benin bronzes, a series of bronze sculptures looted from Nigeria in the 19th Century. Many have ended up in the British Museum, and in the clip above from Civilisations, David Olusoga tells the story of how they got there.
The British Museum has always resisted attempts to reclaim items like the Bronzes (and most famously the Elgin Marbles). But now, news that a new museum is to be built in Benin has raised the possibility that many of the bronzes might be displayed there on long-term loan. And a new group of European and US museums which own many of the bronzes has been created to discuss a way forward, says Bailey:
The situation could soon change, thanks to an initiative by a group of European museums and Nigerian parties, known as the Benin Dialogue Group. It is now encouraging the return of some Benin objects to Nigeria on long-term loan.
The group comprises nine European museums, based in London, Cambridge, Oxford, Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg, Vienna and Stockholm, along with a consortium of four Dutch ethnographic museums. Berlin State Museums holds the most important Benin collection on the Continent, part of which will go on display at the Humboldt Forum when it opens in late 2019. (One of the Forum’s three founding directors is Neil MacGregor, the former director of the British Museum.) The UK institutions include the British Museum, Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum and Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
A potentially transformative development was announced last month: a royal museum is to be built to modern standards in Benin City (see box). This would provide a building with the appropriate environmental and security standards to house international loans.
More here.
I do hope that the British Museum is soon able to send many, if not all, of the bronzes back to Nigeria. The 'long term loan' solution, recently put forward with vigour by the V&A's new director Tristram Hunt in relation to Ethiopia's Maqdala treasures, is a good way forward. Of course, the danger from an institution like the British Museum's point of view is that it could be a thin end of the wedge moment; if the BM took the same view as the V&A, there are some areas in which it soon wouldn't have much of a collection left.
'Old Masters, New Audiences'
May 4 2018
Bendor Grosvenor from CODART on Vimeo.
Video: Codart
Last month I was in Bruges, talking at the annual conference of Codart, the network of Dutch and Flemish art curators. I was invited to discuss how we can think about reaching new audiences for Old Master paintings. The conference talks are now online. Beware, the video above is me rambling on for about 40 minutes long, and not for the faint hearted. The other Codart presentations are here, including an excellent one from the Rijksmuseum's Jane Turner.
Update - Some of you have noticed that I can't keep still when I do talks. I get too excited! I'm sorry if this induces motion sickness for some of you.
Rubens' portrait of Clara Serena (ctd.)
May 4 2018
Picture: Rubenshuis
I've recorded a short podcast on Rubens' portrait of Clara Serena for the Financial Times, here if you're interested. We discussed the Met's response to the reattribution of the picture, which I've said before wasn't exactly grown up. I think it's interesting to see how politics and egos can still colour the acceptance of attributions from the world's leading museums, to whom the public rightly look to for an impartial and authoritative view. Similar to the Met's response to the reattribution of the Clara Serena was the Louvre's refusal to comment on the news that a painting by Hals they tried to buy was later judged to be a fake. There's really no shame in being wrong, and making what at the time were understandable mistakes. As one of my heroes, Sir Nicholas Penny, says; 'the picture comes first'. Everything else should be irrelevant.
