The world's new most expensive painting
February 3 2012
Picture: Vanity Fair
The state of Qatar has paid a reported $250m for a version of Cezanne's Card Players. Cezanne painted five similar images, and this was the only one remaining in private hands. The others are in the Met, d'Orsay, and Courtauld museums, as well as the Barnes Foundation. Alexandra Peers of Vanity Fair has the story:
How did Qatar get the Cézanne? For years, Greek shipping magnate George Embiricos had owned and treasured the painting, rarely lending it. He was “entertained” but unmoved, according to one art dealer, by occasional offers for it that climbed ever higher alongside the art market in past decades. A few years ago, the painting was listed by artnews magazine as one of the world’s top artworks still in private hands.
Shortly before his death in the winter of 2011, Embiricos began discussions about its sale, which was handled by his estate. Two art dealers—William Acquavella and another, rumored to be Larry Gagosian—offered upward of $220 million for the painting, people close to the matter said. But the royal family of Qatar, without quibbling on price, outbid them, at $250 million.
'Let's go to Qatar to see a slightly different version of an already well-known painting' doesn't do it for me. Perhaps they should have spent their $250m on something truly unique. If I had that sort of money to go out and buy a headline painting, I'd go for Salvator Mundi. A Leonardo in the desert? Now that's worth a trip...
More curious auction cataloguing...
February 2 2012
Picture: Stephan Welz & Co.
Here's another odd piece of auction cataloguing. Above is a 19th Century painting illustrating the Brother's Grimm fairy tale, 'The Frog Prince'. It is described as:
Lot 343: English School, oil on board, 'Discussion with a Frog'.
Wonder what they're discussing...
Don't photograph the National Gallery!
February 2 2012
Picture: BG
I'm grateful to Steven Moore and Gwyn Headley of fotolibra.com for highlighting a curious piece of proposed legislation banning photography in Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square. Here's a piece of draft legislation called The Trafalgar Square Byelaws 2012:
5. Acts within the Square for which written permission is required
(1) Unless acting in accordance with permission given in writing by the Mayor, or any person authorised by the Mayor under section 380 of the Act to give such permission, no person shall within the Square —
(p) take photographs or film or make any other recordings of visual images for the purpose of or in connection with a business, trade, profession or employment or any activity carried on by a person or body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate;
So I guess that means the above photo of the queues outside the National Gallery would be illegal. If you think this is a curious law in 21st Century Britain, then you can take the following action:
Any objection to the confirmation of the Byelaws may be made by letter addressed to Carl Schnackenberg, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2-4 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DH, or by email to: Carl.Schnackenberg@Culture.gsi.gov.uk.
All together now; 'Dear Carl...'
The most useless catalogue illustration ever?
February 2 2012
Most auction houses are well-run businesses, and a pleasure to deal with. But every now and then I come across some really inept ones. Could you tell from the above photo that this lot is meant to be:
A Miniature Portrait of a Gentleman Miniature bust view portrait of a gentleman in 18th century style.
?
Two Goering pictures restituted
February 2 2012
Picture: Bloomberg/Dutch Restitutions Committee.
Catherine Hickley of Bloomberg reports that the Dutch government is to restitute two paintings once owned by Goering to the heirs of a Jewish antiques dealer. Paris-based Edouard Leon Jonas shipped the two works - an anonymous 16th Century Portrait of a Man with a Dog [above] and a landscape by Theobald Michau - to Bordeaux for safekeeping when Germany invaded France in 1940. But the pictures were intercepted and seized for Goering's enormous collection of looted art. They ended up in the hands of the Dutch government after Goering swapped them for Han van Meegeren's fake Vermeer, Christ and the Adulteress.
I love the fact that the consequences of van Meegeren's forgeries are still being felt today.
