That stolen 'Rubens' in Greece?
September 2 2011
Further to the story below, a reader has sent me an image of what he says is the painting recovered in Greece. He says it is a copy. If true, it means the villains were a bit dense...
Update: The villains were in fact spectacularly dense - for they originally stole two paintings - one of which was an undoubted Rubens. But they dropped it on the way out.
Rant: Paris v London
September 2 2011
Picture: BG
Above is a photo taken outside the National Gallery, London, yesterday. To the right, a not very talented busker is singing the same Cat Stevens song repeatedly, with an amplifier. In front of him a couple of drunks are leering at passersby. Behind, a variety of 'acts' try to entertain the tourists (one is a man dressed as Sherlock Holmes on stilts). To the left a police van patrols slowly up and down. Out of shot are the litter-strewn grass banks in front of the gallery (which at night become home to more drunks).
It seems to me that the chaos in front of the Gallery diminishes its calming presence in London. The building and its contents often feel cowed by the loud 'events' and concerts which take place in Trafalgar Square almost every other day.
Or am I being a killjoy? Having just returned from Paris, I'm struck by how well its museums and cultural attractions are presented. You'd never see the above in front of the Louvre. When Boris Johnson first ran to be Mayor of London, I was asked to advise him on cultural policy. My one suggestion was that he should make London's cultural areas nicer places to be. London's theatreland, for example, is not a pleasant place to go in the evening. I know the National Gallery have also tried to do something about the noise in Trafalgar Squre. But it seems Boris isn't interested.
LA Police stumped by stolen 'Rembrandt'
September 2 2011
Police in Los Angeles are refusing to hand back a stolen 'Rembrandt' drawing - because they cannot determine whether it is by Rembrandt or not. 'The Judgment' was stolen from the Ritz-Carlton, but then found in a church two days later. More details here.
Stolen Rubens recovered in Athens sting
September 2 2011
Picture: RKD
Police in Athens say they have recovered a lost Rubens. The picture was seized as villains tried to sell it to undercover police for EUR1m.
The police aren't saying what the picture is, officially. But press reports have linked it to a sketch of a Boar Hunt stolen from the Ghent Museum of Fine Arts in 2001. The museum has refused to comment.
The only relevant image I can find is the above sketch, of a boar hunt, listed in the RKD as being at Ghent. But in the RKD database it is catalogued as 'After Rubens' - so it may not be that picture.
If the villains had been a little sharper, they could have 'stolen' a Rubens Boar Hunt scene quite legitimately, just a few years ago. In 2005, The Calydonian Boar Hunt (1611/12) by Rubens was sold at auction in Paris as 'Follower of Rubens', with an estimate of just EUR10,000. It now belongs to the Getty Museum.
More details when I get them...
History of Art books out this week
September 1 2011
I hope to make this a regular feature. Out this week are:
- The Louvre: All the Paintings, by Vincent Pomarede
- Bernini: His life and his Rome, by Franco Mormando
- Miraculous Bouquets: Flower and Fruit Paintings by Jan Van Huysum, by Anne T. Woollett
- Pieter Bruegel, by Larry Silver
- The Spanish Manner: Drawings from Ribera to Goya, by Jonathan Brown
- Johan Zoffany RA: Society Observed, by Martin Postle
- Artemisia Gentileschi: A Woman's History, Passion of an Artist, by Roberto Contini
- Gauguin and Polynesia, by Suzanne Greub
- Michelangelo: The Achievement of Fame, 1474-1534, by Michael Hirst
- Gabriel Metsi: Life and Work, Catalogue Raisonne, by Adriaan Waiboer
- Richard Parkes Bonnington: The Complete Drawings, by Patrick Noon
- Facing Beauty: Painted Women and Cosmetic Art, by Aileen Ribeiro
- Fragonard's Prgress of Love at the Frick Collection, by Colin Bailey
Apologies for the lack of links; if you want to buy, just cut & paste to Google the titles. If I've missed out yours, let me know!
German fake trial begins
September 1 2011
Picture: morgenweb.de
The trial of a forgery gang whose works fooled major dealers and auction houses such as Lempertz and Christie's has begun in Germany. You can see some of their fakes here, including the truly awful 'Van Dongen', above. How did they ever succeed?
Update: A brief video report here.
New works by Leonard Foujita
September 1 2011
Picture: Pola Museum of Art, Japan
A cache of newly discovered works by Leonard Foujita, the celebrated 20th Century Japanese artist, will go on display this month at the Pola Museum in Hakone, Japan. More here.
