Previous Posts: December 2024
Christmas Greetings
December 24 2024
Picture: Huntington Library
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Wishing all readers of AHN a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I do hope you and your families are keeping safe and well, wherever you may be.
Research Project Reveals Giorgione in Alte Pinakothek
December 21 2024
Picture: Alte Pinakothek
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Alte Pinakothek in Munich has revealed the results of a research project into the following Double Portrait, which recent technical and art historical analysis has shown to be a rare work by the Venetian painter Giorgione. The picture had been hanging in a gallery in the city's Residenz, where many overflow artworks from the museum are kept, until a recent exhibition on Venetian art prompted further investigation. Click on the link above to view some very interesting x-rays and infrared images, which show that the composition was reworked several times during its creation.
Massimo Stanzione's Presentation of the Virgin Conserved
December 21 2024
Picture: sabapmetropolitanana.cultura.gov.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Italy that Massimo Stanzione's Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, a painting which had originally formed part of a cycle in the chiesa dell’Annunziata di Giugliano in Campania, has been conserved and put on view for the public. Dating to 1618, the work will be featured in a special display at the Palazzo Reale in Naples. Alas, I can't find a good picture of the whole canvas, so, this will have to do for now!
Museum of Fine Arts Montreal acquires Lavinia and Prospero Fontana
December 21 2024
Picture: Instagram via @robsmeetsgallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The dealers Rob Smeets Gallery have announced on their Instagram account that the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has acquired the following Presentation of the Virgin by Lavinia and Prospero Fontana.
A quick Google shows that the work was offered as 'Italian Sacred Painter 18th Century' at a minor auction house in Germany (albeit with a rather over painted sky) back in 2020 where it made 1,100 EUR over its 500 EUR starting price.
Holkham Attic Sale at Sworders
December 21 2024
Picture: Sworders
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news that Holkham Hall, the ancestral home of the Earls of Leicester and one of the greatest country houses in England, are holding an Attic Sale at the auction house Sworders in February. There aren't that many pictures included in the sale, but, it's a rare opportunity to purchase some odds and ends of furniture, fixtures, fittings and decorative features from one of the finest stately homes ever erected.
Kauffman soars in Paris
December 21 2024
Picture: Theirry de Maigret
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Paris (via. Drouot) that the following Portrait of Elisabeth Vernon, Countess Harcourt by Angelika Kauffman soared to an impressive 244,720 EUR over its modest 12,000 - 15,000 EUR estimate earlier this week at Theirry de Maigret.
New Release: Frans Hals Iconography – Technique – Reputation
December 21 2024
Picture: Amsterdam University Press
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Amsterdam University Press has just released a new volume of essays entitled Frans Hals Iconography – Technique – Reputation.
Remarkably, the collection has been published as Open Access, meaning that it is completely free to download!
According to the blurb:
Frans Hals (1582/83-1666) is rightfully considered one of the most important seventeenth-century Dutch painters. His portraits are admired for their virtuoso brushwork and their seemingly spontaneous character. This volume, with fourteen contributions by twenty-six specialists on Hals’s paintings and his artistic network in Haarlem and beyond, presents a rich palette of new research.
The authors introduce subjects such as the artist's clientele - from clergymen and fellow painters to governors of charitable institutions - as well as stylistic and technical aspects of individual paintings. Results of recent restorations are discussed, but also how advanced digital technologies contribute to our understanding of the painter's style and artistic development. A final section is dedicated to the rediscovery of Frans Hals in the second half of the nineteenth century and to the following art historical debate among connoisseurs about the artist’s oeuvre.
Christie's New York Part II Sale
December 21 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The upcoming Christie's New York Old Master Paintings & Sculpture: Part II sale has been published online. The auction will take place on 5th February at 2pm EST (straight after their Part I sale, it seems).
As usual, I won't spoil the fun by pointing out any paintings which may or may not be interesting.
The V&A are Hiring!
December 21 2024
Picture: V&A
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London are hiring a Research Assistant - The Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection.
According to the job description:
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection is one of the most comprehensive collections of decorative arts built by private collectors in the 20th century, celebrated notably for its unique collection of stone and glass mosaics. The V&A has planned an extensive refurbishment of its galleries which requests contribution from a research assistant.
