Elliott in Gotham
Art
Miro or Caravaggio? Is it possible one of the world’s greatest collections of old master art – the Berlin Gemäldegalerie – could be put into storage?
[in part artlog, theguardian] Rarely does a massive donation of art cause discontent, but Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch’s contribution to Berlin’s museums has fueled public outcry by pitting the old against the new in a fight for museum space. Berlin has struggled of late for that precious commodity as renovations continue at Museum Island and … Continue reading
Is this the Mona Lisa’s skeleton? Discovery of bones in Florence convent believed to be those of silk merchant’s wife who inspired Da Vinci
[MailOnline] Archaeologists are convinced they’ve unearthed the secret behind the world’s most famous painting, the Mona Lisa. Buried beneath the floor of a convent in Florence, Italy they’ve found a skeleton they believe belonged to Lisa Gherardini, the model who posed for Leonardo’s da Vinci’s mysterious masterpiece. Lisa Gheradini, was the wife of a rich silk … Continue reading
The New York Times Weighs in on the Purported Discovery of the Cache of Caravaggio Works, Presenting Decidedly Skeptical Views
In an article in today’s New York Times, entitled “Scholars Doubt ‘Rediscovered’ Caravaggio Drawings”, Elisabetta Povoledo writes from Rome as follows: As grand academic claims go, the researchers who say they have found dozens of drawings by the young Caravaggio chose a rather unorthodox way of making theirs. On Friday the researchers, Maurizio Bernardelli Curuz … Continue reading
Italian art historians ‘find 100 Caravaggio paintings’
The Telegraph today published two reports of the possible discovery of a cache of previously-unknown works by Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio, in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. The reports were picked up by, i.a., artnet.com, BBC News, and Bendor Grosvenor’s blog, Art History News. Here are the reports. I. By Nick Squires, Rome 8:30PM BST 05 … Continue reading
Becoming Van Gogh: Denver Art Museum, October 21, 2012 – January 20, 2013
(Denver, Colo.) – Becoming Van Gogh, an in-depth exploration of Vincent van Gogh’s unconventional path to becoming one of the world’s most recognizable artists, will be on view at the Denver Art Museum (DAM) from October 21, 2012, through January 20, 2013. The exhibition examines critical steps in the largely self-taught artist’s evolution through more than … Continue reading
Elegance and Refinement: The Still-Life Paintings of Willem van Aelst, The National Gallery, Washington, D.C., June 24 – October 14, 2012
[Source: Philip Kennicott, The Washington Post] As far as we know, Willem van Aelst never painted a landscape, portrait or history scene. He focused on still life, meticulous pictures of flowers, fish, armor and dead game, often arrayed on a table or marble slab, with drapery or cloth slightly pulled or rumpled in such a … Continue reading
UPDATE: Masterpiece by Girolamo Romanino achieves $4,562,500 at Christie’s. [Earlier entry: Looted 16th-Century Masterpiece to go to Auction: Girolamo Romanino's "Christ Carrying the Cross"]
In an update to our earlier post concerning the looting and restitution of Romanino’s masterpiece “Christ Carrying the Cross Dragged by a Rogue”, the work sold at Christie’s on June 6, as announced in artdaily.org and elsewhere. NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s Old Master Paintings sale on June 6 in New York was led by the … Continue reading
Edward Hopper at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, June 6-September 18, 2012
[Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza] The American painter Edward Hopper (Nyack, 1882 – New York, 1967) was one of the foremost exponents of twentieth-century Realism. Although he did not attract the attention of critics or the public for much of his life and was forced to work as an illustrator to earn a living, his works are now icons of … Continue reading
Joan Miró: “The Ladder of Escape,” The National Gallery of Art, May 6 – August 12, 2012
[examiner.com] Joan Miró (1893-1983), one of the world’s greatest and most influential 20th century artists, who used his “free and violent” works to protest fascism in his beloved Spain, is celebrated in an exhibit that opened May 6 at DC’s National Gallery, the only US venue. . . “Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape“, with some … Continue reading
A Tribute to the great Francesco Primaticcio on his 508th Birthday
Francesco Primaticcio (1504-1570) is often omitted from the discussion of Italian mannerist artists, presumably because the majority of his career was spent in France. His heritage however is wholly Italian, and he passed that heritage on to his French counterparts, whom he strongly influenced for most of the 16th and 17th centuries. Primaticcio’s talents knew no … Continue reading
Britain Rescues Two of its Treasures from the Dustbin of Art History!
Two great paintings which had long languished in the shadows have now been restored to full autograph status, thanks to research and a conservator’s careful hand. . The National Gallery’s Titian . . London’s National Gallery, had, since the 1920′s, believed one of its holdings to be a 16th-century copy created ‘after Titian’, both chronologically … Continue reading
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Acknowledges Gertrude Stein’s Collaboration with the Nazis
In early March, we published an entry extolling the magnificent exhibition of the Stein collection currently on display at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (“The Steins Collect”). One glaring omission in the Met’s curating of the exhibition was how the collection managed to survive the Nazis’ decimation of Europe’s art collections, particularly those belonging … Continue reading
UPDATE TO OUR EARLIER ENTRY: France’s Leading Painting Conservator Now Says da Vinci’s Original Work Was Mistakenly Removed During Restoration of “Virgin & Child with St Anne”
French art expert says Louvre’s Leonardo was overcleaned La Vierge, l’Enfant Jésus et Sainte Anne by Leonardo da Vinci. Photograph: Jean-Pierre Muller/AFP [theguardian] One of France’s most eminent art experts has criticised the Louvre Museum’s cleaning of a 500-year-old Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece, The Virgin and Child With Saint Anne. Ségolène Bergeon Langle, former director of conservation … Continue reading
Munch’s “The Scream” Sells for $119.9M at Sotheby’s, Setting A World Record. Watch the entire 12 minutes of bidding!
Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” sold at Sotheby’s in New York this evening for a hammer price of $107 million, or $119.9 million with commission, setting a record for the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction. It surpassed slightly the earlier record held by Picasso’s ”Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust,” which sold … Continue reading
Looted 16th-Century Masterpiece to go to Auction: Girolamo Romanino’s “Christ Carrying the Cross”
CHRISTIE’S TO OFFER SUPERB 16th CENTURY MASTERPIECE BY GIROLAMO ROMANINO “Christ Carrying the Cross,” Restituted to the Heirs of Federico Gentili di Giuseppe, Will Lead Christie’s Old Master Paintings Auction in New York on June 6. . A magnificent picture of Christ Carrying the Cross is a masterpiece of Girolamo Romanino’s fully mature style and among the most potent and moving depictions … Continue reading
