Conserve the King's Pictures
June 10 2025
Picture: Royal Collection Trust
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Royal Collection Trust are hiring a Paintings Conservator.
According to the job description:
Our team of talented Paintings Conservators is responsible for all conservation activities relating to the paintings displayed within the Royal residences as well for loans from the Paintings collection.
Immersing yourself in this fascinating collection, you will assess, repair, and conserve a group of stored paintings, preparing them for photography and safe transport, using the most appropriate methods and materials.
The job comes with an annual salary of £34,000 and applications must be in by 29th June 2025.
Good luck if you're applying!
French Impressionism in Melbourne
June 10 2025
Video: NGV
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, just opened their latest loan exhibition of French Impressionist works from the MFA Boston last week. The show will run until 5th October 2025.
The Royal Academy are Hiring!
June 9 2025
Picture: The Royal Academy
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Royal Academy are hiring a Senior Curator (Collections).
According to the website:
The Senior Curator will support our Head of Collections and the team in the leadership of curatorial strategy and the custodianship of the RA collections. This role will look after and promote the RA’s historic and contemporary collection as well as contribute to the Academy’s wider public engagement through displays, publications and events, and our extensive loans programme.
The job comes with an annual salary of £48,000 and applications must be in by 16th June 2025.
Good luck if you're applying!
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Oh, and if you get the job let's try and work out who painted this. It was previously catalogued as a portrait of William Kent, an identification which has since been dismissed it seems. It reminds me of the figures painted by Gawen Hamilton, but, perhaps I need to think again. All suggestions are welcomed.
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.
Women Artists in Prague
June 9 2025
Video: Národní galerie Praha
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Národní galerie in Prague have just opened their latest temporary exhibition entitled Women Artists 1300-1900.
According to their website:
For the first time, visitors will have a chance to see a comprehensive exhibition of female artists who were active in Central Europe, the Netherlands, and present-day Italy in the period 1300–1900. The exhibition is focused on this period because it marks a turning point in the status of women artists: they gradually gained access to art academies, and both aristocratic and urban women were actively engaging in art. Female artists were increasingly taking control of their careers, gradually establishing themselves professionally and socially. However, only a few were able to run an art studio like male artists.
The show will run until 2nd November 2025.
Christoph Müller Gift at the Kupferstichkabinett Berlin
June 9 2025
Picture: Kupferstichkabinett
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin opened an exhibition last month dedicated to a generous gift of 200 works of art from the late publisher and art critic Christoph Müller (1938–2024). In fact, there are so many works on paper included in the gift that they will be exhibited in four successive presentations, ending in June 2026. Follow the link above to read more.
King of Spain's presents talk on Velázquez for social media
June 9 2025
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Times has commented on news that King Felipe presented his own interpretation of the iconic Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez for the Prado's social media channel last week. The monarch drew attention to the many different interpretations of the picture, alongside a recognition of its importance to the Spanish Golden Age.
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It makes me consider which painting the British monarch would choose for such a presentation, as King Charles has taken on similar tasks such as presenting the BBC's weather report back in 2012 and reciting Shakespeare at the RST (when Prince of Wales, of course).
Recent Release: Jheronimus Bosch, Conservation and Restoration
June 6 2025
Picture: Brepols
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The publishers Brepols recently released this rather interesting sounding two-volume work entitled Jheronimus Bosch, Conservation and Restoration. It was penned by Luuk Hoogstede, Senior Paintings Conservator at SRAL Maastricht.
According to the publication's blurb:
The old master paintings we see today do not correspond to what the artist saw. Pictures change over time, often dramatically. This book unravels this phenomena for Jheronimus Bosch. It provides fundamentally new insights into the making of his paintings and into what has changed since then, which has significant consequences for their interpretation. This publication also compares how conservators deal with altered appearances. Strikingly, conservators determine how a painting can be seen and interpreted, by removing old ambiguities and by uncovering and unifying original elements. Even treatment of the reverse, the panel support, shows to impact the painted side. Contrary to common belief however, conservators do not restore pictures to their former glory. What does this mean for Bosch’s paintings?
