Jeudi 17 mai 2012
Last update on 7/05/2012
Last update on 7/05/2012
The latest news in the History of Western Art from the Middle Age to the 1930's
The Paintings Stolen from the Musée Fesch Now Recovered 07/05/2012
The four paintings which had been stolen from the Musée Fesch in Ajaccio, Corsica last February 2011 were recovered on the evening of 4th May 2012 in a city parking lot, after the investigating magistrate was notified that the works had been left (...)
Artemesia 1593-1654 23/03/2012
Seeing an exhibition of 17th century Italian painting is such a rare occurrence in Paris that visitors should not miss the chance provided by the Musée Maillol, especially since this is a retrospective of a somewhat legendary artist, considered (...)
Posting of the Repertory of Italian paintings held in France 29/06/2008
The INHA (Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art) has just posted the first part of one its most highly awaited databases, the Répertoire des tableaux italiens dans les collections publiques françaises XIIIe-XIXe (...)
Cima da Conegliano. Master of the Venitian Renaissance 20/04/2012
Lorenzo Lotto, Le siècle de Titien, Splendeur de Venise or Titien, Tintoret, Véronese... Of all the Italian schools, the Venetian has always been the favorite of French museums for the major retrospectives staged over the recent past. At the very (...)
Michelangelo : The Real Artist behind the Mona Lisa 01/04/2012
Gianfranco Salvatori is well aware that he is about to set loose a veritable bomb which will go far beyond the confines of the museum world. We can now exclusively report that the Roman art historian, after a long investigation, is asserting (...)
A Watercolor by William Wyld Acquired by the Musée Borda in Dax 16/04/2012
We had already mentioned several museum acquisitions during the Fabius auction at Sotheby’s on 26 and 27 October 2011. Another French museum was able to make a purchase which though modest nevertheless proves that despite a limited budget it is (...)
An important donation on exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille 21/12/2009
The recent donation of forty-eight works to the museum in Lille, currently highlighted in an exhibition, is absolutely remarkable. The collectors, Philippe Laporte and Yannick Pellegrin, are authentic art lovers with limited financial means but (...)
For the Love of Art. French Artists and Art Lovers in 18th century Rome 10/04/2012
Over the course of the 18th century, despite several exceptions, notably that of Venice, Italy’s artistic stardom began to fade and its dominance to recede in favor of French painting. For this reason, the history of French artists who traveled (...)
Fifteen Pre-emptions for the Musée de Cahors at the Henri Martin Auction 03/04/2012
As we had announced a few days ago , the Musée Henri Martin in Cahors was particularly active at the auction of the Paul Riff collection in Rennes on Sunday, 1st April. The establishment in fact pre-empted no less than 15 lots, resulting in a (...)
Jean-Patrice Marandel has been a curator at the LACMA for almost 15 years now. He is especially active in his acquisitions policy which is particularly discerning, often favoring Old Masters, French and Italian from the XVIth to the XVIIIth (...)
The Incredible Intellectual Void of the Louvre-Lens 19/04/2012
Whether one is for or against the principle behind the Louvre-Lens, one aspect is sure to elicit unanimous agreement : the incredible intellectual void of this project. The works which are to be exhibited in the "Galerie du Temps" (the name (...)
Links to art history websites 14/04/2005
SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS (see also in assorted sites by art historians containing articles) Apollo : The current issue of the journal is free online (must sign up) The National Gallery of Canada’s Bulletin and Annual Bulletin (1963-1985) : All the (...)
The Extraordinary Development of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montreal 22/03/2012
Some museums live in a state of grace. This is without a doubt the case of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montreal, under the expert direction of a French curator, Nathalie Bondil. In early autumn of 2011, a new pavillion featuring Quebecer and (...)
Nicolas Régnier 03/12/2008
The Syndicat National des Antiquaires has just awarded its art book prize to Nicolas Régnier by Annick Lemoine. It rewards a remarkable monographic study, both erudite and pleasantly readable, which is the fruit of many long years of research and (...)
Jean Barbault (1718-1762). Le théâtre de la vie italienne. 17/06/2010
Jean Barbault remains relatively unknown despite a retrospective held in Beauvais (then Angers, Valence and Dijon) in 1974 and 1975. His fantasy figures, Italian women in local costume or resident artists at the Académie de France in Rome (...)
The Disastrous Result for Heritage of Nicolas Sarkozy’s Cultural Policy 01/02/2012
True, the budget allotted to historical monuments and museums in France has managed to resist a bit better than that of our neighbors. In Europe, museums and historical monuments in countries such as Italy, the Netherlands or Spain, have seen (...)
