Rosalba Carriera Pastel Soars!
February 19 2025
Picture: Drouot
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The following pastel by Rosalba Carriera, a rather beautiful example of its kind which was given by the artist to the celebrated collector Jean de Jullienne in 1721, soared to 78,000 EUR over its 8k - 12k EUR estimate at Baratoux-Dubourg Enchères in Bourdeaux this afternoon (spotted via. @neiljeffares).
Musée d'Orsay acquires Anna Boch
February 19 2025
Picture: Musée d'Orsay
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
La Tribune de l'Art has published news that the Musée d'Orsay acquired a work by Anna Boch at the end of last year. The work, entitled Cueillette and dated 1890, had been exhibited in a travelling show on the artist last year. Here's the full catalogue note from the museum if you'd like to read more about the painting's history.
SMK acquires Clara Peeters from Koller sale
February 19 2025
Picture: Koller
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm a little slow to news that the National Gallery of Denmark (SMK) has announced its aquisition of Clara Peeters' Bird Still Life which appeared at Koller in Zurich at the end of last year and made a respectable 622,000 CHF (inc. premium) over its 300k - 500k CHF estimate. The picture is now the earliest dated painting by a woman artist in the SMK collection.
Jordaens to be conserved in open studio at Snijders&Rockox House
February 19 2025
Picture: codart.nl
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
CODART (the international network of curators of Dutch and Flemish art) has shared news that Jacob Jordaens' Christ and the Fishermen will be conserved in an open studio at the Snijders&Rockox House in Antwerp over the next few months. The picture is usual on display at the city's Sint-Jacobskerk and will be on display in the museum until the end of the year.
Little Beasts at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
February 18 2025
Picture: nga.gov
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. will be opening their latest Old Masters exhibition in May 2025 entitled Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World (spotted via CODART).
According to the gallery's website:
Art played a pivotal role during the dawn of European natural history in the 16th and 17th centuries. Advancements in scientific technology, trade, and colonial expansion allowed naturalists to study previously unknown and overlooked insects, animals, and other beestjes, or “little beasts.” Artists such as Joris Hoefnagel and Jan van Kessel helped deepen and spread knowledge of these creatures with highly detailed and playful works that inspired generations of printmakers, painters, decorative artists, and naturalists.
A delight for all ages, this exhibition features nearly 75 of these paintings, prints, and drawings in a unique presentation alongside specimens and taxidermy from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Learn about the rich exchange between artists and naturalists that sparked a fascination with earth’s living creatures, big and small. See how this intersection of art and science continues to inspire us today in a new film by artist Dario Robleto.
The show will run from 18th May until 2nd November 2025.
Witt Italian Pictures are Live!
February 18 2025
Picture: courtauld.ac.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news that the Italian pictures of the Witt Library are now live and free to browse online! There are exactly 349,029 cards in this national school, with some exciting discoveries to be made I am certain! Happy browsing.
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As a small aside, this resource is proving to be something of a treasure-trove for misattributed pictures, and the system generally makes sweeping through artists very efficient (more so than it was for opening endless stacks of boxes, it's true). Here's a harmless rediscovery I made just last week, a self-portrait by my favourite minor Georgian artist John Westbrooke Chandler (left) which had been parading as a work by John Opie in the 1950s (compared to another self-portrait by him which was sold by Christie's a few years ago(right)). I wonder where it is now.
Do get in touch if you make any of your own discoveries that you're willing to share.
Restored 'Botticelli' Teased before Redisplay in Naples
February 18 2025
Picture: ilcorrierino.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Regular readers might remember a story from November 2023 regarding the rediscovery of a lost 'Botticelli' by the Italian police. The painting (left) was found in a private home in Naples and had at the time been connected to a work which went missing from Santa Maria delle Grazie over half a century ago. The Italian press (spotted via. @Mweilc) have just shared very blurry images of the now-restored work (right) before it goes on display in an unspecified museum in Naples. The work was undertaken by Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence. More news and photos when they appear...
How to be a Tudor player at the Folger Shakespeare Library
February 18 2025
Picture: Folger Shakespeare Library
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. are about to open a very intriguing exhibition entitled How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition.
According to the library's website:
Social climbing was a competitive sport in Tudor England, requiring a complex range of skills, strategies, and techniques. How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition invites you into a world of lace ruffs, jousting, hawks, bad handwriting, scandal, and political factions. Experience the playbooks, the people, and the spectacular fails, as courtiers tried to navigate the minefield of working for a boss who could shower you with riches or chop off your head.
