Fontaine’s depiction of his family studio was exhibited at the Salon of 1878, where it was shown under the laconic title ‘Intérieur d’atélier’. At its essence, this is exactly what the painting depicts and yet it is so much more than a simple studio view: intensely autobiographical, the painting is imbued with layers of meaning and is replete with vibrant, animated, detail.

In the Fontaine family studio in Versailles, with the day’s sunlight modulated by a green cloth strung across the window, a young lady wearing an artist’s smock, a sign of her professional status, diligently paints the portrait of a seated woman of similar age. The artist is Marie-Claire Fontaine, daughter of Edme-Alphonse, and she is in the process of painting her portrait of ‘Mlle E.B.’, likewise exhibited at the Salon of 1878. [...]

‘Intérieur d’atélier’ is so many things at once: a biography of a family; a tribute to a daughter; a memorial to a wife; an insight into the professional status of women artists in late 19th-century France; and, finally, a demonstration of the importance of the studio in family life.

The Director of the Uffizi Galleries, Simone Verde, stated: "The 'Mystical Marriage' is a work of primary importance for 18th-century art and will be a prominent new addition to the museum's 18th-century rooms. Besides its refined aesthetics and compositional elegance, it significantly reflects the taste of the circle of nobles and intellectuals around the Roman Curia in the mid-18th century. It is a true masterpiece, rare to find on the market, that will enrich the Uffizi's 18th-century collections, filling a significant gap and representing another step towards completing the pictorial history of Italy pursued by Luigi Lanzi, a mission that remains central to the museum today due to its national and international collection significance."

This article explores the relationship between skin, materiality and medicine in the early modern German-speaking lands. It focuses on the understudied artwork of the Munich-born artist Johann Rottenhammer (1564–1625), demonstrating that his painted bodies were related to medical understandings of skin. Skin was a mediating boundary between inside and outside: the colour and texture of skin carried meanings about the internal state of the body. In this period, ‘exploration’ beyond Europe was destabilizing the definition of ‘good’ or ‘normative’ skin. The appearance of healthy or unhealthy skin was expressed in contemporary northern European artistic theory, for example in Karel van Mander’s Book on Painting. This article contributes to the growing literature on materiality and medicine by demonstrating their indelible impact on the artist’s project. Medical histories of the sixteenth century have traditionally positioned the Galenic and Paracelsian medical traditions as diametrically opposed. This article observes, however, key areas of similarity—the origin of curative materials, and the relationship between the internal body and the external natural world—and considers how they were present in early modern German understandings of skin.

The Government of Flanders is pleased to announce funding for the first year of a 3 year new collaboration in the field of art history between the Rubenshuis in Antwerp and Trinity Hall at the University of Cambridge. This partnership will further strengthen the bonds between our institutions and promote a deeper understanding of our shared cultural heritage. The substantial funding supports the study of Renaissance and Early Modern Flemish Art in the form of research workshops, visiting postdoctoral researchers, visiting postgraduate students, lectures by senior scholars, and summer schools in Antwerp and Cambridge.

The collaboration, which commences in August 2024, will be led by Dr. Bert Watteeuw, Director of the Rubenshuis, and Prof. Alexander Marr, Professor of Renaissance and Early Modern Art; Fellow, Trinity Hall; and incoming Head of the Department of History of Art, Cambridge. The programme of work will be co-ordinated by Drs. Justin Davies, Fellow Commoner at Trinity Hall and Visiting Fellow of the Rubenshuis.

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) is most often portrayed as the consummate painter of nature whose work gained its strength from his direct encounters with the unspoiled landscape. Michael Lobel upends this commonplace view by showing how Van Gogh’s pictures are inseparable from the modern industrial era in which the artist lived—from its factories and polluted skies to its coal mines and gasworks—and how his art drew upon waste and pollution for its subjects and even for the very materials out of which it was made. Lobel underscores how Van Gogh’s engagement with the environmental realities of his time provides repeated forewarnings of the threats of climate change and ecological destruction we face today.