Van Gogh goes to the Rockies
September 1 2011
Picture: Van Gogh Museum
The Denver Art Museum has announced a new Van Gogh exhibition, 'Becoming Van Gogh', to be held from October 2012-January 2013. More here.
Another Bolton deaccessioning sale falters?
September 1 2011
Picture: Bonhams
Last night, another of Bolton Council's 35 deaccessioned paintings went up for sale at Bonhams in Edinburgh. Sea Gulls and Sapphire Seas by Robert Gemmell Hutchison was estimated at £120-£180,000 - but sold for £120,000 including buyer's premium. This means that the bidding fell some way short of the lower estimate. The same thing happened with Bolton's Somnambulist by Millais earlier in the summer, also at Bonhams.
Was the estimate too high? Was it the right sale? An August general sale in Scotland is perhaps not the best time for a museum to be selling a highly prized picture. It seems quite a few pictures failed to sell. Still, the price was the second highest achieved at auction for a work by the artist.
Renaissance coup in Australia
August 31 2011
Picture: The Canberra Times
The National Gallery of Australia has pulled of a bit of a coup with a forthcoming exhibition. It will display over 70 exquisite Renaissance masterpieces from the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, which is undergoing renovation. The paintings, which include Titians, Raphaels and the above Bellini, have never been out of Europe before.
Apparently, this is the first time works by Raphael, Botticelli, Bellini and Perugino have been shown in Australia. The show runs from 9th December 2011 - 9th April 2012.
New works by Otto Dix found
August 31 2011
Picture: thelocal.de
Four new watercolours painted between 1922-3 have been found in Bavaria. Schön.
Blog on
August 31 2011
Photo: BG
Well, that was nice. Two weeks in Switzerland doing not much. We went via Lake Como (overrated) and Paris (beautiful as ever, but, being hot and dry, more than usually smelly).
To avoid a busman's holiday, I consciously avoided looking at paintings. So I have nothing art historical to report. I did, however, try, for the first time, a spot of painting myself. Brimming with enthusiasm, we took with us paints, easels, brushes and all manner of gadgets. But I forgot the canvasses. So I had to paint on a rock instead (above). I can exclusively reveal to you that I am a crap painter.
While I was away:
- Someone thought they had found a portrait of Van Gogh.
- The National Portrait Gallery announced a small display of works by William Dobson, who was born 400 years ago in 1611.
- The BBC and the V&A announced a new partnership to highlight decorative art.
- The British Library announced a new exhibition on illuminated manuscripts.
- Tracey Emin installed a work in 10 Downing Street, a neon sign saying 'More Passion'. (Deep.)
- There was controversy over plans by the National Gallery to cut down on room attendants - and in turn controversy over the controversy.
- A drawing by Rembrandt was stolen from a hotel in California.
- The art dealer Clovis Whitfield published new theories on Caravaggio, while over on Three Pipe Problem Monica Bowen discussed some others.
- The September edition of the Burlington Magazine came out, with a well-written editorial on Lucian Freud.
- David Packwood at Art History Today had a good review of a new book on Raphael.
- And Jonathan Jones examined Saif Gaddafi's extraordinarly bad paintings.
Blog off
August 13 2011
Picture: Cartoonstock
I'm afraid you'll have to get your art history kicks elsewhere for a while - I'm off on holiday. If I stumble across a lost Raphael in France, I'll let you know.
Here's a Friday amusement to keep you going. And in the meantime, have a nice summer.
WW2 Portraits on display at RAF Museum
August 13 2011
Picture: RAF Museum
I find the combination of war and art fascinating. So I recommend going to see a series of portraits by wartime artist Eric Kennington, which have gone on display at the RAF Museum in Hendon. Says the museum:
The exhibition will present about three dozen works covering all of the Armed Services, the Auxiliary Services, London Transport and some notable civilians. Pictures have been loaned by the National Portrait Gallery, the Imperial War Museum, the National Army Museum, the Tate, the National Maritime Museum, the Ministry of Defence and by Kennington’s family and other private lenders and art dealers.
Kennington was among a handful of British artists who distinguished themselves as official war artists in both World Wars. His portraits were widely hailed not only as works of art, but also as capturing the indomitable spirit of British and Allied Servicemen in the struggle for victory.
It's well worth a visit. If you can't make it, there's a book on Kennington by Dr Jonathan Black, called The Face of Courage, which you can buy here. Pictured above is Kennington drawing General Ironside in 1940 - check out the General's visionary pose.
