Versailles pre-empt Portrait of Sculptor Antoine-Denis Chaudet
July 8 2024
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
La Gazette Drouot have published news that the Palace of Versailles has pre-empted Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Desmarais's Portrait of the Sculptor Antoine-Denis Chaudet. The painting had sold at Sotheby's Paris earlier in June where it realised €156,000 over its €80k - €120k estimate.
Ralph Sheldon's Portrait of Henry VIII Reidentified
July 8 2024
Picture: Warwick Shire Hall via ArtUK
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I published a short blog over the weekend regarding an accidental discovery I made of a missing Portrait of Henry VIII. Having spotted it in the background of a photograph posted on 'X' / Twitter, I managed to work out that this distinctive arched topped portrait (now hanging in Warwick Shire Hall, owned by Warwickshire County Council) was originally part of the famous set assembled by Ralph Sheldon (c.1537–1613) in the 1590s for Weston House in Warwickshire. Fortunately, the portrait is housed in the same carved medallion frame as other surviving examples from the set, and the very same composition of Henry holding a sword is found in a later engraving of the Long Gallery at Weston.
Update - Click here for relevant articles from the BBC, CNN, The Times and The Smithsonian Magazine.
Click here to watch a YouTube video of BBC Midlands Today's coverage of the story.
Renaissance Putti in Poland
July 8 2024
Video: eksiegarnia.mnk.pl
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A new exhibition opened at the National Museum in Kraków in late June. Entitled Winged. Putti in Renaissance Art, the show examines the iconography and phenomenon of these figures in art of the 15th and 16th centuries.
According to the museum's website:
Putti is a popular decorative motif that enriches countless works of modern European art. This charming phenomenon showing the image of small, winged angels certainly intrigues and arouses curiosity. The exhibition in the Main Building presents the subject on the example of the Renaissance, mainly Italian and German countries, against a broad background of ancient and modern European art.
The exhibition will run until 6th October 2024.
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It looks like the museum had a lot of fun making this exhibition trailer...
Alastair Laing 1944 - 2024
July 8 2024
Picture: CODART
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I was very sad to hear of the passing of the art historian Alastair Laing over the weekend. Known for his passion for eighteenth century French art, alongside his work as a curator at The National Trust, Laing had been focusing on completing a catalogue raisonné of Francois Boucher's drawings during the last years of his life. Here is a tribute from Neil Jeffares and here is an article from La Tribune de l'Art with more information on his life and achievements. Furthermore, here is an extended interview with Alastair on CODART which is worth reading.
Burlington Magazine - July 2024
July 4 2024
Picture: burlington.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Burlington Magazine's July edition focuses on the 'Art of Northern Europe.'
Here's a list of the main articles listed within:
The ‘Balbi’ children identified: a proposal - BY GREGORY MARTIN,ANNA ORLANDO
A reverse-glass painting by Gerhard Janssen in the Valtice Palace - BY ZDEŇKA MÍCHALOVÁ,ZUZANA MACUROVÁ
‘The abduction of Europa’ by Paulus Potter: a mythological painting rediscovered - BY JOLIJN SCHILDER,MUIRNE LYDON,LIZZIE MARX,NATALIA MACRO,ABBIE VANDIVERE
The oculi of Notre-Dame, Paris - BY ARNAUD YBERT,BRUNO PHALIP,DYLAN NOUZERAN
Charles XV’s ‘Norwegian landscape’ in the Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala - BY EVA-CHARLOTTA MEBIUS
The earliest documented work of Marinus van Reymerswale - BY MANUEL PARADA LÓPEZ DE CORSELAS,CHRISTINE SEIDEL
The missing woman: the reunion of a family portrait by Cornelis de Vos -BY ANGELA JAGER,JØRGEN WADUM
A history painting by Willem van der Vliet - BY TOMMASO BORGOGELLI
Sell council owned artworks and stop 'Wasting Monet', says TaxPayers' Alliance
July 4 2024
Picture: Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The BBC have run a story regarding calls from the TaxPayers' Alliance pressure group 'urging the authority to sell some of the collection to help balance its books.' More precisely, a report from the group has criticised several council museums, including that of the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, for the large value (numerical and financial) of artworks kept in storage.
To quote parts of the article:
The council owns nearly 38,000 works of art, including five by Bristol street artist Banksy, with each worth an average of more than £3,500.
But only 4,245 pieces - 11.2% - are on public display, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service. [...]
The Taxpayers' Alliance said that despite being in nearly £100bn of combined debt, UK councils had built up art collections worth almost £1.5bn.
Report author Jonathan Eida said: “These findings won’t paint a pretty picture for hard-pressed taxpayers who have been hammered year after year by record-busting council tax hikes."
Bristol's collection of 37,983 works of art is nearly 15 times bigger than the National Gallery's and six times that for the average council.
