Category: Research
Parmigianino Self Portrait (?) Debate in Parma
October 21 2025
Picture: Galleria nazionale di Parma
Posted by Adam Busiakeiwicz:
The Galleria nazionale di Parma have just opened a display dedicated to investigating the attribution of the following painting, which during the 19th and early 20th centuries was considered by some to be a Self Portrait by Parmigianino. The work, which has been kept in storage for many years, has been placed alongside a fragment of St John the Baptist by Michelangelo Anselmi (1491-1556), to whom some scholars have also attributed the work. The display will be on view until 11th January 2026, if you'd like to make your own decision on the attribution!
Recent Release: Painter to the Queen - Michel Sittow, Courtier to Isabella of Castile and the Habsburg Dynasty
October 21 2025
Picture: brepols
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The publishers Brepols have recently released the following title Painter to the Queen - Michel Sittow, Courtier to Isabella of Castile and the Habsburg Dynasty. The volume was penned by Oskar Jacek Rojewski.
According to the blurb:
Michel Sittow was born in Reval c. 1469, today the Estonian capital city of Tallinn. Possibly trained in the workshop of Hans Memling in Bruges, he subsequently moved to work in the Iberian Peninsula, where he first held the position of court painter. This monograph undertakes research on this phase of his career. In the Kingdom of Castille, Michel Sittow was appointed painter to Queen Isabella and became a member of her household with an impressive annual salary. Thanks to the analysis of archival documents and formal and iconographical studies on Sittow’s paintings, it is possible to explain the court painter’s life circumstances and describe the benefits he enjoyed and the difficulties he faced. The Castilian period was crucial for Michel Sittow’s career since over the course of his professional life, he also resided at the courts of Philip the Fair, Margaret of Austria, Christian II of Denmark and Charles V, all relatives of his first royal patron. While serving European monarchs, he transferred Memling’s techniques and visual language beyond the Low Countries and developed his artistic practice and style. The analysis of the various contexts Michel Sittow worked in sheds light on his oeuvre and his possible privileged status as a courtier, which provided opportunities to establish a flourishing and ambitious career in northern and southern Europe.
Adam de Coster Reattributed
October 20 2025
Picture: Prado
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Spain that the ARS Magazine have published an article concerning the reattribution of the following Card Players in the Prado to the Flemish artist Adam de Coster. Written by Anne Delvingt, the museum had historically attributed the work to Gerrit Honthorst in the past.
Turner 250 Conference
October 16 2025
Picture: PMC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Paul Mellon Centre have published the full-programme of the Turner 250 Conference which is being held between 4th and 5th December 2025. The day contains a dizzying array of different speakers and topics and will cost a mere £5 to attend! Click on the link above to find out more.
Upcoming Release: Jeremiah Meyer Catalogue Raisonné
October 14 2025
Picture: ad picturam
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news that the publishers ad picturam will be release Peter Knaus's new monograph and Catalogue Raisonné on the miniature painter Jeremiah Meyer in 2026.
According to their blurb:
This book is the first comprehensive account of Jeremiah Meyer’s life and work. Its content is based almost exclusively on historical and contemporary sources. Numerous visits to archives in England and Germany provided access to these often difficult-to-obtain documents and yielded authentic and unbiased information about Jeremiah Meyer’s life and work.
The detailed catalogue raisonné, which currently lists 821 works, is intended to serve as a basis for research into Meyer’s artworks and to provide greater clarity in the attribution of his works. In addition, it will be a useful aid for auctioneers and art dealers in assessing and evaluating miniatures.
As is the custom with such worthy projects, the publication wins Knaus a place within the much coveted 'Heroes of Art History' section of this blog.
Not Marie Antoinette
October 10 2025
Picture: The Times
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Times ran an interesting story this week regarding research which shows that a Liotard pastel in Geneva, which was long thought to depict Marie Antoinette as a child, is actually the likeness of ill-fated Queen's sister Maria Carolina instead. Prof. Catriona Seth, of the University of Oxford, looked into the Liotard portraits in preparation for a book she is writing where she spotted a discrepancy in the brooches worn by the girls. Marie Anoinette is in fact the girl illustrated in the portrait on the right.