Van Gogh and the End of Nature offers a radical revisioning of nearly the full span of the artist’s career, considering Van Gogh’s artistic process, his choice of materials, and some of his most beloved and iconic pictures. Merging a timely sense of environmental urgency with bold new readings of the work of one of the world’s most acclaimed artists, this book weaves together detailed historical research and perceptive analysis into an illuminating portrait of an artist and his changing world.

The Research Associate position provides the opportunity to gain firsthand experience and professional training in curatorial work, specializing in works of art on paper. The postholder will be fully integrated into the department and will contribute significantly to exhibition planning, research, organization, and installation as well as other departmental activities. They will be trained in cataloging and handling of works on paper and in provenance research. The Postgraduate Research Associate will undertake research on works in the permanent collection and will gain training in acquisitions and collections development. The postholder will participate in the development of upcoming exhibition projects including William Blake; the origins and history of the mezzotint engraving technique; the Trinidadian artist Michel Jean Cazabon; and British pastels.

Sarah Purser (1848 – 1943) was a hugely influential figure in Irish artistic circles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both as an artist and as an organiser. She played an important role in the founding of Hugh Lane Gallery and helped secure Charlemont House as the gallery’s permanent home. It also marks the centenary of the founding of the Friends of the National Collections of Ireland, which Purser established in 1924.

Sarah Purser was born in 1848 in Dún Laoghaire and studied in Switzerland, Dublin and Paris, where she studied at the Académie Julian. On her return to Dublin, she established herself as one of the leading portraitists in the city. Hugh Lane Gallery has a fine collection of her work, with sensitive portraits of Jane Barlow, Edward Martyn, Maud Gonne and W. B. Yeats along with the figure studies, Portrait Study, Mother and Child and Painting of a Woman. [...]

Imagine Me and You traces these multiple encounters through the world of Netherlandish artworks and their varied representations of the Islamic realm. Looking also at the ways in which contemporary Ottoman fashion played a role in biblical and historical scenes by Netherlandish artists, the exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the profound impact these interactions have had on crafting our shared history. This dynamic interplay between cultures unearths revelations about individual heritage and the broader global community. While acknowledging the complexity of establishing the origin of certain hybrid objects, the exhibition ultimately suggests that it is more important to amplify and celebrate these objects’ multicultural and multifaceted characteristics.

The approximately 120 objects in the exhibition include drawings, prints, paintings, textiles, and more; the works come from the collections of the Harvard Art Museums as well as from the Maida and George Abrams Collection, The Tobey Collection, other Harvard institutions, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In addition to sumptuous textiles and striking wool carpets from Türkiye (Turkey) and intricate album paintings from the Ottoman and Mughal periods, there is a range of drawings and prints from Dutch, Netherlandish, and other artists, including Margaretha Adriaensdr. de Heer, Haydar Reis, Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Melchior Lorck, Nicolas de Nicolay, Lucas van Leyden, Jacob Marrel, Rembrandt, and many more. A display of historical pigment samples sheds light on some of the materials these artists used.

- Drive the strategy for the Restitution Department Globally, managing the team.
- Oversee and direct workflow of Sotheby’s Global Restitution department’s research to prevent stolen objects from circulating in the art market and, in particular, resolving provenance issues of any item with ownership claims from the Nazi-era.
- Collaborate with business getters and cataloguers in each affected expert department to vet and research artworks being appraised, prospected or sold.
- Provide guidance and training to art specialists and other colleagues at Sotheby’s on policies surrounding stolen art and objects with Nazi-era provenance.
- Represent Sotheby’s and Sotheby’s Restitution as an ambassador at events including lectures and conferences globally.
- Organize Sotheby’s hosted events and educational seminars focusing on the nuances and scholarship in this area.
- Develop and maintain relationships with relevant lawyers, researchers and government bodies in the restitution field.
- Generate incremental business through research and contacts, specifically lawyers, heirs, museums and researchers.
- Publish articles in relevant magazines and be a recognised expert in the field.
- Work directly with clients and their advisors to navigate and resolve claims.
- Facilitate settlements between consignors and claimants and lead any sale claims management.
- Partner with colleagues to oversee compliance around source of funds.
- Act as a member of the Sotheby’s Ethics Committee.