New Ford Madox Brown exhibition
August 12 2011
Picture: Manchester Art Gallery
Manchester Art Gallery will hold a new exhibition on Ford Madox Brown in September. It will be the first major exhibition of his work since 1964, and will assemble his greatest paintings, such as Work and The Last of England.
The show will also display this newly discovered work, The Seraph's Watch (A Reminiscence of the Old Master), found by the exhibition's curator, Julian Treuherz. Lost for many years, the composition was known only from a partial copy by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, which was sold recently at Sotheby's.
This picture is apparently Madox Brown's second version of the subject - the first, painted in 1846, is also lost. The fact that it is a replica may explain some of the rather awkward aspects of the newly discovered work. The drapery and drawing of the hands looks a little unusual.
The exhibition runs from 24th Sept 2011 - 29th Jan 2012. Full details here.
'Cuppa load of this'
August 12 2011
Picture: The Sun
American artist Karen Eland paints exclusively in coffee. The Sun has published some examples of her work, along with some great puns: 'Cuppa load of this', and 'espressionist'.
Karen says:
I do love coffee. But I restrict myself to two cups while painting or I get too shaky.
Karen's pictures are for sale at up to £9,000.
A slightly different View from the Artist
August 11 2011
Picture: Uffizi Gallery
A reader has kindly sent me another drawing of Rye by Van Dyck, inscribed lower left and dated a year later in 1634. The date would seem rather problematic in terms of Van Dyck's chronology - he is not thought to have returned to England until 1635. But in those days the new year started in March. So it could have been drawn in 1635 new style.
This view is taken from the opposite side of the town as that below, and may even have be done off shore. Perhaps it was done on ship, as he waited to disembark? Van Dyck had returned to England from Brussels without permission - forcing Charles I to apologise to Archduke Ferdinand for his bad behaviour.
New British Art Journal
August 11 2011
Picture: Telegraph
Plop onto my desk comes the new British Art Journal, just in time to make it into my holiday reading bag. This looks to be an excellent issue, it even - gasp - has some new features. As ever, there's a zippy editorial from Robin Simon. He makes a plea for UK museums to make all their images free for use, as Yale has done. He is of course right, as I have said before.
Included in this issue are the following:
- Katherine Hudson on Edward Burra
- AP Duffy on Paul Nash
- Helen Wyld on Paul Sandby
- Alan Davidson on the artist and engraver Thomas Hardy
- Stephen Conrad on Gainsborough's first Self-portrait
- Thomas Tuoby on aspects of British art in Barodo, India
- Juliet McMaster on a possible new watercolour by Samuel Palmer
View from the Artist no.2 - answer
August 11 2011
Picture: Morgan Library and Museum
Sorry if this one was a little tricky. One reader asked:
Anything to do with Cantagallina? The landscape itself reminded me of a drawing by Peter Hammann of Worms (St. Martin’s Church and its surroundings). The Church depicted in Hammann’s drawing (of 1692) was destroyed in 1689. Does the drawing depict Worms too?
Am I close?
Alas not. Another:
Hollar? St. Paul's Cathedral before the fire?
Nope. Right country though.
Another:
Is your view a detail from Van Dyck's drawing of Rye?
Yes! Well done indeed. The correct answer came from the Art department at the University of Kent, so perhaps a little local knowledge helped (Rye is in Sussex).
You can zoom into the picture in glorious detail here. Select 'full screen'. There are very few surviving landscape drawings by Van Dyck, and this one is my favourite. It was probably done while he was waiting for a ship to the continent, and is dated 27th August 1633. I love the idea of a bored Van Dyck, his artistic fingers itching, ambling up to the top of a hill and drawing the little town before him.
Picture: u3asites.org.uk
The mother of all pentiments?
August 10 2011
Picture: MFA Boston
As I was idly browsing Van Dycks today, I came across this Portrait of Peeter Symons at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Check out the ghostly, pointing hand lower left.
The hand was painted out by Van Dyck after he changed his mind. Usually, such changes, or pentiments (or more correctly pentimenti), are relatively small, such as an altered finger. But here the whole hand seems to have been finished, and then completely changed. Over time, the pentiment has become visible as the layer of paint on top becomes more transparent. Van Dyck always took great care over his hands. When asked why, he is supposed to have said, 'because the hands pay the bills'.
Interestingly, the portrait was rejected as a Van Dyck by Horst Vey in the 2004 Van Dyck catalogue. In the late 19th/early 20th century it had been called a copy, and he assumed it was one too. But it's clearly 'right' - and the pentiment proves it. A copyist would never do something like that.
(And that is why we are dealers love a good pentiment...)