The exhibition features more than 60 objects from the Folger’s collection to demonstrate the “rules” for how to be a successful courtier. They show how historical and literary figures ranging from royal advisors to household staff used cunning, cutthroat, and creative means to acquire power and curry favor with the Tudor monarchs.
The show will open on 21st February 2025.
Postdoctoral Researcher at the Henry Moore Foundation
February 18 2025
Picture: Henry Moore Foundation
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Henry Moore Foundation are inviting applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher.
According to the advert:
This is an excellent opportunity that will enable a recent PhD graduate or Early Career Researcher to gain experience in a thriving cultural and research institution, as well as the opportunity to develop their own research portfolio in a supportive and well-established research environment.
The successful candidate will be a pro-active and knowledgeable postdoctoral researcher, whose expertise in the histories of sculpture will complement that of the Research Team at the Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, and will form a key element of our public programmes.
The position comes with an annual salary of £25,600 (£32,000 FTE) and applications must be in by 31st March 2025.
Good luck if you're applying!
Restoration Studio assembled in Museo di Capodimonte
February 17 2025
Picture: ansa.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Museo di Capodimonte in Naples is the latest museum to set up a conservation studios in their galleries to allow visitors to peer in to the process of restoring pictures. The project will examine roughly twenty works mostly from the Bourbon collection from the 14th - 16th centuries. Click on the link above to find out which works will be included.
Tintoretto's Crucifixion Unveiled after Conservation Project
February 17 2025
Picture: savevenice.org
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Venice that Tintoretto's famous Crucifixion for the Scuola Grande di San Rocco has been unveiled to the public after a long restoration project. Discoveries made during treatment include evidence that the artist used complex grids to organise the spatial relationships between figures. Click here to read more from the organisation Save Venice on the specifics of the project.
Louvre acquires Pierre Puget St John the Baptist
February 17 2025
Picture: Louvre via Nicolas Milovanovic
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Louvre's curator Nicolas Milovanovic has shared news that the museum has acquired Pierre Puget's The Head of St John the Baptist. Although Puget is more widely known as a sculptor, this rare example of him working in oils had recently been with the dealers H. W. Fichter Kunsthandel of Frankfurt (according to a Google search).
Split Manets to be reunited in May 2025
February 17 2025
Picture: Oskar Reinhart Collection / National Gallery, London
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news that two paintings, which were original one until their creator Edouard Manet decided to split them into two, will be reunited at the National Gallery in London later in May. This is the first time in 150 years Au café and Corner of a Café-Concert will be displayed together, thanks to a temporary loan from the Oskar Reinhart Collection (who own the canvas depicted on the left, above). The temporary exhibition will run from 27th May 2025 until 15th December 2025.
Big Turner Show at YCBA in March 2025
February 14 2025
Picture: YCBA
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Yale Center for British Art are opening a sizeable show on JMW Turner on 29th March 2025 entitled J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality. The exhibition will contain no fewer than 75 paintings and prints by the artist.
According to the press release:
This exhibition will draw from the Center’s rich holdings of the artist’s work, encompassing all media and phases of his nearly sixty-year career. This is the first show at the YCBA to focus on Turner in more than thirty years, displaying the complete arc of his radical artistic evolution. The exhibition will examine the contradictory nature of this revolutionary figure, who was as inspired by the past luminaries of the European landscape tradition as he was determined to surpass their greatest achievements.
“We are thrilled to welcome visitors back to the museum to reconnect with our extraordinary collections,” said Martina Droth, Paul Mellon Director. “Turner is an artist whose groundbreaking works continue to inspire. His work has long been a cornerstone of our collection and we are excited to show our returning and new visitors the full range of our Turner holdings.”
The exhibition will run from 29th March until 10th August 2025.
Prado Publishes Goya Printed References Online
February 13 2025
Picture: museodelprado.es
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Prado in Madrid have announced that they have published their latest online digital project. Repertorio de referencias impresas. 1771-1828 brings together all the printed references on Goya published during his lifetime. Containing 30,000 works, this digital project seems to set the bar for what is achievable in relation to providing original source material online (relating to a single artist) for art researchers and enthusiasts!
Courtauld scan reveals figure under Picasso
February 13 2025
Picture: courtauld.ac.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Courtauld Institute in London has shared news that x-ray and infra-red scans undertaken within its conservation studios have revealed a figure (or 'mystery woman') underneath Pablo Picasso's 1901 Portrait of Mateu FernaÌndez de Soto.