Recent Release: Street Style - Art and Dress in the Time of Caravaggio
October 10 2025
Picture: reaktionbooks.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The publishers Reaktion Books released a new title Street Style - Art and Dress in the Time of Caravaggio at the end of last month. The volume was penned by Elizabeth Currie.
According to the publisher's blurb:
In late sixteenth-century Rome, artists found inspiration in bustling streets and taverns, depicting soldiers, Romani fortune tellers, sex workers and servants among the city’s poorest inhabitants. Street Style explores these hidden lives, uncovering how the stories of ordinary people are preserved through their clothing and appearances in art. Written records highlight the harsh conditions faced by marginalized groups, while prints and paintings often promoted visual stereotypes. With fresh interpretations of notable works by Caravaggio and his followers, this book reveals the complex social meanings of dress and the ways art captured and shaped the real-life struggles of early modern Italy’s lower classes.
Portrait of Frederick acquired by Mississippi Museum of Art and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
October 3 2025
Picture: artnet
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Artnet has published an interesting article on the following portrait of a gentleman named Frederick, who was enslaved to the Nutt family of the Mississippi town of Natchez in the early/mid-nineteenth century. The painting was sold at Neal Auctions in New Orleans earlier in April where it realised $508,750 (inc. commission) and was subsequently acquired by the Mississippi Museum of Art and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The article examines research into the painting and sitter.
Upcoming Release: Turner and the Slave Trade
October 3 2025
Picture: Yale University Press
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Yale University Press will be publishing a new book on Turner and the Slave Trade next month. The volume was penned by Sam Smiles of The University of Exeter.
According the book's blurb:
Drawing on extensive archival research, Turner and the Slave Trade traces the artist’s interactions with patrons tied to the plantation economy and examines the impact of abolitionist discourse on his work. Key chapters investigate The Slave Ship, its inspiration, and its contested interpretations, while situating Turner within broader debates about art, slavery and shifting public sentiment.
Offering a nuanced understanding of how art engages with history’s most urgent issues, this important new study presents Turner as an exceptional yet complex figure, whose legacy is intertwined with the institution of slavery and its eventual abolition.
Latest Burlington Magazine
October 2 2025
Picture: burlington.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
October's edition of The Burlington Magazine contains the usual feast of interesting new research and articles.
Here's a list of the main pieces within this month's edition:
Waiting for 'The Three Musicians'. G.F. and Erna Reber's First Picassos - By Ana Jozefacka and Luise Mahler
The Renaissance in the Kingdom of Naples: new perspectives on Sebastianodi Cola da Casentino - By Rossella Monopoli
New proposals about Ingres’s ‘Self-portrait at the age of twenty-four’ - By Sylvain Bédard
Scraps of genius, taste and skill: works by John Constable in the Mason album - By Emma Roodhouse
Discussing John Constable: an interview with Bridget Riley - By Bridget Riley and Amy Concannon
Theodoor van Loon’s sketch of St Anne and her family with angels and St Gertrude - By Sabine Van Sprang
A recently identified Scottish portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie by Katherine Read - By Edward Corp
AHRC Funding for Early Career Fellowships
October 1 2025
Picture: ukri.org
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A quick note that the UK AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) are inviting applications for funding for Early career fellowships in cultural and heritage institutions: 2025. With awards of up to £312,500, the scheme is ideally placed for those seeking to undertake research alongside UK galleries, libraries, archives and museums with independent research organisation status. Click on the link above for the full terms and conditions.
Applications must be in by 10th December 2025.
2025 Release: The Miniature Painter Revealed
October 1 2025
Picture: Lyons Press
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm very slow to news that a new book on the miniature painter Amalia Kussner was published earlier this summer. The volume was penned by Kathleen Langone.
Here's the publisher's synopsis:
From simple beginnings, Amalia Kussner rose to fame as a talented and bold artist and ultimately became one of the most sought-after miniature portrait painters of the Gilded Age. At a time when the use of photography was on the rise, many still loved miniatures, which had a feeling and soul to them that photos could not duplicate. Miniatures could be worn as jewelry or carried between winter and summer homes and easily set out on display. Amalia's portraits provided a grandeur that matched how the Gilded Age elite perceived themselves: as royalty.
