16th Century
William Carey Portrait acquired by Hever Castle
June 19 2025
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Times published a photograph today (I'll post a link to the story when it appears) explaining that Hever Castle has acquired a portrait of William Carey (1497-1528), who famously married Mary Boleyn (Anne Boleyn's sister). The painting was sold at Christie's Paris last year, and the auction house's catalogue note is worth reading in terms of the dating and the prototype on which this work was based.
Lecture in Renaissance Art History at Birkbeck
June 18 2025
Picture: jobs.ac.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Birkbeck, a part of the University of London, are hiring a Lecturer in Renaissance Art History.
According to the job description:
As Lecturer, you will convene and deliver the Autumn term lectures for the team-taught Level 4 module, ‘The Artwork in History’, and contribute lectures to the team-taught Level 5 module, ‘Art and Devotion in the Middle Ages and Renaissance’.
You will also convene the L6 dissertation module and deliver 2 to 3 lectures as part of the Level 7 module, ‘Frameworks: Histories and Theories of Art, Architecture, Photography’. In addition, you will be required to supervise both BA and MA Dissertations, and other student research projects and provide pastoral support as student tutor. You will also be encouraged to become involved in the Murray Seminar on Medieval and Renaissance Art series.
The job comes with a salary £43,636 rising to £60,018 per annum and applications must be in by 1st July 2025.
Good luck if you're applying!
Update - Bendor adds: it's interesting and a bit depressing to see how the salary for this position corresponds to the museum sector. Unfortunately, UK museum salaries are known to be too low, especially by international standards. But this highlights that they're too low even by domestic standards. An equivalent position, say senior curator, in a major London museum would be paid barely over £40k, with no flexibility to go higher (as we saw recently for example at Tate Britain, for their curator of British art). What can be done?
Teylers Museum acquire Drawing
June 18 2025
Picture: Teylers Museum via Facebook
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Teylers Museum in Haarlem have announced their acquisition of 'Two women fighting for a man's attention' by an anonymous 16th Netherlandish draughtsman. The work on paper, which was acquired with support of donor Matthijs de Clercq and the Vereniging Rembrandt, was presented to the museum on the occasion of de Clercq's 95th birthday.
Guadalupe of Mexico in Spain at the Prado
June 10 2025
Picture: Prado
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Prado in Madrid will be opening a new exhibition today entitled So far, so close. Guadalupe of Mexico in Spain.
According to their website:
So far, so close: Guadalupe, Mexico, in Spain offers a new perspective on the role of the Virgin of Guadalupe as a miraculously created image, an object of worship and symbol of identity in the Hispanic world. Through nearly 70 works, including paintings, prints, sculptures and books, the exhibition shows how this manifestation of the Virgin, which first appeared on the Cerro del Tepeyac or Tepeyac Hill in 1531, transcended the borders of New Spain to become a powerful presence in the Spanish collective imagination.
It will run until 14th September 2025.
Conserving Michelangelo at The British Museum
June 9 2025
Video: The British Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The British Museum have published this interesting long-form documentary regarding the conservation of Michelangelo's The Epifania which they revealed in 2024.
Ducal Apartments in Urbino Reopened
June 3 2025
Video: Tele2000
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Italy that the famous apartments of the Dukes of Urbino in the Ducal Palace have reopened after a 7-month research and restoration project. The campaign had included the redisplay of paintings in the Studiolo del Duca, of which 14 'high tech reproductions' were commissioned from the originals which are in the Louvre.
University of Oxford seeking History of Art Tutor
May 28 2025
Picture: University of Oxford
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The History of Art Department at the University of Oxford are looking to hire a Departmental Tutor.
According to their advert:
We are seeking a part-time tutor to teach on our courses in the History of Art, with a specialism in the History of Art of the Global Renaissance. The successful candidate would teach on our part-time award-bearing courses, including the Certificate and Diploma modules (first-year undergraduate level (FHEQ level 4) and second-year ( FHEQ level 5) respectfully). In addition, the successful candidate might be required to teach across our wider provision, including short weekly classes, the day and weekend programme, and summer schools. Tutors’ duties include teaching face to face and online, marking and providing feedback on assessments, and providing supervision.
This part-time permanent role comes with a salary of £34,982 -£40,855 per annum and applications must be in by 9th June 2025.
Good luck if you're applying!