Bristol council have rebuffed these claims explaining their 'collection is a vital part of the city’s cultural and educational offer, with a value that extends beyond an insurers’ estimate.'
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Regular readers will know that AHN has being calling on galleries and museums to do more to get works of art out of storage and on display (if not within galleries, then out on loan to other institutions). This debate will be an interesting one to keep an eye on in the upcoming years.
National Galleries of Scotland acquire Bessie MacNicol
July 4 2024
Picture: National Galleries of Scotland
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Galleries of Scotland acquired Bessie MacNicol's The Lilac Sunbonnet earlier in June. The picture had sold at Lyon & Turnbull in December 2023 for £55,201 and was acquired with funds from the Cowan Smith, MacDougall and Treaty of Union Bequests, 2024.
According to the gallery's website:
This bright image of a young fieldworker leaning on a hayfork showcases MacNicol’s confident use of oil paint. Her deft, sweeping brushstrokes skilfully capture the play of dappled sunlight. Born in Glasgow, MacNicol studied at the city’s School of Art and later in Paris. She exhibited widely in the UK and in mainland Europe. From the 1890s onwards she also sent her paintings to be shown in Pittsburgh and St Louis in the USA. MacNicol died tragically young, aged only 34, due to late-stage complications in her first pregnancy.
Which Painting Should the Aliens See First?
July 4 2024
Picture: Art Institute of Chicago
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
For those readers who might be in Chicago later this month, the Art Institute of Chicago will be running a free gallery event asking those questions we've all been thinking of for some time now.
According to the museum's website:
Join museum educators Maura Flood and Atlas Babcock in the Modern Wing to find artworks that offer interesting answers to a list of unlikely, counterintuitive, and human-centered questions. Determine which artwork misses its grandma or knows karate. Decide which masterpiece the aliens should see first. This exploratory program has no right or wrong answers.
The event will take place on 19th July 2024.
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Which paintings would the readers of AHN suggest that Aliens should see first? Do get in touch with your answers. I would probably show them William Blake's A Vision of the Last Judgment which is at Petworth House.
2024 Berger Prize List
July 4 2024
Picture: Walpole Society
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Walpole Society, who have recently taken over the running of The Berger Prize, have published a list of nominees for the 2024 award.
Here's an abbreviated list which appears on their website:
Gwen John: Art and Life in London and Paris - Alicia Foster
William Gillies: Modernism and Nation in British Art - Andrew McPherson
Art Without Frontiers: The Story of the British Council, Visual Arts, and a Changing World - Annebella Pollen
A Singular Man: A Documented Life of the Artist Frederick Sandys: 1829-1904 - Betty Elzea
Leonora Carrington: Revelation - Carlos Martín, Stefan van Raay, Tere Arcq and Naja Rasmussen
Claudette Johnson: Presence - Dorothy Price and Barnaby Wright (editors)
Scotland and the Origins of Modern Art - Duncan Macmillian
Borrowed Landscapes: China and Japan in the Historic Houses and Gardens of Britain and Ireland - Emile de Bruijn
John Carr of York: Collected Essays - Ivan Hall, edited by Kenneth Powell
Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance - Jake Subryan Richards and Victoria Avery (editors)
The Rainbow’s Gravity: Colour, Materiality and British Modernity - Kirsty Sinclair Dootson
Ways of Life: Jim Ede and the Kettle's Yard Artists - Laura Freeman
Modelling the Metropolis: The Architectural Model in Victorian London - Matthew Wells
Owen Jones and the V&A: Ornament for a Modern Age - Olivia Horsfall Turner
Shakespeare, Hogarth & Garrick: Plays, Painting and Performance- Robin Simon
Architecture in Britain and Ireland, 1530-1830 - Steven Brindle
Unmaking the East India Company: British Art and Political Reform in Colonial India, c. 1813–1858 - Tom Young
Knick-Knackery: The Deards family & their luxury shops 1685–1785 - Vanessa Brett
The winner will be announced in November 2024.
Duecento painting: The art and technique of Margarito d’Arezzo and his contemporaries
July 4 2024
Picture: Museo Nazionale d'Arte Medievale e Moderna di Arezzo
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A call for papers has been issued for a collaborative conference on the subject of Duecento painting: The art and technique of Margarito d'Arezzo and his contemporaries.
According to the link above (in translation):
This interdisciplinary convention invites colleagues working on all aspects of thirteenth-century painting, from art-historical studies to scientific analysis, technical research and conservation. The conference aims to provide an exceptional opportunity to share and discuss the artworks of Margarito d'Arezzo and his contemporaries.
Submissions covering a wide range of topics will be considered, including works on panel, sculptures, wall paintings, textiles, and miniatures, as well as art history and the history of collecting. We expect that the conference will stimulate studies in this area, so proposals may also include information on ongoing research, without detailed results.