Yet no female portrait artists had the notoriety or esteemed clientèle that Amalia did. Her subjects included members of the Astor family, Consuelo Vanderbilt, "dollar heiress" Minnie Paget, England's Edward VII, Russia's Czar Nicholas II and Alexandra, and diamond mine magnate Cecil Rhodes. At the height of her career, from the mid-1890s to early 1910, having a Kussner miniature was just as important an accessory as owning fine jewelry or a mansion in Newport. "Famous sitters, drawn to her by the accuracy and skill of her brush, never failed to become life-long friends," read her obituary.
Digital Reconstruction of Emma Hamilton's Face
September 30 2025
Picture: The Guardian
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News broke over the weekend of the latest efforts of French specialists to digitally reconstruct the face of Lady Emma Hamilton from the skull which is purported to have been hers. The remains, which were originally placed in the churchyard of St Pierre’s in Calais, formed the basis of a digital reconstruction allowing us to compare her features to those found in countless paintings by the likes of George Romney, Joshua Reynolds, Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Thomas Lawrence, Vigée Le Brun and others. Click on the link above to see the image for yourself.
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The result? Personally, I would trust (perhaps rather foolishly) the brush of the artists listed above, who truly captured the spirit of Emma a thousand times more convincingly than the odd B&W image produced here...
Caravaggio gets the AI Treatment
September 29 2025
Picture: The Guardian
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Guardian have run another AI story over the weekend regarding claims from Swiss Art Authentication Specialists 'Art Recognition' that a copy of Caravaggio's famous Lute Player is exactly 85.7% by the artist himself. The painting, which was sold at auction in 2001 as 'Circle of Caravaggio', is currently owned by British art historian and gallerist Clovis Whitfield who has decided to go down the AI route of connoisseurship.
To quote a section of the article:
Whitfield made his purchase with Alfred Bader, a collector who died in 2016, to whom [Keith] Christiansen [former European Paintings Curator at the MET in New York] wrote in 2007: “No one – certainly no modern scholar – has ever or ever would entertain the idea that your painting could be painted by Caravaggio.”
Whitfield said Christiansen and some Italian scholars were “a bit stuck in the traditional mud” in refusing to accept the attribution, even though other experts support it. “The AI result knocks Mr Christiansen off his perch,” he said.
Art Recognition’s analysis also concluded that the Wildenstein [which has a much better claim to be by Caravaggio, according to Christiansen] was “not an authentic work”. Popovici said: “Our AI returned a negative result.”
Well, there we have it.
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As it happens, I decided to test out the connoisseurship of 'Grok' the other week, the AI arm of the social media platform 'X' (formerly known as Twitter). I decided to feed it with an unattributed head study in the V&A, which I have a feeling may be by Henry Fuseli. Here's the thread if you want to read how that went.
Despite the best efforts of AI, it seems strange that it failed to spot any connection it may have to Fuseli's The Oath on the Grütli, which was my best guess having spent a good deal of time surfing through the relevant literature on the artist before hand (just to make sure I can still do it, just about...). It's a good job another AI Art APP called 'Bendor Grokvenor' also pipped in with their thoughts.
Pre-order Upcoming Nicolas Poussin Catalogue Raisonné
September 26 2025
Picture: Flammarion
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Société de l’Histoire de l’Art Français (SHAF) have shared news that Pierre Rosenberg's upcoming Catalogue Raisonné on the paintings of Nicolas Poussin is available for preorder from the publishers Flammarion (spotted via @MilovanCavor). The four volume tome, which is set to contain 1656 pages and 1765 illustrations, will be available for 290€ instead of 450€ if you preorder before 30th September 2025 (click on the link above for further details).
Direct Collections and Research at the National Museum Wales
September 26 2025
Picture: National Museum Wales via ArtUK
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Museum Wales (Amgueddfa Cymru) are hiring a Director of Collections and Research.