The Mona Lisa's curious new face
February 2 2012
Picture: TAN/Museo Prado
There was much excitement in the press yesterday about the Prado's newly restored copy of the Mona Lisa. To recap, the Prado have cleaned what they thought was a not-very-important copy of the Mona Lisa, only to discover that the black background was over-paint, revealing a landscape background underneath. The Prado say that their version is the 'earliest known' copy of the Mona Lisa, and that it was painted in Leonardo's studio at the same time as the original by one of his pupils.
Now this is some claim: a copy of the most famous painting in the world, painted under Leonardo's own supervision? But hang on - where is the evidence? Apparently the copy is painted on walnut, which was used as a support in Italy at the time Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa. But it was also used in France in the later 16th Century, and cannot be dated by dendrochronology. So we cannot rely on the panel for a date. Has there been any paint analysis? Is there any documentary evidence to support its creation in Leonardo's studio? Have the Prado analysed all the other early copies, and proved they post-date the Prado's copy? We are not told. The only compelling evidence we have so far relates to the under-drawing in the copy, and comes from The Art Newspaper article by Martin Bailey (who broke the story):
There was an even greater surprise: infrared reflectography images of the Prado replica were compared with those obtained in 2004 from the original of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. This process enables conservators to peer beneath the surface of the paint, to see underdrawing and changes which evolved in the composition.
The underdrawing of the Madrid replica was similar to that of the Mona Lisa before it was finished. This suggests that the original and the copy were begun at the same time and painted next to each other, as the work evolved.
This is a curious claim, for we know that Leonardo took many years to complete the Mona Lisa. So at what stage was the copy made? If the under-drawing in the copy was made before the original was finished, then why does the painted surface of the copy look like the original after it was finished? Perhaps the copy was completed alongside the original at each stage of its execution. Or perhaps the different nature of the under-drawing in the copy could suggest that it is not as sophisticated or complete as that in the original - which is inevitably the case with a copy.
I'm sorry to sound unneccessarily sceptical, but presenting conclusions without the evidence to back them up is bad practice, in any discipline. It only gives rise to peevish questions from people like me. And in the meantime, the conclusions get exaggerated by the press: in the Washington Post the copy is now described as 'painted with help from Da Vinci'. It is of course entirely up to the Prado to announce their findings when they want. But I bet there's a whole load of art historians out there who are as frustrated as I am by the delay. For if the Prado is right, then this is indeed a great discovery, one which can really advance Leonardo studies. So why not release the evidence now? I asked the Prado if they had any more details, and received the following:
There will be an official press release coinciding with the presentation of the work once the restoration has ended. We will do a press conference in the week of the 20th of February to announce the final works of conservation and all the information regarding the research done on the painting.
Maybe I should just be more patient. So - until 20th February we have only the various photographs released to the media to go on. Is anybody else puzzled by this? Or am I just being cantankerous?
Restoration programme at the Courtauld announced
February 2 2012
Picture: Courtauld
Yesterday the Courtauld unveiled their newly restored Cain Slaying Abel by Rubens (1608-9). It looks very nice. They also announced a new series of restorations of 20 works, including Tintorett's Il Paradiso. The restorations will be funded by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Good for them. You can see 18 of the works here.
'Turner and the Elements' in Margate.
February 2 2012
Picture: Tate
It sounds as if the new exhibition looking at J M W Turner's approach to 'the elements' at Turner Contemporary in Margate is worth a trip: in The Telegraph, Alistair Sooke gives it four stars out of five. The show features 88 works by Turner, and closes on 13th May.
Ken-tastic!
February 2 2012
Picture: BG
On Monday I posted a story about French artist Jocelyne Grivaud's modelling of Barbie in the guise of various Old Masters - and issued this challenge:
If somebody cares to send me Action Man in the guise of Michelangelo's David I'll put it up...
Well I'm delighted to say that a reader has accepted - and, voila, above, in what must be a world first, is Barbie's boyfriend Ken as David. Apparently Action Man was out of stock, but that's a good thing because Ken doesn't come with those glued-on blue Y-fronts - and, best of all perhaps, there's no need for a fig leaf (poor Barbie).
