Previous Posts: June 2021
Mode schauen in Schloss Ambras
June 30 2021
Picture: schlossambras-innsbruck.at
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Schloss Ambras in Innsbruck, Austria, is the latest museum to put on an exhibition dedicated to the history of fashion and painting. Mode schauen examines the relationship between clothing and art using Renaissance and Baroque portraits from the Habsburg Portrait Gallery in the castle and loans from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
It is well worth having a look at the exhibition's website (you'll need to use a translator if you don't speak German), which is filled with lots of information and images which deal with the main themes of the show.
Mode schauen will run from 17th June - 3rd October 2021.
Virtual Opening: The Medici: Portraits and Politics
June 30 2021
Video: MET
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
For those who are unable to fly across to New York at the moment, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will be hosting a virtual opening of their latest exhibition The Medici: Portraits and Politics, 1512–1570 on 2nd July 2021 at 12.00AM (BST).
The virtual tour will be taken by Keith Christiansen, the John Pope-Hennessy Chairman of the Department of European Paintings, and guest curator Carlo Falciani, Professor of Art History at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence.
A newly Rediscovered Saint Simon by Velázquez
June 30 2021
Picture: @carolblumenfeld
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News is emerging from France that a rediscovered painting of Saint Simon by Diego Velázquez has been unveiled at the aforementioned exhibition at the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans. It seems that the painting was discovered in a private collection and had been placed in front of Guillaume Kientz, director of the Hispanic Society Museum in New York and former head of Spanish painting at the Louvre. The painting will be the subject of an upcoming article in a Spanish scientific journal.
Here are some quotes from curator Corentin Dury:
From infrared and an X-ray, the “examinations reveal a density of pigments and also of white lines of positioning of various contours, which may be consistent with what could be observed in the other apostles and various pictures of the young Velázquez."
The apostle “has very close characteristics, a posture (…), other elements, such as the texture of the painting, the spelling of the letters, the dimensions”
Police Recover Stolen Picasso then Drop It
June 30 2021
Picture: Twitter
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
An amusing and alarming GIF (click here to see the clip on Twitter) has been doing the rounds on social media. It shows the Police in Greece accidentally dropping a Picasso which was recently recovered after being stolen from the country's National Gallery in 2012. Fortunately, the authorities also managed to recover a Piet Mondrian landscape from the same heist (right). A 49-year-old builder has been arrested in connection with the thefts.
What was the fate of the third work of art that was stolen? Best not to read this if you suffer from high blood pressure:
A third work in pen and ink by Italian artist Guglielmo Caccia, from the 16th Century, was also seized but police said the suspect told them it had been damaged and he had flushed it down the toilet.
The Blue Boy is Coming Home
June 30 2021
Picture: The Guardian
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Thomas Gainsborough's The Blue Boy will be returning to the UK for a special exhibition at the National Gallery, London, in January 2022. The painting was purchased by the American railway magnate Henry E Huntington a century ago for $728,000. It will feature within a free exhibition exploring Gainsborough's reaction to the legacy of Van Dyck, which is sure to be of great interest to many readers of AHN.
Raphael's Birthplace Exhibit 3D Printed Head
June 29 2021
Picture: ansa.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Urbino that a 3D printed bust of Raphael, digitally reconstructed from a plaster cast of his skull, has been put on display in the artist's birthplace. This image was born out of a project initiated by scientists from the Tor Vergata University in Rome in 2019. The 'likeness' is now on view, protected by a glass case, within the painter's childhood rooms.
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I've said it before - If this bust teaches us anything, it is that man's ability to render a convincing human face has actually regressed since the sixteenth century. Furthermore, could they have picked a more lifeless material of which to fashion this head out of?
Bernardo Zenale's Musical Angels Exhibited in Brera
June 29 2021
Picture: ilgiornaledellarte.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A set of musical angels by Bernardo Zenale (c.1460-1526), painted in 1500 to decorate the parapet of the organ in the church of Santa Maria di Brera, have returned for a special exhibition in the city. The paintings were torn out of their original location when the church was demolished in 1808. The works, then attributed to Leonardo, came into the collection of Andreani Sormani in 1838 and only received their current attribution to Zenale in 1960.
An exhibition dedicated to these pictures will open at the Pinacoteca di Brera on 6th July 2021.
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This painting is a real celebration of the many diverse musical instruments the angels are holding, as much as anything else...!
Botticelli on loan to Museu de Belles Arts de València
June 29 2021
Picture: Museu de Belles Arts de València
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sandro Botticelli's portrait of Michele Marullo Tarcaniota has been put on display in the Museu de Belles Arts de València. The painting has been loaned out to the museum by the Cambó family for a period of three years. It had previously been on display at the Prado in Madrid for two decades.
Visitors to Frieze Masters in London during October 2019 might remember that the painting was offered for sale by Trinity Fine Art for a reported $30m. Although the painting had been declared a national treasure in Spain, reports at the time suggested that an application for an export license would have been required to allow the work to formally leave the country. It seems that a sale did not materialise as it has remained in the family's hands.
Dutch Government to initiate 'grand inquiry' into WWII Restitution
June 29 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Artnews.com have published an article on reports that the Dutch Government will be initiating a 'grand inquiry' into the restitution of Nazi-looted art. This process will attempt to reassess looted works of art in the Netherland Art Property Collection and will renew efforts to find owners.
According to the article:
Many commentators began alleging that the committee was prioritizing the state over claimants. In 2020, lawyer Jacob Kohnstamm issued a report that found that the Dutch Restitution Committee needed to be “more empathic” and recommended that it abolish its “balance of interests” methods, which allow the committee to give weight to the national interests as well as the interests of the claimants. Two members of the committee, including its chairman, resigned after the report was issued.