The conference will take place in October 2025 and abstracts will need to be submitted by 20th September 2024.
Klimt in Perugia
July 4 2024
Video: Retesole TV Umbria
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery of Umbria have been lent Gustav Klimt's The Three Ages of Woman for a special exhibition. Interestingly, the painting was exhibited at the 1910 Venice Biennale and the 1911 International Exposition in Rome and remains in the collection of the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome. The show will run until 15th September 2024.
Sotheby's London Evening Sale
July 3 2024
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Sotheby's London Old Master & 19th Century Paintings Evening Auction realised a total of £12,366,000 (inc. fees) with 81.25% of lots sold / 76.48% including withdrawn lots.
As far as the website indicated, the Botticelli (pictured), Eustache Le Sueur, Vanvitellis and Corot all had irrevocable bids.
Here are my live posts on the top lots of the sale:
Update - And we're off. Lots 14 (pair of Canalettos) and 27 (Wright of Derby) have been withdrawn.
Update 2 - A good start, Lots 1 & 2 have performed well.
Update 3 - The Met de Bles and Rubens landscape failed to find a winning bid with its £600k - £800k estimate.
Update 4 - The Botticelli and Studio Virgin and Child hammered down at £2,850,000 with Alex Bell on the phone over its £3m - £5m estimate. This is £3,420,000 including fees.
Update 5 - Jacques Jordaens' Head of a Girl hammers down at £300,000 over its £150,000 - £200,000 estimate. This is £360,000 including fees.
Update 6 - The trio of views by Vanvitelli and Bellotto break past their low estimates and sell, as do the large Tiepolos.
Update 7 - British pictures haven't had much luck until David Roberts' Venetian view which hammered down at £330,000 to a bidder in the room over its £60k - £80k estimate. This is £396,000 including fees.
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This season's results indicate that both auction houses have equalled each other in pricing strategies to help sell more pictures. For example, the London Old Master departments at both Sotheby's and Christie's have sold near to 20% more of their paintings offered than their New York counterparts managed to in January. This is surely good for both their clients and the market as a whole.
When it comes to values (£43.59m at Christie's compared to £12.36m at Sotheby's), there was one clear winner. This is of course helped by the appearance of several top tier works from British aristocratic collections, coupled with an important rediscovery (one which warranted a Getty acquisition) and several 'fresh to market' lots which soared past their estimates. It could be argued that Sotheby's had a more varied offering, however, this current market appears to be driven by new and fresh consignments which haven't appeared at sale in the past 15 years or so. After Christie's recent wins in both Paris and London, we'll have to wait and see what happens in the ever-buoyant New York sales in November 2024 and January 2025.
Mrs Gainsborough sent to Bologna
July 3 2024
Picture: REMAGEN, ARP MUSEUM / COLLECTION RAU FOR UNICEF, INV. NO. GR 1.902
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Italy that the Museo Davia Bargellini in Bologna has been lent Thomas Gainsborough's Portrait of the Artist's Wife from the Collection Rau for UNICEF. Completed in 1777, this marvellous portrait, full of painterly bravura, will be on display in the museum until 6th October 2024.
Kimbell Art Museum acquire Viscount Bolingbroke's Stubbs
July 3 2024
Picture: Kimbell Art Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from the USA that the Kimbell Art Museum have acquired George Stubbs' Mares and Foals Belonging to the Second Viscount Bolingbroke. The picture, a purchase made through the London dealers Simon C. Dickinson Ltd., was acquired in memory of Ben J. Fortson, who served on the Foundation’s Board of Directors from 1964 to his passing earlier in May.
According to the press release:
The acquisition, along with that of Thomas Gainsborough’s painting Going to Market, Early Morning (c. 1773), purchased by the Kimbell in 2023, significantly elevates the Kimbell’s holdings of eighteenth-century British paintings, which Velma and Kay Kimbell favored when initially building their collection. The painting will be on view in the Kimbell’s Louis I. Kahn Building beginning June 28, 2024.
“With a mandate to collect only works of major historical and aesthetic importance, the Kimbell is the natural home for this masterpiece,” said Eric Lee, director of the Kimbell Art Museum. “I am sure that it will become an audience favorite. Visitors to the museum will relish the multidimensional depiction of mares and foals—alive with subtle drama, imbued with tenderness, and fascinating in its expression of the individual personalities of each horse.
Snijders&Rockoxhuis acquire Cornelis Schut sketch
July 3 2024
Picture: @galerie_ldw
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Galerie Lowet de Wotrenge have announced on Instagram that the Snijders&Rockoxhuis in Antwerp have acquired Cornelis Schut's sketch for The Circumcision of Christ. The painting had appeared at Hampel a number of years ago.
