Samedi 18 mai 2013
Last update on 17/05/2013
Last update on 17/05/2013
The latest news in the History of Western Art from the Middle Ages to the 1930's
Is the city of Gesté above the law and the authority of the courts which judged this case ? This is at least the impression given by the mayor and his municipal council who once again voted, Monday 6 May, their determination to partially demolish (...)
The Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon which has been under renovation work since 2008 (but which had the excellent idea of not closing and proceeding in stages), will open a new itinerary for its Medieval and Renaissance collections on 7 September. (...)
We all remember that The Art Tribune published an obituary for Adrienne Fontainas (1929-2010) following her death in December 2010, detailing the achievements of this eminent researcher whose knowledge encompassed several fields (books, art, (...)
We had recounted the story of this amazing discovery here : a presumed portrait by Rembrandt, on copper, which appeared on the auction block in England in October 2007 with the attribution, "follower of Rembrandt", had sold for 2.2 million (...)
There appears to be positive news concerning the discovery of architectural elements at the corner of rue du Temple and rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnerie in Paris. We were able to reach the owner of the cosmetics store Huygens as well as the (...)
The Amon Carter Museum of American Art recently announced the acquisition of a work by Robert Seldon Duncanson (1821-1872), presented as the first Afro-American artist to have gained international stature. Entitled The Caves and painted in 1869, (...)
Thanks to a donation of "acceptance in lieu", the Musée du Louvre has just added a superb tableau by Ary Scheffer, representing Ruth and Naomi to its collections. This panel still has its beautiful original frame showing quotes from the book of (...)
An art history journal, especially one which has been around for some time, is so rare that we would like to point out a very discreet bulletin founded in 1992 which has appeared since then at regular intervals, twice a year. The title of the (...)
Among the positive actions exerted by Henri Loyrette as head of the Louvre there is the undeniable effort to extend the scope of the painting and sculpture collections to previously unexplored territories. This was notably the case first for (...)
When asked in an interview for Le Petit Parisien in April 1935 "What made you start painting ?", Paul Signac, then 71, answered : "It was Monet [...]. Monet, he added, who determined his fate as a painter on a day in June 1880 when, still a lycée (...)
While carrying out construction work on a cosmetics store at the corner of rue du Temple and rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnerie in the historic Marais district in Paris, well preserved architectural elements came to light. These consist of (...)
Faithful Friendship was on view at the Daniel Katz Gallery for the terracotta exhibition held in 2010. It is now a permanent resident of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm which has just purchased it from the English art dealer. The work, auctioned (...)
Following its rediscovery a few years ago, 19th century Danish painting is now systematically acquired by major European and American museums. While Christoph Eckersberg remains the most familiar name, he is not the only great artist of the (...)
Three drawings were pre-empted by the Musée Rodin at Christie's Paris on 11 April. They come from the collection of Eugène Rehns and were held by his descendants until now ; the collector also owned sculptures by the master, some of which will (...)
Thanks to a surprising coincidence, the Canadian museum has acquired a magnificent painting by Gerrit van Honthorst at the same time as it returned a work by the same artist to its owners after realizing it had been looted from a Jewish family, (...)
The Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montreal had wished to acquire a Sèvres ensemble in order to enrich their Napoleon collection, for quite a while. Their wish has now been granted thanks to the purchase at Christie's Paris on 22 and 23 April at the (...)
The subject is enticing and very much in keeping with the season. The new exhibition at the Gobelins is a hymn to nature, vegetation and the power of flowers, all less ephemerous when growing in wool and silk. About fifty tapestry and furniture (...)
The Metropolitan Museum pronounced the winning bid of 1.44 million euros (including charges) for the Le Brun painting last 15 April at Christie's Paris. Entitled The Sacrifice of Polyxena, the work resided at the Ritz (located in the Hôtel (...)
Here a Macabre Vision, there a Scene of Desolation rise in black or brown ink, India ink, graphite and charcoal... The dark drawings in "broyeur de sombre", as Bourdelle defined himself, are now displayed in full light, no doubt impregnated with (...)
We will soon be able to see the exhibition currently showing in Abou-Dhabi here in Paris but a glance at the accompanying catalogue already gives us a good idea of the acquisitions policy pursued by France-Museums. We said it before : whether (...)
After closing for ten years, due to various delays in the renovation project, the Rijksmuseum finally reopened its doors to the public on 13 April. Fortunately, it was well worth the wait. When first learning that Wilmotte was in charge of the (...)
Comparing is not enough. The Haarlem exhibition on Frans Hals, an "adoptive" native son, which attempts to associate the artist with 16th century Venetian painting and also with some of his contemporaries, is a perfect illustration of these (...)
We end our review of exhibitions in Paris organized around the Salon du Dessin on a late note since, their number having increased significantly this year, it took us more time to see them all. Before crossing the river to the left bank, we (...)
There are many exhibitions this year during the Salon du Dessin in private galleries around Paris. Besides the ones we mentioned earlier, here are a few more presenting some very beautiful offerings. Certainly the most outstanding is at Boquet (...)
Libération in a byline signed Vincent Noce was the first to break the news. We congratulate him for his investigation on the snags encountered in the Louvre Abou-Dhabi project and for having managed to put his hands on the letter sent by the (...)
The Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris has just acquired a view of the coast at Belleville, in Seine Maritime, a masterpiece by Oscar Penguilly L'Haridon from the Vincent Lécuyer Gallery in Paris. The painting dates from 1868 and was (...)
An ensemble of drawings by François Chauveau which resurfaced and are preparatory for engravings, a rather common subject given the impressive number of prints (and drawings) produced by this 17th century artist, a student of Laurent de La Hyre, (...)
In our review of the 2009 Maastricht fair, we had reproduced a beautiful painting by Nicolas Mignard, The Rapt of Proserpina, presented at the Galleria Silvano & Lodi. The work had then been exhibited at the Paris-Tableau by Jean-François (...)
The four drawing ensembles by Luc-Olivier Merson for the illustrations of José Maria de Heredia's Trophées offered in one lot by Christie's yesterday, which we feared might be separated will in fact remain together, and permanently preserved for (...)
Tuesday evening, a large crowd eagerly attended the inauguration of the Salon du Dessin, more so than last year. This high attendance was all the more appreciated by the dealers because, according to them, major collectors and curators (French, (...)
Patrick Ramade, the director of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen, purchases an important old master painting nearly every year, often an Italian work, which we mention regularly on this site. His latest acquisition, made at the Galerie Canesso in (...)
During the Christie's auction this afternoon, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux pre-empted a large sheet by William Bouguereau for 9,000€ (before charges). This is a preparatory work for the figure of Hercules for the ceiling of the foyer at (...)
The "Urbinate" : although this adjective refers to Raphael in the minds of many, it applies almost equally to Federico Barocci. Of these two Renaissance geniuses born in Urbino, the latter spent most of his life there after two stays in Rome (...)
"Your soul is a select landscape / Charmed by masks and bergamasques / Playing lutes and dancing and / Sad beneath their fanciful disguises". The music lesson proposed by the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels through Watteau's art is (...)
Next 10th April two beautiful auctions will be taking place in Paris, one at Artcurial with an equal number of drawings and paintings as well as sculptures, the other one at Christie's devoted solely to old master and 19th century drawings. The (...)
How does one explain the fact that a masterpiece can remain on the art market for several years without finding a buyer ? We kept asking ourselves this question every time we admired Erminia and the Shepherds by Guillaume Guillon-Lethière at the (...)
We did not receive any direct reaction from the management at the Musée de Picardie to our article concerning its restoration and addition, where we expressed our concern (also shared notably by the Société des Antiquaires de Picardie) about the (...)
The Louvre pre-empted a study by François Boucher, A Meal during the Hunt, this afternoon at the Hôtel Drouot, at Beaussant-Lefèvre auctioneers, for 100,000 euros (without charges). The work, illustrated in the catalogue for the exhibition, Chasses (...)
Paul Salmona will take over as head of the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme next 8 April, succeeding Laurent Héricher and Laurence Sigal, who founded the institution and with whom he had organized a colloquium on L'Archéologie du judaïsme en (...)
Should a painting - or its artist - be famous in order to finance a restoration ? Fortunately the answer is no as this would mean neglecting an obvious stake implied in the process, besides of course preserving the work, that is, a better (...)
Although everyone was predicting Sylvie Ramond - the French Minister of Culture's choice -, the official appointment will name instead, according to our sources, Jean-Luc Martinez, 49, as President-Director of the Louvre, during the Council of (...)
One is interested in old master paintings and drawings, the other is one of the world's rare art dealers specialized in sculpture. Eric Coatalem and Patrice Bellanger have joined forces for this exhibition. The first has chosen to display an (...)
The Sarasota Museum purchased a large copper work painted by Otto van Veen (also known as Otto Venius) representing The Adoration of the Shepherds for $56,250 (including charges) last 30 January at Christie's New York. Following a stay in Italy (...)
Like the Louvre, the National Gallery in London is taking an interest in American art, long overlooked in Europe. After showing George Bellows in 2011, it is now displaying oil sketches by Federic Edwin Church, in collaboration with the Terra (...)
Since our last article highlighting acquisitions at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Valenciennes, the museum has added several more important works, thanks to both donations and purchases. The Carpeaux holdings have thus expanded with a drawing (...)
Colin Bailey has just been appointed, starting 1st June, as head of the Fine Arts Museums in San Francisco, that is two establishments, the Legion of Honor and the De Young Museum. This institution had been left without a director since the (...)
One castle joins another : the Bowes Museum received a donation (acceptance in lieu) of a Turner canvas representing Lowther Castle shown in a golden aura towards late afternoon, nestled in the background of a hilly landscape. The painter (...)
In a talented and determined fashion, Antoine Tarantino in his gallery located rue Saint-Georges, a bit off the beaten track, presents exhibitions highlighting Italian painting, with a noticeable fondness for the Roman school, on a regular (...)
In little less than ten years, Eric Pagliano has published several catalogues of Italian drawings belonging to French museums and we have been fortunate to see all of the exhibitions surrounding them. After Orléans, Lyon and Grenoble, it is now (...)
Le Figaro Magazine published it "confidentially" last weekend, but the name had been rumored for several weeks already, practically since Henri Loyrette announced he did not wish to renew his position as president of the Louvre. We knew it but (...)