London Art Week 2021
June 29 2021
Picture: londonartweek.co.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
London Art Week 2021 'Digital & Live' will be starting on Friday 2nd July. As ever, some of London's top dealers will be hosting a mixture of live and digital exhibitions showing off their latest treasures. It is well worth having a look at the digital talks and events, which are filled with many interesting and relevant topics from leading experts in the art market and academic spheres.
Evelyn de Morgan Exhibition in Burnley
June 29 2021
Video: De Morgan Foundation
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The De Morgan Foundation are opening a new exhibition next month in Burnley, Lancashire, entitled Pre-Raphaelite Artist of Hope: Evelyn De Morgan. The show will open in the Towneley Hall on 17th July 2021 and feature 45 works loaned by the foundation.
Rediscovered Constable Poetry Watercolours Up for Sale
June 29 2021
Video: Gorringe's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Gorringe's auction house in East Sussex will be offering up an interesting book in their sale today. This particular edition of Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard happens to contain three watercolours by John Constable. Constable was asked to contribute illustrations for a printed edition, commissioned it seems by editor John Martin.
As the catalogue note explains:
All three of Constable’s original completed watercolour designs are included in this specially bound quarto volume of the second ( 1836) edition of Martin’s Elegy, together with fourteen more by other contributors. He clearly went to a great deal of care and trouble over them, making preliminary sketches in watercolour for all three , now mainly held in public collections. 5 He may have produced these as sample designs for Martin to approve. Alternatively, he may have wished them to serve as guides when working up his finished designs, thus mirroring his practice of using same scale sketches for his oil paintings.
The edition will be offered for sale today with a rather punchy estimate of £100k - £150k.
Update - The lot didn't manage to find a buyer. Although of historical interest, one imagines the high estimate might have been rather unrealistic.
Prado Conserves Martin Archer Shee Portrait
June 28 2021
Picture: Prado, Madrid
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News on Twitter (via. @jorgegrien) that the Prado Museum in Madrid have recently conserved a few of their British paintings. This includes Martin Archer Shee's portrait of Mr Storer. I really do recommend clicking through the link, where you'll be able to zoom in on the lovely details found within this painting.
National Gallery Figurines
June 28 2021
Picture: The National Gallery, London
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Regular readers will know that AHN prides itself on bringing you only the best in art history related ephemera.
The National Gallery in London has shared its latest range of art history figurines on Twitter last week.
According to their shop website:
Art Sculptures and Figurines
From Degas’s waiting dancer figurine to a quirky Leonardo da Vinci figurine with glow in the dark hair, beard, and eyebrows, artists and masterpieces are central to this range. A perfect gift idea for those who enjoy art!
Fragonard Philosopher makes €6.3m
June 28 2021
Video: artcento
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The aforementioned rediscovered Philosopher by Fragonard realised an impressive €6,300,000 (hammer price) / €7,686,000 (with commission) over its €1.5m - €2m estimate on Saturday. It has been suggested that the picture has been purchased by a French private collection. This is a sure sign as any that high quality old masters, even of unassuming subjects, can still command very high prices. The excitement of a rediscovered painting must have also helped in this case, one imagines.
The Bonnie Prince Charlie by Domenico Dupra, featured in the same sale, smashed through its estimate of €6k - €8k to realise €155,000.
Lecture: Monet in Place
June 28 2021
Video: NGV Melbourne
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, have uploaded a free lecture on Monet's France through his paintings. The talk is presented by Dr Katie Hanson, Curator of Paintings, Art of Europe, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
John Glover Sketchbook heads to Australia
June 25 2021
Picture: abc.net.au
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A reader has very kindly pointed out this news story from Australia. A sketchbook by the artist John Glover (1767-1849), which made £81,000 pounds over its £4,000 estimate at Ewbank's last month, has been reported to have entered a private collection in Australia. The sketchbook contains sheets of a tour made in Scotland during the early nineteenth century. Interestingly, Glover's work is particularly prized in Australia, as he moved to Tasmania in 1831 where he produced several important views of the surrounding landscape.
The Watts Gallery is Hiring!
June 25 2021
Picture: wattsgallery.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Watts Gallery in Compton, Surrey, is hiring a new Head of Collections, Exhibition & Research.
According to their job description:
The Head of Collections, Exhibitions & Research will take a strategic and collaborative approach to enhance the interpretation and display of the collection, driving engagement onsite and offline, and building national and international partnerships to support the programme of interpretation, research, exhibitions and scholarship. The postholder will lead the curatorial team and play a leadership role in Watts Gallery - Artists' Village as a member of the senior management team.
The role comes with a salary of between £38k - £44k per annum. Applications must be in by 13th July 2021.
Good luck if you're applying!
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I thought I'd take this opportunity, as I always do, to share my enthusiasm for these videos of former curator Richard Jefferies giving his own personal take on some of the highlights from the gallery's collection.
The Transformation of a Sleeper
June 24 2021
Picture: @auctionrada / Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Twitter's @auctionradar has pointed out the transformation of a sleeper that appeared on the continent last year. The painting on the left, catalogued by a provincial European auction house as 'Lombardy School 17th Century', eventually realised €148,000 over its €1,100 estimate last December. The same painting has since been cleaned and authenticated by Prof. Alberto Cottino as an autograph work by Fede Galizia (1578-1630). It will be offered for sale by Sotheby's next month with an estimate of £400k - £600k.
Nationalmuseum Stockholm purchases first Impressionist in 50 Years
June 24 2021
Picture: artnews.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Sweden, has announced its first acquisition of an impressionist painting in 50 years. Mary Cassatt's (1844–1926) Portrait of the artist's sister Lydia is believed to be a preliminary study for The Cup of Tea, a painting from 1879–80 now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The acquisition was made possible by the support of the Hedda and N. D. Qvist Fund.