Riemenschneider acquired by Yale University Art Gallery
May 23 2025
Picture: Sam Fogg
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The London dealers Sam Fogg have announced their sale of Tilman Riemenschneider's The Seebenstein Madonna to the Yale University Art Gallery.
Prado Clean Charles I's Workshop of Veronese
May 23 2025
Picture: Prado
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Spain (via. @Boro_PR) that the Prado Museum in Madrid have cleaned their version of The Wedding at Cana by the Workshop of Veronese. Interestingly, the picture had once been in King Charles I's collection until it was acquired after the dispersal of his collection by Count of Fuensaldaña for 700 florins.
The conservation was presumably undertaken for the Prado's upcoming Paolo Veronese exhibition which opens on 27th May 2025.
Sleeper Alert!
May 19 2025
Picture: Lyon & Turnbull
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The following Holy Family catalogued as '16TH CENTURY BOLOGNESE SCHOOL' soared to £60,200 (inc. commission) over its £3k - £5k estimate and Lyon & Turnbull last week.
New Ambassadors Book
May 16 2025
Picture: National Gallery Global
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Tudor historian and curator Tracy Borman has just released a new book in partnership with The National Gallery entitled Holbein: The Ambassadors (One Painting, One Story).
According to the blurb:
Holbein’s Ambassadors is one of the most famous paintings in the National Gallery. It is also one of the most intriguing. Laden with hidden symbols and mysteries, the work has been the subject of intense debate among historians during the five centuries since it was created.
Here Tracy Borman unpicks the secrets of this enigmatic artwork, painted during a turbulent time in English history as Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church in order to marry the young Anne Boleyn. From Holbein’s experiences as a German-Swiss émigré who rose to a position as the ‘King’s Painter’, to the two French ambassadors’ troubles at court, this book illuminates the fascinating story behind a masterpiece of the Tudor era.
Hans Baldung acquired by Alte Pinakothek
May 13 2025
Picture: pinakothek.de
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Germany that the Alte Pinakothek in Munich has acquired Hans Baldung's Mary as Queen of Heaven. Press reports indicate that the picture has a clean bill of health where war time provenance is concerned and that the picture 'wasn't cheap'. The aquisition was supported by the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation and the Pinakotheks-Verein.
Update - The dealer Nicholas Hall has announced on Instagram that the work was acquired through his company.
Possible Habsburg Princess Acquired by Museum Hof van Busleyden
May 2 2025
Picture: Museum Hof van Busleyden
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
CODART (the international network of curators of Dutch and Flemish art) have shared news that the Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen have acquired the following portrait of Mary of Austria (?) attributed to the Master of the Magdalene Legend.
According to their article:
The painting was previously shown in the 2021 landmark exhibition Children of the Renaissance. This exhibition was curated by Dr. Samuel Mareel and was nominated for the International Exhibition of the Year by the Museum+Heritage Awards. Until recently, it belonged to a private collection and was brought to market through the British art dealer James Macdonald Fine Art.
This work is associated with a second portrait, which may depict an older sibling. Together, the two paintings reveal strong iconographic connections with other Habsburg family portraits, such as the triptych of Eleonora, Charles V, and Isabella attributed to the Master of the Mechelen Saint George’s Guild (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), as well as examples from the Royal Collection. A detailed examination and further research will follow this important acquisition.
The National Gallery acquires mysterious 16th-century altarpiece for £16.4m
May 1 2025
Picture: The National Gallery, London
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery in London have announced their acquisition of the following The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret by an Unknown Netherlandish or French artist. The work, which dates to about 1510, was acquired for £16,420,000 through Sotheby's with assistance from the American Friends of the National Gallery.
According to the press release:
The identity of the artist responsible for this impressive panel is a mystery. In fact, whether the painter was Netherlandish or French is up for debate. The overall sense of plasticity, monumentality, and the strong shadows recall the work of French painters like Jean Hey. On the other hand, the composition and versatile execution – alternating smoothly painted areas and minute details with more dynamic passages – pay homage to the Netherlandish tradition of Jan van Eyck (The Virgin and Child with the Canon Joris van der Paele; Bruges, Groeningemuseum) and Hugo van der Goes (The Portinari Altarpiece; Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi). The Netherlandish hypothesis is supported by the painting’s Baltic oak panel, since French artists tended to use locally sourced oak.