Art Gallery of New South Wales acquire Zurbaran Still Life
July 3 2024
Picture: @matthiesengallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Matthiesen Gallery have announced on Instagram that the Art Gallery of New South Wales have acquired a Still Life by Juan de Zurbaran. The gallery had led a successful public appeal to help raise the funds to acquire the work. The painting had sold at auction in Madrid in October 2022 and had recently been on Nicholas Hall's stand at TEFAF 2024.
According to the gallery's website:
In this quintessentially Spanish still life, a pear and a shiny pewter plate containing five life-size apples are presented tantalisingly close to our gaze, as if beckoning us to reach out and hold them. The artist endows these ordinary objects we all know intimately – with an ineluctable sense of presence and mystery that they do not possess in real life.
Tutor Art History at the University of Oxford for £24.13 per hour
July 3 2024
Picture: University of Oxford
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The University of Oxford are hiring a Tutor in Art History.
According to the job description:
We specialise in education to adult learners and we are seeking a part-time tutor to teach on our Undergraduate award-bearing courses in the History of Art, with a specialism of Medieval History of Art on the Certificate modules (First-year undergraduate level (FHEQ level 4)) . These are part-time award-bearing courses. Tutors’ duties include teaching face to face, marking and providing feedback on assessments, and providing supervision. The teaching sessions will take place on Wednesdays from 2pm-4pm in Ewert House, Summertown, Oxford starting 6 November and running for five weeks.
We are specifically seeking candidates who are familiar with the latest developments and debates in the discipline. We especially welcome applications from candidates who demonstrate an ability to teach global approaches to European medieval art history, including visual and material culture more broadly conceived.
The job comes with an hourly rate of £43.41 p/h for lectures and £24.13 p/h for tutorials. Applications must be in by 10th July.
Recent Release: Cecco Bravo
July 3 2024
Picture: editricedarte.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Italian scholar Francesca Baldassari has just published a two volume book on Cecco Bravo (1601-1661). The edition has been produced by Editrice Darte.
According to the publisher's website:
The author has put together seventy-seven autograph paintings, some of which are presented for the first time on this occasion, others already recognized to Cecco by the writer during her long years of study of seventeenth-century Florentine painting, ordering them chronologically by stylistic induction and through comparison with the very notable and more documented production in fresco.
Even more meritorious is the feat of gathering nearly four hundred of the artist’s drawings scattered in major museums around the world and in the most prestigious private collections, reproduced almost entirely in color.
The Spoils - Premiere at Film Fest München
July 3 2024
Video: Key Art + Design
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A new documentary film focusing on the Jewish art dealer Max Stern (1904-1987) will be premiering at the Film Fest München tomorrow. The Spoils was directed by Jamie Kastner.
According to the film's website:
Amid the rise of the far-right in Germany, as the spoils of post-WW2 collections hit the world art market afresh, lawyers, curators, politicians, and Jewish groups the world round are duking it out, painting by painting, sketch by sketch, over questions of ownership, history, and morality.
A series of failed attempts by the city of Düsseldorf to honour German-Jewish art dealer Max Stern, who barely escaped the war, settled in Montreal and became Canada’s most successful art dealer, cuts to the heart of the current crisis in Germany and the art world beyond around the restitution of Nazi-looted art.
Through a combination of exclusive interviews, actuality captured over a four- year period, and a gold-mine of rarely seen stock footage, The Spoils traces the betimes tragic, often irony-laced strokes in this ongoing battle.
Van Dyck Sketch Reunited with Dendermonde Church Painting
July 3 2024
Picture: left - Wikipedia / right - Phoebus Foundation
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Phoebus Foundation, one of the most active organisations dedicated to Flemish and Netherlandish art in the world right now, have lent their Van Dyck sketch of The Adoration of the Shepherds to the Church of Our Lady in Dendermonde. Most notably, this church contains the artist's finished version of the composition (pictured left).
According to the foundation's website:
As part of the Flemish Masters in Situ art project, various Flemish masterpieces are displayed at their original locations. For example, a bozzetto by Anthony Van Dyck from our collection can be viewed in the Church of Our Lady in Dendermonde. This rare compositional sketch illustrates The Adoration of the Shepherds, which was designed for the church’s chapel.
The bozzetto offers a glimpse into Van Dyck’s initial concepts for the composition. The sketch was likely made to present his design and secure the commission. Most of the sketch is executed in grisaille, with a few color accents. Notable is the difference from the final composition, where various characters have changed in position or appearance, while other figures have remained unchanged.
In addition to the bozzetto and the final work, this summer you also have the chance to take a behind-the-scenes look at the restoration of another Van Dyck masterpiece, namely Christ on the Cross, which can also be seen in the Church of Our Lady.
The loan will continue until 11th October 2024.
