A New Raphael self-portrait?
February 11 2011
Picture: Alessandro Vezzosi & Scripta Maneant
A new book claims that a little known copy of Raphael's self-portrait is in fact by Raphael himself. The picture, which follows the Uffizi image, has been in a bank vault for many years.
You can flip through a section of the new book, and zoom in on the pictures, here.
It's hard to tell from the photos, but the 'new' picture is clearly much better than the ubiquitous copies one sees of the Uffizi image. Judging by the faded blue pigments of the background it appears to have some age to it. Elements of the face, such as the nose and lips, are well observed.
Intriguing...
Rare Rockwell drawing sold
February 10 2011
A fine drawing by Norman Rockwell called 'The Plumbers' was auctioned last night in Florida. Estimated at $35,000-$45,000, it sold for $120,000 hammer. More here.
Christie's Impressionist & Modern evening sale
February 10 2011
Totaled £61.8m.
Which is just below the £68.8m made by Sotheby's evening sale. The difference may be explained by a £7-10m Gauguin that failed to sell.
Picasso - A Lecture
February 9 2011
Picture: Sotheby's
The lesson of the lecture is - if you have a Picasso, sell it now.
Last night, Picasso's 'La Lecture' (a portrait of one of his mistresses) sold well above its £12-18m estimate at £25.2m.
Its success demonstrates the incredible buoyancy of the modern art market at the moment. In 1996 the same picture had been offered at $6-8m, when it failed to sell.
Titians on Tour - Jangling the Tin?
February 8 2011
Picture: National Gallery of Scotland
The LA Times wonders whether The National Gallery of Scotland's decision to send Titian's Diana & Actaeon and Diana & Callisto to America is part of a fund-raising trip;
It’s perhaps no coincidence that a U.K. institution has decided to send some of its choicest goods to America at this moment: private philanthropy dominates our arts economy, and the Brits are starting to get used to the fact that their own economically pressed government is pulling back the kind of public support that has long made American arts institutions jealous.
Treat of the Week
February 7 2011
Picture: Bonhams
I love paintings that combine raw history and artistry. At Bonhams on Wednesday is this study by John Lavery of the German naval surrender in 1918. Lavery was aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth and witnessed the scene.
Prado & Hermitage swap-shop
February 7 2011
The Prado and The Hermitage are to temporarily exchange a slew of works for an exhibition. AFP reports:
About 66 works from the Spanish museum will be put on display at the Hermitage between February 25 and May 29 as part of the "Prado at the Hermitage" exhibit.
In return 170 works from the Hermitage will be put on display at the Prado between November 8 and March 26, 2012.
Celebs meet History of Art
February 6 2011
Picture: Sky Arts. Myleene Klass as the Girl With a Pearl Earring.
A new TV series sees forger John Myatt paint celebrities "in the style of" the Old Masters. Also featured are Stephen Fry, James May, and Imelda Staunton.
Impressionist, Modern & Contemporary sales on view
February 5 2011
The atmosphere at Sotheby's and Christie's auction viewings of Impressionist & Modern art is very different to the Old Master sales I'm used to. The pictures are sparsely hung and strongly lit. Sharp-suited specialists slink silently between the high-rollers. Everyone whispers.
Of the two sales, I thought Sotheby's had the edge. But that's probably because I was drawn to the trio of Lucian Freuds, which was complimented by Francis Bacon's triptych portrait of Freud. The latter will surely beat its £7-9m estimate, in which case cue headlines saying 'Bringing home the Bacon'.
The picture I most liked was the tiny self-portrait by Lucien Freud. Painted in 1952, it is an intense work suffused with self-doubt. The estimate is £600,000-800,000, which in this market is probably rather low.
Being Norman Rockwell's Model
February 4 2011
Scott Ingram recalls his role in some of Rockwell most famous paintings;
'He never paid us much, but it didn't really matter,' Ingram said.
Picture Loans - the Way Ahead?
February 4 2011
Left: Renoir, Right: Caillebotte.
The Carnegie Museum and the Milwaukee Museum of Art are betting on the outcome of the Superbowl to decide the loan of two Impressionist paintings.
The stakes are as follows: if the Green Bay Packers win, the Carnegie Art Museum in Pittsburgh will loan Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Bathers With Crab" to the Milwaukee Art Museum.