Christie's Day Sale
June 6 2025
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's London have uploaded their upcoming Old Masters to Modern Day Sale: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture online. The auction will take place on 2nd July 2025.
As usual with these sales, I won't spoil the fun of pointing out what may or may not be interesting.
Prime Version of Caravaggio's Boy Peeling Fruit?
June 6 2025
Picture: Finestresullarte.info
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Both finestresullarte.info and elpais.com have reported on news that Gianni Papi, an Italian scholar on the 17th century who focuses on the works of Caravaggio (widely consulted in the art trade too), has found the original or prime version of Caravaggio's much repeated Boy Peeling Fruit. The work was apparently sold at auction 'in northern Europe' in 2024 and new x-rays purport to show that the artist had originally painted in a small dog to the scene (near where the boy's hands, fruit and shirt meet) which was later covered over. Follow the links for the full story.
For a backstory regarding this composition, here is Bendor's blog post from 2015 regarding a version that was offered for sale at Christie's (but didn't sell).
Update - A reader has very kindly been in touch with the following sale of an 'after' Caravaggio copy that made €135,000 at Horta in Belgium back in January 2024. Might this be the resurfaced picture?
Louvre Restore Rubens Sketches
June 6 2025
Picture: Louvre
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Louvre curator Blaise Ducos has pointed out on Instagram (@blaise.ducos) that the Louvre have been busy restoring some their sketches by Rubens in the recent past. This includes the Coronation of the Virgin (right) and Abraham and Melchisédech.
Bonhams Sale
June 6 2025
Picture: Bonhams
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Bonhams have uploaded their upcoming Old Master Paintings sale online. The auction will take place on 2nd July 2025.
Christie's London Old Masters Evening Sale
June 5 2025
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's London have just uploaded their upcoming Old Masters Evening sale online. The auction will take place on 1st July 2025.
The top lots include the aforementioned £20m+ Canaletto, a rather noble portrait by Titian estimated at £3m - £5m (pictured), a pair of Jan van Huysum still lifes at £1.2m - £1.8m, a Pieter Brueghel the Younger Birdtrap at £1m - £1.5m, a Gerit Dou interior at £1m - £1.5m, a George Stubbs prancing horse at £800k - £1.2m, the aforementioned Jacob Jordaens Self Portrait at £300k - £500k, and a rather bemusing bearded lady by Willem Key at £300k - £500k.
Another Autograph Version of Guido Reni's David and Goliath Discovered
June 5 2025
Picture: Turquin
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The French art press have reported on news of the reappearance of another autograph version of Guido Reni's David and Goliath (of which many versions are known). The picture has been linked to a commission from the Duke of Modena (a provenance which was also claimed by this version which failed to sell at Sotheby's in 2012) which was later acquired by Eugene of Savoy and was eventually came into the collection of General Dupont at the end of the eighteenth century (click on the link above to read the full story). The discovery was unveiled by Turquin & Associates today.
The work will be offered for sale in November carrying an estimate of €2m - €4m.
Caravaggio and the 20th Century at the Villa Bardini
June 5 2025
Picture: Villa Bardini
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm very slow to news that the Villa Bardini in Florence opened an interesting exhibition earlier this year dedicated to Caravaggio scholarship in the 20th century.
According to their website:
A new exhibition in Villa Bardini allows visitors to admire major masterpieces and previously unpublished material associated with the figures of art historian Roberto Longhi and writer and translator Anna Banti, who “revolutionised” art history with the rediscovery of Caravaggio and Italian art of the 17th century. [...]
The exhibition showcases such masterpieces as Caravaggio’s Boy Bitten by a Lizard, Jusepe de Ribera’s Apostles and a moving sequence of ten small Morandis created by the Bologna-born artist and gifted to Roberto Longhi and Anna Banti on various different occasions in the course of their friendship.
Tracing Time with Trois Crayons
June 5 2025
Picture: Trois Crayons
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
One of the most memorable selling exhibitions during last year's summer season was the works on paper show put on by Trois Crayons. Thankfully, this year it is back and bigger than before having apparently doubled in size and attracted quite a few new galleries to participate in this works on paper extravaganza.