The Research Assistant will join an enthusiastic curatorial team and benefit from a remarkable exposure to the various responsibilities of such a capital project. The appointed candidate will contribute to the research and delivery of interpretation outcome alongside the design, project and interpretation teams. In short, this is a rare and exciting opportunity for someone to develop and advance their career in the museum world.
The job comes with a salary of £27,528 - £31,854 per annum and applications must be in by 5th January 2025.
Good luck if you're applying!
Louvre conserves Andrea Solario Picture
December 21 2024
Picture: Louvre
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Louvre in Paris have shared news of their latest exciting conservation project, the cleaning of Andrea Solario's Virgin and Child. Dated to 1507-10, the transformation of these vivid electric colours is quite something to behold.
All eyes on which paintings the Louvre will clean in 2025. Perhaps they're gearing up to tackle one of their particularly darkened Leonardos?
Christie's New York Sale
December 21 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's New York have uploaded their upcoming Old Masters sale online. The auction will take place on 5th February at 10am EST.
Amongst the top lots are the aforementioned El Greco of Saint Sebastian estimated at $7m - $9m. The painting already has a third-party guarantee, meaning the work is technically already sold. Other notable works are a fine Pieter de Hooch interior at $2.5m - $3.5m, a portrait of a gentleman, possibly Dirck Dircksz Tjarck, by Frans Hals at $2m - $3m, and a Cranach the Elder of Hercules and Omphale at $1m - $2m. My favourite picture of the bunch is this musical Michael Sweerts, an artist who appears in most evening sales these days, which carries an estimate of $700k - $1m. There are also a selection of paintings being sold by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (to fund future acquisitions), more of which can be read in this article.
Upcoming Release: Northern European Art in the Norton Simon Museum
December 13 2024
Picture: Yale Books
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news that in May 2025 the Norton Simon Museum will be releasing a new catalogue of their Northern European Art collection. The volume has been edited by Amy Walsh and contains contributions from a long list of scholars.
According to the book's blurb:
This book features Dutch, Flemish, Early Netherlandish, and German paintings and works on paper from the fifteenth through the eighteenth century, including preeminent names such as Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt van Rijn, as well as lesser-known artists such as Sebastian Stoskopff and Johannes Verspronck. Illuminating one of the finest collections of Northern European art in the United States, the book traces the histories of ninety-five extraordinary paintings and drawings, shedding new light on the artistic significance and material properties of these objects. Works of art that emphasize the humanity of their subjects—and the capacity of oil paint to render these qualities almost achingly real—is a throughline that unites the paintings featured here, from the tender gaze of Rembrandt’s Portrait of a Boy (1655–60) to the freshly cut flowers and curious insects in Rachel Ruysch’s Nosegay on a Marble Plinth (ca. 1695), to the recently conserved masterpieces Adam and Eve (ca. 1530) by Lucas Cranach.
Seminar Series: Gold and its Uses in Early Modern Painting
December 13 2024
Picture: Rijksmuseum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The French National Institute for Art History (INHA) in Paris is running a very interesting seminar series next year on the subject of Gold and its Uses in Early Modern Painting. The series is the culmination of a research collaboration which was begun in 2021 by the AORUM project (Analysis of Gold and its Uses as a Painting Material). Click on the links above to find out more about the series which will run from January until June 2025.
New Paintings catalogue for Catedral de Segovia
December 13 2024
Picture: Catedral de Segovia
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Catedral de Segovia in Spain has just released a new catalogue on its collection of paintings. The Cathedral is home to 39 important works of art, mostly drawn from Flemish and Castilian artists from the 15th - 17th centuries. The catalogue contains contributions from 11 different authors and scholars and is available for purchase through the link above.
New Modern Wing for the MET
December 13 2024
Picture: MET
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have revealed more details about the new Tang Wing, an extension which will house their growing twentieth- and twenty-first-century art collection.