But if the Pittsburgh Steelers steal victory, the Milwaukee Art Museum stands to temporarily lose to the Carnegie its prized "Boating on the Yerres" by Gustave Caillebotte.
"Our art director is from Green Bay, so this is personal," said Kristin Settle, head of Public Relations for the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Should we do the same in the UK with the FA Cup Final? Why not?
Like, totally amazing.
February 3 2011
Picture: Gemaldegalerie,Berlin
Google have a new website, www.googleartproject.com, where you can virtually explore some of the world's leading art galleries; Tate, Uffizi, Met, the National in London, etc. etc.
The most amazing thing of all, however, is the ability to zoom in in ultra-high resolution on some of the paintings. I've never seen digital art images as good as this online, and all for free too. Usually, galleries are so terrified of protecting their image rights, that you all you get is a blurry thumbnail.
It's brilliant. Congratulations to everyone involved.
I hope more UK art galleries can participate with Google in this project. The goal should be a comprehensive online database of the UK's national art collection. With Google's help, we could do this far more cheaply and effectively than if we tried to do it as, say, a government project.
The best exhibition advert you'll ever see?
February 3 2011
Check out the Hollywood-style trailer for a new exhibition at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, 'Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art'. (I dare someone at the National Gallery to do a similar video for 'Leonardo'...)
There's an interesting ticketing system too;
'The Parish Advantage' offers discounts and premiums to Parishioners and members of the Church.'
Hans Eworth Lecture
February 3 2011
Hope Walker, who is doing a PhD on Hans Eworth, has YouTube-d her recent illustrated lecture on the artist.
New Acquisition at the Mauritshuis
February 1 2011
Picture: The Mauritshuis (detail).
The Mauritshuis have unveiled their latest acquisition, Moses and Pharaoh's Crown by Jan Steen. Bought from a private owner for an undisclosed sum, the picture fills a gap in their collection. Although they have fourteen Steens, none of them are historical pictures. More here.
The Spirit of Romney...
February 1 2011
How weird is this? Two related works by George Romney are discovered independently by dealers, and end up in galleries next to each other. [more below]
We (Philip Mould Ltd) recently discovered an early portrait by George Romney (above left). Research identified the sitter as the Rev. William Atkinson. At about the same time Andrew Wyld came across a rare early portrait drawing by Romney (above right). The sitter, however, was unknown.
Now, Andrew Wyld's gallery is immediately next to ours in Dover Street, London. We hung our portrait in the window about two weeks ago, and as Andrew walked past one night, he was able to identify the sitter in his drawing.
Museums at risk in Cairo
January 31 2011
Picture: CNN. Troops guard the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
There are reports of mass lootings and tomb openings during the revolution.
Friday night, a group of 'criminals' entered the Cairo Museum using a fire department staircase, Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told CNN early Sunday.
Once inside the museum, they went to the Late Period gallery, Hawass wrote. 'When they found no gold, they broke 13 vitrines (glass showcases) and threw the antiquities on the floor'.
One to keep an eye on...
January 29 2011
Picture: Sotheby's
Sotheby's minor Old Master sale in New York was full of hidden treats. One of the pictures I liked was this Mengs self-portrait, a replica of that in the Uffizi. It was catalogued (with a rather blurry photo) as 'Circle of Mengs', but was well painted, and could certainly stand being 'Studio'. Indeed, the author of the Mengs catalogue raisonne thought it might have been painted by Mengs himself, in parts.
It made $25,000. I hope to see it again, cleaned.
Impressionist discovery in US 'yard sale'
January 28 2011
Picture: Skinner Inc.
A work by the American Impressionist painter Frederick Carl Frieseke has been bought in a 'yard sale' for less than $100. It will be auctioned on Friday 28th with an estimate of $50-70,000. More here.
Update 29.1.11; it didn't sell.
Just One Bidder
January 27 2011
Picture: Sotheby's
The New York Times reports that there was just one bidder for the epic Titian sold by Sotheby's in New York on Thursday. Still, they managed to set an auction record for a work by Titian.
More interesting, perhaps, was the fierce struggle to secure Perino del Vaga's Holy Family with the Infant John the Baptist. At the beginning of the bidding someone in the room shouted out increments of $100,000, to the delight of auctioneer Henry Wyndham. The picture was bought by the Met in New York. The museum's Chairman of European Paintings, Keith Christiansen, said, "the minute I saw this painting, I nearly keeled over."