The Acquisition of Jean Malouel’s Pietà by the Louvre 16/01/2012
About a month ago we had announced that the Louvre was set to purchase a national treasure, a painting attributed to Jean Malouel, Pietà with Saint John and Two Angels. This is now official, with the price tag amounting to 7.8 million euros, (...)
The Lady With an Ermine by Leonardo photographed with multispectral camera 15/11/2007
We had presented the demonstration of the multispectral camera at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lille by Lumière Technology and explained its contributions to the work of art historians and (...)
Endangered museums (4) : the Musée de l’Assistance Publique 13/09/2010
Last 6th June, Frédéric Mitterand was scheduled to visit, as part of the operation « Rendez-vous au jardin », the gardens of the Hôtel Miramion, which houses the Musée de l’Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), as announced in the official (...)
Salon du Dessin 2012 31/03/2012
Endowed, as usual, with very beautiful sheets many of which in fact have not been viewed (at least in our case) often, the Salon du Dessin 2012 for once reflects a drawback : the number of galleries and drawings from the second half of the 20th (...)
Several Art History Journals only on Internet 16/01/2012
The relative simplicity and the lower costs of publishing on the internet have resulted in the appearance of several new art history journals. These can only be found online and publish in-depth articles with the help of a selection panel. Some (...)
The Louvre Increasingly More (Radio) Active in Japan 16/01/2012
The Louvre will be sending about twenty works from all its departments (except Arts Graphiques) to three Japanese cities from 20 April to 17 September 2012 staying a little over a month at each stop[[The dates were provided by the Louvre. The (...)
Jean-Léon Gérôme 12/11/2010
With the Cabanel retrospective still on in Montpellier, the Musée d’Orsay is highlighting Jean-Léon Gérôme while also presenting an exhibition on Claude Monet at the Grand Palais. This is no coincidence, simply proof that French museums are finally (...)
The Jourdan-Barry Collection to be Auctioned at Sotheby’s 17/04/2012
A magnificent ensemble of silversmith pieces, assembled by Raymond Jourdan-Barry, then his son Pierre, will be dispersed at auction on Wednesday 18 April at Sotheby’s Paris. The 182 lots, ranging from the 16th to the 18th centuries, are largely (...)
A Painting by Jakob Philipp Hackert Acquired by Dresden 18/04/2012
After training in Berlin, then spending time in Sweden and France where he frequented Jean-Georges Wille’s studio, the landscapist Jakob Philipp Hackert traveled to Italy in 1768 where he was painter to the King of Naples, Ferdinand IV from 1786 (...)
An Ary Scheffer Watercolor Donated to the Musée Bartholdi in Colmar 02/04/2012
The Musée Bartholdi has just received a donation by the Société des amis in the form of a watercolor by Ary Scheffer, acquired from the de Bayser gallery, representing Saint Augustine and Saint Monica. This purchase was made because the author of (...)
Electoral Reserve Period : DRAC Officials Silenced by a Legally Unfounded Order 23/04/2012
With several investigations related to cultural heritage and museums currently underway, we find that all of the questions we have addressed to Directeurs Regionaux des Affaires Culturelles or their deputies are mysteriously answered in the same (...)
Recent acquisitions of Symbolist works by the Musée d’Orsay 21/05/2008
The many publications and exhibitions devoted to Symbolism prove how important the movement was and the interest it has generated recently among art historians and curators.
The Eiffel railbridge in Bordeaux saved by proceedings for listing 29/06/2008
After having been threatened with immediate demolition by the RFF (Réseau Ferré Français-French Rail Network), this bridge which was recently abandoned has just been saved by the Ministry of Culture which has decided to institute proceedings for (...)
Other Drawing Exhibitions Still in Paris 03/04/2012
Although the Salon du Dessin closed its doors on 2 April, several galleries which organized hangs at the same time are still presenting exhibitions for a few days. Three of them offer accompanying catalogues : these are at Nicolas Schwed’s, (...)
Two Works by Louis-Nicolas Lemasle Acquired by the Musée Antoine Lécuyer 13/04/2012
The heading " Research Announcements" is open to both students or dissertation candidates working on a subject as well as art historians preparing a book or even museums organizing an exhibition. These ads - which are free - are often extremely (...)
Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787) 06/04/2008
Englishmen passing through Rome on their Grand Tour, the trip through Europe that any true aristocrat had to take, wanted their portrait done by him. This is probably why Pompeo Batoni, one of the great Italian painters of the second half of the (...)
Two Small Portraits by Jan de Bray Acquired by the Fondation Custodia 04/04/2012
These two companion portraits, of a young man and a young woman, by Jan de Bray hung on the Bob Haboldt stand at the Maastricht Fair a few weeks ago. They have now entered the collection of the Fondation Custodia in Paris, and are being (...)