According to their website:
Tracing Time is the second annual exhibition hosted by Trois Crayons, an innovative platform which aims to increase the awareness, accessibility and visibility of drawings in all their forms. The exhibition will present the finest drawings and masterpieces on paper from renowned galleries and dealers which span the 15th century until the present day. Tracing Time will showcase works by artists such as Hans Rottenhammer, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, J.M.W. Turner, Auguste Rodin, Gustav Klimt, Jean Cocteau and Françoise Gilot, and present rare-to-market works.
Latest Burlington Edition
June 4 2025
Picture: burlington.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
June's edition of The Burlington Magazine is filled with quite a few interesting discoveries this month.
Here's a list of the main article contained within:
Art and diplomacy: the embassy of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, to Spain and Portugal (1666–68) - By Angela Delaforce
Ribera’s philosophers from the Alcalá collection - By Florent de Vernejoul
Two royal portraits by Reynolds rediscovered in Kassel - By Justus Lange,Martin Spies
A rediscovered painting by Sofonisba Anguissola - By Michael Cole
An unpublished letter by Sir Joshua Reynolds - By Giovanna Perini Folesani
Guardi and the English tourist: a postscript - By Francis Russell
A newly discovered early photograph of Camille Claudel - By Sue Bucklow
Howard Burns (1939–2025)
Watteau Drawings at The British Museum
June 4 2025
Picture: The British Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm slow to news that The British Museum opened a new free temporary exhibition of drawings by Watteau last month entitled Colour and line: Watteau drawings.
According to their website:
Watteau won particular renown for the thousands of drawings he produced during his life. Drawing, as contemporaries realised, was his favourite creative outlet, bringing him 'much more pleasure than his finished pictures'. He drew incessantly, and developed ideas about the value of drawing that were every bit as original as his paintings. Instead of making figure studies for a picture as academic practice dictated, Watteau drew speculatively, conceiving ideas that might be slotted into a picture months or even years later. The sheets he produced were to be enjoyed in their own right as the first, freshest iterations of ideas that he thought were dulled when translated into paint.
Nowhere were these qualities more appreciated than in Britain, and over the past two centuries British collectors have endowed the British Museum with one of the finest collections of Watteau drawings in the world. Featuring almost every autograph work in the collection, this display is the first exhibition of the Museum's Watteau holdings to be held since 1980. Its varied contents demonstrate Watteau's extraordinary talent as a draughtsman, his sophisticated, novel approach to drawing, and the prestige that his graphic works enjoyed among Europe's connoisseurs.
The display will run until 14th September 2025.
New Release: Charles-Paul Landon
June 4 2025
Picture: mare et martin
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from the French publishers mare et martin that a new volume on the painter and art critic Charles-Paul Landon (1760-1826) has just been released (spotted via @mweilc). The publication, written by Katell Martineau, appears to focus on both his painterly and written works.
Funded PhDs to Study Classical Architecture at Cambridge
June 4 2025
Picture: cam.ac.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The University of Cambridge are inviting applications for two fully funded doctoral studentships to study Classical Architecture at the Ax:son Johnson Centre for the Study of Classical Architecture (CSCA).
According to their website:
The award(s) will be held in either the Department of History of Art or the Department of Architecture, which jointly form the Faculty of Architecture and History of Art. The projects will be supervised by one of: Dr Frank Salmon (CSCA Director); Assistant Director Dr Elizabeth Deans (CSCA Assistant Director); and Professor James Campbell.
The successful candidate(s) will have defined their own topics and questions, appropriate to the primary research material available and to the research interests, broadly defined, of one of the three specified supervisors (who should be named in the application), as well as to the CSCA mission statement.
Given the international range of classical architecture of the past 600 years, visual and archival research may involve travel and time spent abroad, for which official permission from the University to Work Away would be needed, in addition to the agreement of the Centre’s Director.
Applications must be in by 20th June 2025.
Good luck if you're applying!