According to the article linked above:
Developed in close collaboration with teams at The Met over the last two years, Escobedo’s plan for the new Oscar L. and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing draws on her deep engagement with the Museum’s buildings, collection, and setting within Central Park, resulting in a compellingly dynamic and exceptionally inspired design. The project will increase our gallery space by nearly 50 percent, creating more than 70,000 square feet for the display of our outstanding Modern and Contemporary collection, while staying within the existing footprint and overall height of The Met. Importantly, the project will allow us to better illuminate points of connections across the Museum’s global collection encompassing more than 5,000 years of art history, while also addressing critical accessibility, infrastructure, and sustainability needs. With this elegant, contemporary concept—which is rooted in her deep understanding of architectural history, materiality, spatial configuration, and artistic expression—Escobedo cements her standing as one of the most relevant architects of our time while creating history as the first woman to design a wing at The Met.
The new wing is set to open for 2030.
Elegant Edwardians at The Royal Collection for 2025
December 12 2024
Picture: RCT
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Royal Collection Trust have shared news that one of their primary new exhibitions for 2025 will be entitled The Edwardians: Age of Elegance.
According to their website:
Explore the opulence and glamour of the Edwardian age – the period between the Victorian era and the First World War.
Visitors will learn about the lives and tastes of two of Britain’s most fashionable royal couples – King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, and King George V and Queen Mary – from their family lives and personal collecting to their glittering social circles and spectacular royal events.
More than 300 objects from the Royal Collection will be on display – almost half for the first time – including works by the most renowned contemporary artists of the period, including Carl Fabergé, Frederic Leighton, Edward Burne-Jones, Laurits Tuxen, John Singer Sargent and William Morris.
The show will run from 11th April until 23rd November 2025.
Nicolaes Gillis Catalogue Raisonné
December 12 2024
Picture: primaverapapers.nl
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news that a new monograph and catalogue raisonné on the still life painter Nicolaes Gillis has just been published. Written by Alexander Thijs, the book is the first publication to define the artist's small but distinctive oeuvre.
As is the custom on this blog, this effort will win Thijs a spot in the prestigious 'Heroes of Art History' section on AHN.
Capodimonte Museum acquires two works by Colantonio
December 12 2024
Picture: finestresullarte.info
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Italy that the Capodimonte Museum in Naples has acquired two works by the fifteenth century master Colantonio, who is most famously known for being the master of Antonello da Messina. The paintings of the Franciscan figures Morico and Leone join two others already within the museum's collection which were once part of the same polyptych that was dismantled in 1639.
Vatican Restores Apollo Belvedere
December 12 2024
Video: AZ News
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm a little late to the news that the Vatican have recently unveiled their famous Apollo Belvedere statue after a 5-year restoration project.
According to Reuters:
Restoration experts spent years working on the "Apollo Belvedere", repairing fractures in its knees and legs, cleaning the entire cream-coloured statue with lasers, and installing a carbon fibre pole anchored to its base to increase stability.
"This type of restoration... is the expression of what we want the Vatican Museums to be," said Barbara Jatta, the Museums' director. "A balance of tradition, linguistics and study, with a gaze that looks to the future."
The Paul Mellon Centre are Hiring!
December 12 2024
Picture: paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Paul Mellon Centre in London are hiring a Head of Research Resources & Publications (Senior Leadership Team position).
According to their website:
A new role of Head of Research Resources & Publications has been created at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art (PMC). We are seeking a dynamic and knowledgeable professional who will contribute to the direction and strategy of PMC by overseeing its publications, library, archives, records and data protection responsibilities. This a Senior Leadership Team position with responsibility for advising PMC’s Director on operations, planning and policy across the Centre.
The Head of Research Resources & Publications will line manage activities that span the lifecycle of research, from collecting and cataloguing, to consulting materials, evaluating research, communicating it in publications and displays, and preserving records. Overall, the postholder will ensure and enhance PMC’s role in fostering an innovative and enriching research culture. Working closely with department leads, the postholder will develop and deliver strategic thinking and planning, and advocate vigorously across sectors for PMC’s activities in publications, library, archives and records.
The job comes with an annual salary of £75,000 - £85,000 and applications must be in by 13th January 2025.
Good luck if you're applying!