France’s hidden museum 10/07/2009
The opening quote to our investigation was pronounced by the Minister of Culture in response to a question we asked during the press conference on Thursday, 29 January 2009 concerning inventory checks for art (...)
Hispanic Art History Journals on Internet (2) 10/04/2012
Following our first news item published two months ago, we continue our review of Spanish art history journals available on Internet. Boletín del Seminario de Estudios de Arte y Arqueología : published by the Universidad de Valladolid, this (...)
An Interview with Jennifer Montagu 16/05/2008
Jennifer Montagu was in Paris during the Salon du Dessin, where she participated to a colloquium about the drawings of sculptors (see our interview with Guilhem Scherf). We took advantage of this occasion to meet and interview her about her (...)
The Tribulations of the Jacques Thuillier Donation to the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy 05/04/2012
Jacques Thuillier’s generosity towards the museums in Lorraine is well known. The anonymous character of the donations to the Musée départemental in Vic-sur-Seille and the Beaux-Arts in Nancy was very relative, as almost everyone was perfectly (...)
Symposia 14/04/2006
The Façade of the Hôtel Lambert Overwhelmed by Reconstituted Pots à Feu 07/04/2012
Six months ago we expressed our concern for the lack of communication now surrounding the restoration project at the Hôtel Lambert, contradicting the promises made by the owner of increasing access to journalists. We are perhaps not the only (...)
Acquisitions by the Musée Georges de La Tour at the Jacques Thuillier Auction 05/04/2012
We had pointed it out at the same time as the acquisition of a Sébastien Bourdon painting by Montpellier at the Artcurial auction of the Thuillier collection : the Musée départemental Georges de La Tour in Vic-sur-Seille has added five more works (...)
Fundraising : A Gauguin for Lyon 24/06/2010
The Commission consultative des trésors nationaux has just listed a painted relief by Paul Gauguin, currently in a private collection abroad, in this category. The Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, which wishes to acquire the work, has launched a (...)
Le Bon Pasteur and Saint Bernard, Two Endangered Churches in the Heart of Lyon 20/02/2012
The lack of protection of French heritage is a proven fact still ignored by too many people. While classifying or listing a historical monument is no guarantee that it will be preserved, not doing so makes it even more difficult to save (...)
Stockholm’s Nationalmuseum Discovers a Clodion Terracotta 02/12/2011
It was during an ordinary auction at the Stockholms Auktionsverk, with no catalogue listing and online bidding (a bit like Ebay), that the Swedish museum managed to acquire, thanks to the sharp eye of a curator, Magnus Olausson, an original (...)
Judith and Holophernes by Virginia da Vezzo 29/04/2009
Judith and Holophernes by Virginia da Vezzo (or da Vezzi), the wife of Simon Vouet, particularly struck visitors during the exhibition devoted to the latter’s Italian years
What use are the laws protecting historical monuments ? (2) : the amphitheatre in Fréjus 03/07/2010
The Art Tribune theoretically does not cover the field of Antiquity but our continuing fight against vandalism forces us today to denounce the project, sponsored by the Direction Régionale des Monuments Historiques and therefore by the Ministry (...)
Masters of European Drawing from the 16th to the 20th century. Georges Pebereau Collection 14/01/2010
Should private collections be exhibited at the Louvre ? The answer is certainly yes when they are of museum quality. This was the case for the Louis-Antoine Prat’s and also the Motais de Narbonne’s which will be shown in the spring. Can one say (...)
The Brueghel Recently Acquired by the Prado Is Now Hanging 15/12/2011
The painting by Pieter Brueghel, the Elder, Saint Martin’s Wine, recently rediscovered by the Prado and which the museum was finally able to acquire, is now hanging in the galleries, having joined the other works by the artist already there, (...)
The furnishings at the château de Sassenage on the auction block by the Fondation de France 25/05/2008
1. Château de Sassenage, Isère, France Photo : Badhy, Wikimedia Commons Next May 30th the Hôtel Drouot auction house will put up a major portion of the furnishings of the château de Sassenage, in Isère (ill. 1), for sale unless something is done (...)
Henri Lehmann 03/09/2007
Prominent decorator, subtle portrait artist and first rate draughtsman, Henri Lehmann is one of the most unappreciated painters of the XIXth C. A student of Ingres, he suffered the same ostracism as the other artists of this atelier, the only (...)
François-Xavier Fabre 18/01/2008
Some art historians of Neoclassicism use the expression “the three G’s” in designating David’s leading students : Girodet, Gros and Gérard to whom they at times add a fourth, Guérin, although he belonged to Regnault’s (...)