According to the job description:
The Director of Collections and Research will play a central role in this transformation, leading a division of around 200 colleagues across collections, research, exhibitions, and conservation. Reporting to the Chief Executive, and working as part of the Senior Leadership Team, the Director will provide intellectual, strategic, and compassionate leadership to ensure the care, accessibility, and interpretation of the national collections. They will shape and deliver an ambitious exhibitions strategy, champion research excellence, and act as a visible ambassador for Amgueddfa Cymru across Wales and internationally.
Applications must be in by 30th September 2025 and no salary has been indicated.
Good luck if you're applying!
Rembrandt 'Steals' Dog from Adriaen van de Venne
September 26 2025
Video: Rijksmuseum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam have produced the following video examining a dog in Rembrandt's Night Watch which appears to have been derived from (stolen - in the museum's words) from an engraving after Adriaen van de Venne.
Assist with Andrew Wyeth Project in Cleveland
September 25 2025
Picture: Cleveland Museum of Art
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A reader has kindly let me know that The Cleveland Museum of Art are hiring a part-time Research Assistant in Prints and Drawings.
According to the job description:
The Research Assistant in Prints and Drawings will work with Curator of Prints and Drawings on a project related to 20th-century American art and the watercolors of Andrew Wyeth. The fellowship is a part-time position, working 2 days per week for 60 weeks. This role will involve researching artworks through primary and secondary research, managing details on the exhibition checklist, assisting with didactic materials, and participating in public programming. The fellow will have the opportunity to learn about various aspects of exhibition and publication development by working closely with the curator on related tasks and may also assist with other projects related to modern and contemporary works on paper.
The pay range for the job is $17- $20 per hour and no application deadline has been published.
Recent Release: Plaster Casts in the Life and Art of Seventeenth-Century Dutch Painters
September 25 2025
Picture: brill.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Earlier this summer Brill published Volume 18 of their Studies in Netherlandish Art and Cultural History dedicated to the subject of Plaster Casts in the Life and Art of Seventeenth-Century Dutch Painters. This volume was penned by Isabella Lores-Chavez.
According to the blurb:
In the early modern Dutch Republic, plaster casts offered artists a way to overcome limitations of space and time, and to define themselves. This book presents the first comprehensive account of the impact of plaster casts on the artistic practice, intellectual endeavors, and social status of seventeenth-century Dutch painters.
These modest objects were, in fact, real works of sculpture, incorporated into a variety of compositions where they signalled an artist’s ambitions and technical virtuosity. Marginalized in the history of Dutch art, plaster casts lie at the center of this study’s novel interpretations of paintings and drawings, paired with period sources.
Royal Collection Reidentifies Bust Modelled by Prince Albert's Daughter
September 22 2025
Picture: Royal Collection Trust
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Royal Collection Trust have shared news that a bust of Prince Albert modelled by his daughter Victoria (1840-1901), Crown Princess of Prussia, has been reidentified at Windsor Castle. New research on the marble, which had long been given to the sculptor Robert William Sievier, was undertaken by Jonathan Marsden who discovered that it was in fact Albert's daughter who had modelled it shortly after Albert's death in 1861.
According to their press release:
Prince Albert and his eldest daughter Princess Victoria had a close relationship, sharing a love for learning and the arts – sculpture in particular, with both known to give lengthy advice when commissioning new works. Like her sisters Princesses Alice and Louise, the Crown Princess took lessons in sculpting, and, perhaps fearing someone else would not do her ‘dear Papa’ justice, she created the posthumous bust with her tutor, Hugo Hagen.
Already involved in multiple commemorative projects across painting, architecture and sculpture, Princess Victoria felt the weight of responsibility. In a heartfelt letter to her mother Queen Victoria, she wrote from Berlin: ‘It is a work which completely engrosses me … I feel very nervous … I hope you will like it. How I wish you were here to give advice!’ The Queen’s reply came days later: ‘I like it extremely,’ adding only that the nose was a touch too thick. The Princess and her husband, the Crown Prince of Prussia, went on to give the sculpture to Queen Victoria for Christmas in 1864.
This discovery is featured within Marden's aforementioned new sculpture catalogue which will be on sale from tomorrow.