The reader writes:
At first I thought it would be a piece of cake, but it was not.
For instance, in order to recreate the trickier "contrapposto pose" I found myself using a lighter to bend both David´s arm and leg (task which was not fully achieved, I am afraid.)
Poor Ken! Well, at that point there was no turning back so, carried away by the joy of procrastination, my David was born.
P.S - Please note that I am not crazy, just bored. Tomorrow I will redeem myself by arriving early at the library, to continue with my thesis.
Excellent. Keep them coming!
Today...
February 1 2012
...I'm off to BBC Bristol for a meeting on the next series of 'Fake or Fortune?'. The good news is that I'm not going to be replaced by someone younger and lovelier - phew! - but the bad news is that there'll be no blogging today. See you all tomorrow.'Leonardo' - the last week...
January 31 2012
Picture: BG
And the queues keep getting longer. Top tip if you have a ticket and are going in the morning; rather than join the queue for those with tickets (here on the left) just enter the gallery by the main entrance, and walk through to the Sainsbury Wing. You'll save yourself a whole heap of time...
More bad taste art history
January 31 2012
Picture: An anonymous fridge, somewhere in south London
Following yesterday's excitement with Barbie (posed in various old master guises), and my call for more of the same, a reader writes:
A propos Barbie, do you know the Michelangelo David fridge magnet, with multiple alternative magnetic add-on bits of dress? I can't send photos, as I don't have that one, but I have the Bouguereau Venus, again with many alternative garbs - do you want photos of that?
Yes, yes we do! If you have anything similarly curious, send it in...
Adam de Colone & Adam de Colonia
January 31 2012
Picture: Scottish National Portrait Gallery
The noted Dutch art historian Rudi Ekkart has published an invaluable article in the latest Burlington Magazine on the artist Adam de Colone, the leading portrait painter in Scotland in the 1620s. He was previously thought to have been the son of James I's court artist Adrian Vanson. But Ekkart can now prove that Adam de Colone was not Vanson's son, but his brother-in-law (the younger brother of Vanson's wife, Susanna de Colonia), and that he is the same artist as Adam de Colonia, who was practicing in Rotterdam in the 1630s. Ekkart then goes onto make some plausible attributions to possible Dutch works by Adam de Colonia, whose distinctive style of drawing faces can be seen in the above portrait of James Erskine, 6th Earl of Buchan [Scottish National Portrait Gallery].
I don't want to steal too much of Ekkart's research from the Burlington, which can be subscribed to here. It's well worth getting a copy of the article, which is a fine example of good old-fashioned 'who painted what when' art history, of a type rarely seen these days.
Update - oops, turns out this doesn't work at all. Read about Duncan Thomson's latest research here.
A case of bad taste at Tate?
January 30 2012
Picture: BG
I was very surprised to see this image on the scaffolding outside Tate Britain this morning. Political anoraks will recognise it immediately as the famous Saatchi & Saatchi Tory poster of 1979, called 'Labour Isn't Working' [below]. The words have been photo-shopped out, as has the entrance to the 'Unemployment Office'. Given that Tate Britain is currently axing many key members of staff at the moment (including, oddly, some of the country's leading scholars), isn't it a little strange that they should decorate the gallery with one of the defining images of unemployment? Not exactly good for staff morale...
More on the Poussin attack
January 30 2012
There was an intriguing nugget of information buried in a recent Guardian piece on yet another strike by room warders at the National Gallery:
The PCS [Public & Commercial Services Union] claims that last year, when a man walked into the gallery and threw red paint over Poussin's The Adoration of the Golden Calf, the assistant on duty was in the adjoining room. Had he been there, the union says, the attack "would not have happened".
The National disputes this version of events: it insists the assistant was shown on CCTV to have been in the doorway of the room during the attack.