According to the institute's website:
Conducted in collaboration with the Oskar Reinhart Collection, ‘Am Römerholz’, Switzerland, the unknown artwork was discovered when The Courtauld took x-ray and infrared images of Portrait of Mateu FernaÌndez de Soto – a portrait depicting Picasso’s sculptor friend painted in 1901 and one of the earliest examples of the artist’s Blue Period – ahead of its display as part of the upcoming The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Goya to Impressionism. Masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection, opening 14 February.
The Courtauld’s analysis of the painting reveals it played an important role at a crucial stage in the young Picasso’s stylistic development, at a time when he was moving away from colourful, Impressionistic paintings towards a distinctly more melancholy artistic style which became the defining phase of his career known as his Blue Period.
Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz gift AI of Chicago 2,000 Works
February 13 2025
Picture: Artnet
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from the US that collectors Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz have gifted 2,000 works to the Art Institute of Chicago. Containing works that span from the 16th - 19th centuries, press reports suggest it 'will allow the museum to provide a “300-year panorama of French art” that is unique outside of France.' The gift includes works by François Boucher, Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Théodore Géricault, and Charles Le Brun, Marie-Gabrielle Capet, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, Anne Vallayer Coster, and Élisabeth Vigée Lebrun, Jacques Bellange, Reynaud Levieux, and Nicolas Prevost.
Sir William and Lady Hamilton at the Gallerie d'Italia - Napoli
February 13 2025
Picture: Gallerie d'Italia - Napoli
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm rather disappointed with myself for having failed to spot this exhibition which opened at the end of last year. The Gallerie d'Italia - Napoli are currently running a show dedicated to Sir William and Lady Emma Hamilton, whose influence on the arts both in Naples and Britain is very widely known.
According to the gallery's website:
In the wake of the important studies by Carlo Knight (who recently passed away) and the great exhibition at the British Museum in 1996, the Gallerie d'Italia - Naples is dedicating its 2024 autumn exhibition to William Hamilton, His British Majesty’s ambassador at the court of Ferdinand IV of Bourbon and his wife Maria Carolina of Hapsburg. Diplomat, antiquarian and volcanologist, Hamilton, with his multifaceted personality, found fertile ground in the “Enlightened” Naples of the second half of the 18th century to affirm and develop his great passions, antiquity and science.
The sections through which the exhibition will unfold will highlight his great interest in volcanology, landscape painting, music, and collecting, as well as the role he played in Neapolitan society of the time, amplified by the sometimes legendary figure of Lady Emma Hamilton. In reconsidering and promoting the extraordinary human, political and intellectual story of a man who was undoubtedly one of the greatest interpreters of his time, leaving a profound mark on the city, the exhibition will also trace the fruitful cultural and artistic exchanges that took place between Italy and the United Kingdom at a key moment in European history.
The exhibition runs until 2nd March 2025.
University of St Andrews are Hiring!
February 13 2025
Picture: University of St Andrews
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The University of St Andrews are hiring a Lecturer in Early Modern Art History (1400-1800).
According to the job description:
You will be required to contribute lectures and tutorials on our first-year survey modules. You will also be expected to offer attractive and accessible research-led undergraduate courses, giving students as much first-hand experience of works as possible. For the Academic Year 2025-26 you will be required to teach two of our current available modules. These include: AH3106 Experiencing Sculpture in the Early Modern World; AH3107 Art of the Ming and Qing Dynasties from a Global Perspective; AH3235 Spanish Painting in the Age of Velázquez; AH4176 Early Modern Cities; AH4182 Principles and Protagonists of Italian Renaissance Architecture; AH4183 The Senses, Objects, and Buildings in Early Modern Europe; AH4185 Michelangelo: Sculptor, Painter, Architect; AH4206 Raphael and His Reception; AH4222 Art, Theatre and Performance in France 1600-1800; AH4236 Images of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe; AH4241 Leonardo da Vinci, 500 years later. [...]
The job comes with an annual salary of £46,735 per annum and applications must be in by 28th March 2025.
Good luck if you're applying!
The Farnese in Sixteenth-Century Rome
February 11 2025
Picture: Capitoline Museums
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Capitoline Museums in Rome have just today opened an exhibition exploring the history of The Farnese in sixteenth-century Rome. The show draws together one hundred and forty masterpieces including ancient sculptures, bronzes, paintings, drawings, manuscripts, gems and coins, all of which tell the story of the collection and the various figures who contributed to it.
The exhibition will run until 18th May 2025.
