Sotheby's publishes Rembrandt Catalogue Online
October 30 2023
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's London have published a full PDF of its 58+ page catalogue dedicated to Rembrandt's The Adoration of the Kings in their upcoming December sale. The catalogue contains vast amounts of research, both art historical and technical, which explains how and why work has been upgraded to the master in full.
Paintings from the Diocese of Paris Restored and On Display
October 30 2023
Picture: collegedesbernardins.fr
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Collège des Bernardins in Paris have recently opened a small exhibition of fourteen works from the Diocese of Paris. Many of the paintings, spanning the fifteenth until the twentieth centuries, have been recently restored.
The display will run until 16th December 2023.
The University of Exeter are Hiring!
October 30 2023
Picture: Wikipedia
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The University of Exeter are hiring a Lecturer in Art History and Visual Culture (Education and Scholarship).
According to the job description:
The post includes responsibility for the design, development and delivery of teaching and learning materials across a range of modules within AHVC, with a focus on the period 1700-1900.
You will contribute to team-taught core module teaching in Art History and Visual Culture, including the field trip, and supervision of undergraduate final year dissertations. You will contribute to a module on ‘French Visual History’ and the ability to offer an option module on an aspect of French art history and visual culture is desirable. You will contribute directly to foundation teaching in AHVC and to the development and implementation of innovative teaching practices.
The job comes with a salary of around £41,732 and applications must be in by 9th November 2023.
Good luck if you're applying!
Christie's Paris November Sale
October 30 2023
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's Paris have uploaded their upcoming November Maîtres Anciens : Peintures - Sculptures - Dessins online.
Amongst the highlights of the sale is a Charles-Antoine Coypel, with Rothschild provenance, which will be offered at €200,000 - 300,000. Other works by Jean-François de Troy, Jan Brueghel the Younger and Pieter Claissens the Elder are also featured.
The accompanying online hasn't been uploaded yet, but will appear here when it does!
Venezia500 at the Alte Pinakothek
October 27 2023
Picture: Alte Pinakothek
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Munich's Alte Pinakothek latest exhibition opens today. VENEZIA 500:
THE GENTLE REVOLUTION OF VENETIAN PAINTING is a celebration of Venetian painting of the sixteenth century and will feature works by all the big names including Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione, Palma Vecchio, Lorenzo Lotto, Titian and Tintoretto.
According to the museum's website:
The exhibition is devoted to the groundbreaking innovations in Venetian Renaissance painting, with lasting effects that continued to resonate far into European modernism. It presents 15 masterpieces from the Munich collection and around 70 international loans, focusing on portraits and landscapes from the first half of the sixteenth century as the most eloquent examples of the characteristics and achievements of the flourishing Venetian school. The leading masters brought a previously unprecedented intensity to their explorations of the essence of humanity and nature and their interrelations. This explains the attraction and the relevance of these portraits and landscapes, which will be presented in themed groups and in juxtapositions of drawings and sculptures that address the contexts of their creative origins and contemporary readings.
This free (!) show will run until 4th February 2024.
Petworth are Hiring!
October 27 2023
Picture: The National Trust
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Would you like to work with what must surely be one of Britain's greatest collections of art? Well, Petworth (Managed by The National Trust) are hiring a Collections & House Manager.
According to the job description:
Reporting to the Property Curator, you'll contribute to the Treasure House programme ambitions. This will include improvements to the visitor offer such as high standards of presentation and meticulous conservation and collections management and care. You'll lead on the development of the remedial conservation plan and emergency salvage plan with support from the Property Curator and identify collections and interiors conservation projects, managing their planning and delivery. Alongside these projects, you'll oversee the daily smooth-running of house team operations. This will include overall responsibility for ensuring timely and effective preventive conservation methods, environmental monitoring, and auditing. You'll also develop and implement plans to ensure information on the Collections Management System (CMS) is accurate and actively managed, training team members where necessary.
The job comes with a salary between £30,000 - £40,000 per annum, and applications must be in by 5th November 2023.
Good luck if you're applying!
Prado Acquires Paolo da San Leocadio
October 27 2023
Picture: Prado
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Spain that the Prado Museum in Madrid have acquired an Agony in the Garden by Paolo da San Leocadio. Born in Italy in 1447, this master is most famous for his work during his stay in Valencia, which included producing frescos and works of art for the city's cathedral. Press reports have stated that the work was purchased for 600,000 from the Bernat Gallery, with the American Friends of the Prado Museum paying for half of the costs.
Ombersley Court Treasures at Christie's
October 26 2023
Picture: malverngazette.co.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's have recently published full cataloguing for their upcoming Ombersley Court: The Collection of Lord and Lady Sandys sale. As expected from an English Country House auction, there are many fine British Portraits from all ages with particularly tempting estimates.
Regular auction watchers will remember that a few selected times from the collection were offered by Sotheby's back in 2019, however, it appears that it is Christie's who have been instructed to offer works of art from the collection this time around.
The auction will be held on 29th November 2023.
Sell the Bouchardon Bust, says Councillor who Rediscovered it
October 26 2023
Picture: ross-shirejournal.co.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Interesting news from Scotland that a local Highland councillor, who rediscovered a very fine bust of Sir John Gordon of Invergordon by Bouchardon in the council's stores, has called for it to be sold. The bust was rediscovered in 1998 by Maxine Smith, now a local councillor, and former Highland councillor Andy Anderson when looking for 'missing' robes and chains of office in stores. The bust, which had been purchased by the council for £5 in 1931, had been holding open a door at the time. Since its rediscovery it has been exhibited at the Louvre and its market value has increased too. In the early 2000s it was valued at around £450,000, and the recent reports (linked above) suggest that it is now worth £2.5m.
Miss Smith is now in the process of calling for a public consultation to have the bust sold for funds for 'community projects':
The councillor wants the community to back a plan to sell the bust, and with the proceeds make a replica of the original to keep in a museum.
And with the proceeds of the sale, she wants backing to set up an Invergordon Common Good Fund, putting £125,000 back into community projects each year.
She said: “I’m so excited we played the long game.
“It may be that the community don’t wish to sell it, but to be honest it’s doing nobody any good sitting in the Inverness archive centre which is the only place secure enough to cover the insurance costs.”
Update - The BBC have published the story too earlier today. AHN's Bendor has been quoted giving his own opinion:
"Here is this work of art that has fallen into the lap of Highland Council for no money at all and it seems all they want to do is sell it for a lot of money to someone outside Scotland, when really there is no reason they can't lend it to Inverness Museum or National Galleries of Scotland or National Museum of Scotland."
Sotheby's to offer $40 - 60m Basquiat Self-Portrait
October 26 2023
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's New York will be testing the upper end of the modern and contemporary art market next month with the sale of the following Basquiat Self-Portrait. With an estimate of $40 - $60m, this will certainly be an interesting indicator for the state of the market in this area. Interestingly, a video produced by the auction house for Instagram has directly compared the self-portrait to examples by Rembrandt, Van Eyck, Parmigianino, Durer, Wright of Derby and others (Schiele, Van Gogh etc.). It's good to know that the Old Masters are still the benchmark for this particular genre!
'Sleepy Sleeper' Returns for Sale
October 26 2023
Picture: Wannenes
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News on 'X' via the art researcher Mirna Megyeral (@Megyeral) that a 'Sleepy Sleeper' posted here in December 2020 has reappeared in a sale. Regular readers might remember that the drawing made a staggering €160,000 (hammer) over its €800 - €1,200 estimate at the auction house Wannenes in Italy. It is now being reoffered at Farsetti Arte in Milan with an estimate of €900 - 1,300. Not all sleepers work out the way you sometimes hope, it seems...
Anne Lyden named as new Director General of National Galleries of Scotland
October 26 2023
Picture: BBC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Anne Lyden has been named as the new Director General of the National Galleries of Scotland. She will replace Sir John Leighton who has held the position for 17 years and will be the first ever female to be appointed in that role.
Here's a little of her professional background:
Lyden joined the National Galleries of Scotland first as International Photography Curator and then as Chief Curator, Photography.
In 2022, she became Interim Co-Director of Collection and Research, overseeing the public programme across three sites and building on research initiatives to widen accessibility and representation within the collection.
Previously, she held various curatorial positions at the J.Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where she worked for 18 years from 1995, most recently in the role of Associate Curator.
In anticipation of the upcoming Holbein exhibition...
October 26 2023
Picture: Royal Collection Trust
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Guardian have published its art critic Jonathan Jones's thoughts on a private tour of the Royal Library at Windsor Castle in anticipation of the upcoming Holbein Exhibition at the Queen's Gallery. It seems that he was impressed by the mastery of these artworks and it will be exciting to see how they are presented when the show opens in November!
Louvre Acquires Portuguese Resurrection
October 25 2023
Picture: Louvre
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
La Tribune de l'Art have reported on news that the Louvre have acquired a Portuguese painting depicting the Resurrection of Christ. Dated to around 1540, and connected to an unknown artist connected with the Royal Court of Lisbon, the painting was acquired from the dealer Philippe Mendes who had the work on their stand at TEFAF earlier this year.