I wonder which account is correct, the union's or the Gallery's. Given the layout of the galleries where the Poussin hangs, I presume the doorway in question was that between room 19 and room 20 (click here for the NG floorplan). The other possible doorway opens onto a much larger central gallery, 18, which would, one expects, have its own guard. If this scenario is correct, then it means a warder was practically adjacent to the painting when it was attacked.
Plum art world job available
January 30 2012
Picture: SNPG
Here's a great opportunity for anyone interested in portraiture and history - the newly refurbished Scottish National Portrait Gallery is looking for a new Director. The current director James Holloway, having overseen the epic restoration of the gallery, is stepping down. You will need:
Substantial and demonstrable experience in relevant roles in heritage or cultural institutions and a good working knowledge of a relevant subject area such as British/Scottish art and/or history
Outstanding people management skills and proven financial management, planning and budgeting experience.
A collaborative approach to team working with the ability to work across the NGS and to influence and network across a range of institutions and individuals, managing competing demands and devising creative solutions to problems.
Sounds like the dream job. Closing date 7th March 2012. Good luck!
'(Barbie) Girl with a Pearl Earring'
January 30 2012
A French artist has posed Barbie as famous Old Masters. If you can bear to look, there's nine more of these, including Barbie as the Mona Lisa. The mind boggles. Still, if somebody cares to send me Action Man in the guise of Michelangelo's David I'll put it up. Good luck removing those blue Y-fronts...
NY Old Master results: Sotheby's $62m - Christie's $38.7m
January 27 2012
Picture: Sotheby's
Ouch. That's quite a score.
Sotheby's top lot was the above Saint Jerome in the Wilderness by Fra Bartolommeo, which made $4.9m.
I've got to write and give a lecture today on valuing Old Masters, at Sotheby's Institute - so I'll post a more detailed review of the week's sales later.
Spotmania - the winner is...
January 26 2012
Over 600 people have now signed up to take the 'Damien Hirst Complete Spot Challenge' (see all 11 Spot exhibitions around the world, get a free print) - but if you were one of them, and wanted to be the first, then too late: Valentine Uhovski, of website Art Ruby, has beaten you to it.
Here is how Valentine described crossing the finishing line in London:
[...] the final cab ride to Davies [Street] with our driver Peter felt jittery. Maybe it was the realization that this undertaking (comprised of more miles in one week than you’d want to imagine) was ending after a twenty minute cab drive. At Mayfair, [...] we got our historic final stamp, posed for more photos, and then got to absorb the intimate, final spots show, filled with exhilarating, tiny (mostly circa 1996) fellas.
How did it feel to finally end this passage? Well, we crashed for the first time in 8 days at our nearby hotel at Oxford Street. But only for sixty minutes. Then we felt proud, relieved, spent, happy, hopeful and alert… while answering dozens of friends’ e-mails and updating the Twitter board. But art journey will continue tomorrow with more shows here in London…with absolutely no stamps on the line.
Meanwhile, The Art Newspaper's Christina Ruiz is taking a more sedate pace, and has so far got to Athens. There she described how only six Spot paintings are on display, and:
[...] Christina Papadopoulou, who is manning the desk, tells me some are for sale but declines to say which, if any, have sold. My guess is none of them have. There are of course major contemporary art collectors in Greece, not least Dakis Joannou and Dimitris Daskalopoulos, but if they liked Hirst’s spot paintings, they’d own one by now. This global spot extravaganza is designed to appeal to new collectors and they’re probably in short supply in Athens right now. Even those with money will balk at the perceived frippery of spending it on coloured spots as the economy goes down the toilet.
In our gallery, we mark sold pictures with a red spot. But I suppose marking sold Hirst Spots with a spot would just be taking the piss.
$1.4m drawing purchased by the Getty
January 26 2012
Picture: Sotheby's
ArtInfo reports that this Renaissance drawing attributed to Piero del Pollaiuolo was bought yesterday at Sotheby's New York by the Getty Museum for $1.4m.