Stylistic parallels can be found with the early work of Jan Gossaert. The dramatically foreshortened faces of the saints and angels are reminiscent of some of his early drawings, for instance the left saint of The Holy Family with Saints (c. 1510-5; Albertina, Vienna). The treatment of the brocade and metalwork compares well with passages from Gossaert’s Adoration of the Kings (London, National Gallery). Both artists also used similar underdrawing techniques, especially the way of sketching the ocular cavities, the knuckles, the shading of the Virgin’s forehead, and the absence of wash. The eccentricity that pervades the panel also recalls Gossaert’s manner. This painting challenges art historians’ tendency to focus on names and demonstrates that for the late medieval and Renaissance periods, anonymity can intersect with extraordinary quality.
Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis visit Holbeins at Frick Collection
April 28 2025
Video: @ukinnewyork
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The British Consulate General in New York has released the following video of the recent visit of actors Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis visiting the newly renovated Frick Collection. In particular, they are captured admiring Hans Holbein's portraits of characters they played in the popular Tudor series Wolf Hall.
National Trust conserve Upton House Tintoretto
April 25 2025
Picture: The National Trust, Upton House
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Trust have shared news that Jacopo Tintoretto's The Wise and Foolish Virgins, in the collection of Upton House in Warwickshire, has been conserved. The work was subjected to a conservation project that began in 2022 and has apparently revealed all sorts of intriguing details. The restored painting is part of a new display in the house drawing attention to the recent campaign of research, analysis and cleaning.
Worcester Art Museum acquires Heemskerck at TEFAF
April 25 2025
Picture: Worcester Art Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Worcester Art Museum have announced their acquisition of Maerten van Heemskerck's Entombment. Visitors to TEFAF would have spotted the work on Caretto & Occhinegro's stand this year on offer for a reported €500,000. The two wings that were originally attached to the painting were already on long-term loan to the museum from a private collection.
According to the museum's press release:
“Discoveries of Old Master works, along with new attributions, are still being made today—though rarely at this level of quality,” said Matthias Waschek, Jean and Myles McDonough Director. “It takes intuition and detective work by connoisseurs, with specialists authenticating the attribution and conservators revealing hidden details beneath centuries of grime. We are grateful for Van Heemskerck expert Peter van den Brink, who recognized the connection between the donor panels on long-term loan at the Museum and this newly acquired central panel. Thanks to the gallerists’ commitment to placing the work in a museum and Claire Whitner’s initiative, we can reunite this triptych after many years, possibly centuries —a remarkable moment that enriches our art historical narrative.”
NGI Restores and Redisplays Mazzolino
April 24 2025
Video: National Gallery of Ireland
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm very slow to news that the National Gallery of Ireland has restored and redisplayed The Crossing of the Red Sea by Ludovico Mazzolino (spotted via @Mweilc). The work was funded in part by the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund and will be on display until 6th July 2025.
£3m Hans Eworth coming up at Sotheby's London
April 23 2025
Picture: artscouncil.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Returning again to the UK Arts Council's 'Private Treaty Sales' page, the following portrait of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by Hans Eworth has been announced as part of the Sotheby's London Old Master's Sales in July 2025. The painting, which descended with the Earls of Westmorland until it entered a private collection around the late 19th century, carries a guide price of £3m.
Getty acquires Luis de Morales
April 18 2025
Picture: Getty
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Getty in Los Angeles has announced its acqusiton of Luis de Morales's Christ Carrying the Cross.
As The Art Newspaper has pointed out, the work appeared as a 'sleeper' at Nagel back in 2021 where it was catalogued as 'Morales or Studio (Attributed to)' and went on to make 1,180,000 EUR over its 10,000 EUR estimate. The acquisition was made through the Daniel Katz Gallery.
According to their press release:
After an extensive conservation treatment, the painting will go on view May 1, 2025 in the Getty Center Museum’s North Pavilion gallery 205.
“Referred to as ‘El Divino’ by early sources, Luis de Morales’s devotional paintings are the most intense expression of the salvational trauma that religious paintings were intended to convey,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the Getty Museum. “The exquisite detailing of Christ’s features, hair, tears, and bloodstained forehead commend this as a major masterpiece of 16th-century Spanish painting, and a powerful proclamation of the Catholic faith as espoused by the great Spanish mystics.”