Auctioneer Jussi Pylkkänen to leave Christie's after 38 years
October 25 2023
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News has broken that Christie's Global President and long-time auctioneer Jussi Pylkkänen will be leaving the company in December to become an independent art advisor. He has been with the auction house for 38 years, and has taken the majority of Old Master Paintings Evening Sales in some time.
According to Artnews:
Pylkkänen’s final Christie’s sale will be an Old Masters auction slated to take place in London on December 7. The house said in its announcement that he will still preside over the marquee 20th-century art evening sale in New York this November.
Some of the most expensive works of art ever sold at auction have hit the block during live sales conducted by Pylkkänen. In 2017, he took the rostrum during the sale of Salvator Mundi, a painting the house credited to Leonardo da Vinci. That work sold for $450.3 million, and still holds the record for the priciest piece ever sold publicly at auction. In 2022, he facilitated bidding for a $195 million Andy Warhol painting of Marilyn Monroe; the buyer was dealer Larry Gagosian.
The British Art Journal to Cease?
October 24 2023
Picture: britishartjournal.co.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Some rather sad news to report that The British Art Journal (BAJ) will cease publication on 31 December of this year.
According to the journal's website:
We very much regret having to announce that The British Art Journal will cease publication on 31 December this year, 2023, with the publication of Volume XXIV, No. 3, owing to the retirement of the editor. It may well start again under new management, but nothing has yet been decided.
In the circumstances, we are not accepting any new subscriptions.
This is genuinely sad news, as the journal has over the years been instrumental in publishing cutting edge research relating to the art of these isles. Indeed, the journal has always been a welcoming place for budding scholars, with many of them publishing their debut articles there (myself included). This has had much to do with the boundless energy and enthusiasm of its long-time Editor, Robin Simon, who will be a very hard act to follow.
I sincerely hope that a new editor is found in due course, to lead this vital British art publication into this new age.*
* - Maybe the present (woefully underqualified) writer of this post feels morally obliged to put his hat in the ring for the job!
Update - Bendor here, to add: first, that I can vouch for Adam's excellent and highly qualified editing skills; second that Robin Simon and the BAJ have been an extraordinary force for good in promoting British art history for the last few decades, and it has been a pleasure to be both a subscriber and occasional contributor; third, that British art history really needs a journal where people of all backgrounds can contribute, and not be excluded by the gatekeeping that afflicts some other publications.
But this shouldn't stop us celebrating Robin's achievements at the BAJ. Many years ago, when I was more diligent on the blog, I began a category called 'Heroes of Art History'. I hereby nominate Robin for AHN immortalisation - hail, Robin!
THE RÉGENCE IN PARIS (1715-1723) at the Musée Carnavalet
October 24 2023
Video: Musée Carnavalet
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Musée Carnavalet in Paris have just opened an exhibition on the Régence (1715-1723), a period when the cultural life of the capital was flourishing. Judging from photographs it appears to be full of paintings and portraits of the period, including those loaned by major French museums and private collections.
The show will run until 25th February 2024.
New Release: Van Dyck in Italy - Technical Studies
October 24 2023
Picture: Il Geko Edizioni
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Italian website Finestre sull'Arte have published an extended article on a new book dedicated to technical analysis of Van Dyck's Italian period. The publication by Michela Fasce examines sixteen works by the artist, and investigates exactly how and with what materials Van Dyck was producing paintings during this time of his career.
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As an aside, it is a recurring feature that many of his Italian period paintings don't tend to age very well. Apart from the usual damages from overcleaning, many of his canvases have suffered greatly from losses and degradations of colour and vibrancy. I wonder if this might be explored in the book too...
Louvre Acquires Kitchen Cimabue?
October 24 2023
Picture: oisehebdo.fr
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A French news outlet have published a piece speculating that the Louvre are about to announce their acquisition of the rare Cimabue which was discovered in a French kitchen back in 2019. The work was eventually sold at the Hotel des Ventes de Senlis for €24.18m, where it was reportedly purchased by the American collectors Alvaro Saieh and Ana Guzmán but immediately declared a national treasure by the French State.
More news if and when it appears...
Download the Getty's 'Conserving Canvas' for free!
October 24 2023
Picture: Getty Publications
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Getty publications posted some interesting news on 'X' concerning their recent publication Conserving Canvas as open content. This means that the entire publication, which is currently available to purchase as a hard-copy, can be accessed or even downloaded as a PDF or EPub for free.
The publication, edited by Cynthia Schwarz, Ian McClure, and Jim Coddington, contains vast amounts of papers delivered at a conference in 2019 on the subject of past and present practises in relation to the conservation of canvases.
