Jeudi 21 janvier 2021
Last update on 2/11/2016
Last update on 2/11/2016
The latest news in the History of Western Art from the Middle Age to the 1930's
On the damage to the Pont d’Argenteuil 09/10/2007
Everyone has heard by now that the canvas of Claude Monet’s painting Le Pont d’Argenteuil was punched in by drunken vandals who forced their way into the museum late Saturday night. The
Two paintings by Giovanni Battista Lama acquired by the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Agen 17/11/2008
The museum in Agen has just acquired two very beautiful Neapolitan paintings,
The Tate finally purchases Rubens study for Banqueting Hall 10/10/2008
Our readers may remember that the Tate Gallery had attempted to save Rubens study for Banqueting Hall from being exported after having been exhibited at the National Gallery since 1981
A study for Christ in the Garden of Olives acquired by the Musée Delacroix 12/07/2007
The Musée Delacroix, which now depends on the Louvre, has just acquired from Hubert Duchemin (Cabinet Eric Turquin in Paris) a fine preliminary study for the famous
Two of Girodet’s early works recently acquired by Montargis 19/10/2007
On June 20, 2007, Christie’s Paris put up for auction a portrait by Girodet representing his brother
The LACMA Purchases a Mysterious Painting 29/05/2012
The LACMA has just acquired, at Etienne Bréton’s (SHAC) in Paris, a superb paintingwhich is very mysterious as, for the moment, it remains anonymous. Adding to the intrigue, the school has not been determined and even the subject is not really (...)
Waldmüller and Poyer : Three Acquisitions for the Département des Arts Graphiques 16/01/2014
Museums rarely announce their recent acquisitions. Nevertheless, the Louvre has just published a press release listing several donations and purchases which we had already mentioned (the two paintings by Michel-Ange Challe, the Lamentation by (...)
A new electronic journal on Dutch art 13/01/2010
Scholarly publications continue to flourish on the net. Last June we missed the appearance on the net of a journal, free of access, which has just presented its second issue. This is the semi-annual Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art (...)
Some new websites 30/01/2010
French museums are progressively improving their websites, offering virtual visitors more and more information concerning their collections and activities. In the last few months, two of them have inaugurated new (...)
The Rembrandt which reappeared last year in England is authentic 29/06/2008
In October 2007, we pointed out the appearance, in a small British auction house, of a portrait representing Rembrandt but ascribed to one of his “followers”,
A painting by Mignard and a drawing by Gros preempted by Versailles and the Louvre 18/06/2008
The Musée de Versailles preempted a painting today in Orléans by Pierre Mignard representing
The Allumettes factory : a 20th century heritage site in grave danger 05/02/2010
On the 1st of February, Hall J of the Allumettes factory in Trélazé, the Maine-et-Loire region, near Angers was razed. We learned the fact only the day before and proceeded to write this article without having time to contact those behind this (...)
Saint Rufina by Diego Velázquez on sale at Sotheby’s London 12/06/2007
A Saint Rufina by Diego Velázquez will be auctioned in early July in London. The work is already known since it was sold at Christie’s New York on January 29, 1999, where the present owner acquired it for $8.1 (...)
Félicie de Fauveau Exhibited at Orsay 13/06/2013
The exhibition Félicie de Fauveau has now opened its doors in Paris after having been at the Historial de Vendée. We should begin by making this observation : we had seen the Orsay catalogue in proofs only, without the appendices. And contrary (...)
Jacques Androuet du Cerceau 05/04/2010
Architecture is the most difficult art form to exhibit since it cannot be moved and thus has to be evoked in various ways so as not to bore visitors with the same uninspiring plans and engravings.
Amaury Lefébure appointed Director of Malmaison 10/09/2008
It always helps to look on the bright side of things. Thus, the appointment of an administrator from the ENA (French National Administration School) which had been seriously considered by the Ministry of (...)
Etudes photographiques website once again avalaible online 20/09/2008
Etudes photographiques, the French online journal directed by André Gunthert had decided to stop its internet publication two years ago since it thought it was impossible to illustrate its articles due to the French copyright (...)
Serres d’Auteuil : Delanoë’s Pyrrhic victory 14/02/2011
No doubt the Mayor of Paris will gloat about his « victory » in the media. The Fédération française de tennis has indeed decided (70% in the third round of voting) to stay in Paris and extend the location of the Roland-Garros tournament into the (...)
Exhibition of 16th to 19th century French works at the Terradès Gallery 03/12/2008
Certain galleries contribute in their own way to art history. This is the case for the Galerie Terradès which every year offers an exhibition of French paintings, sculptures and drawings accompanied by a catalogue containing well documented (...)
Two Terracottas by Moitte Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum 16/12/2013
The Metropolitan Museum recently added two terracotta sculptures by Jean-Guillaume Moitte acquired on the art market in Paris from the Perrin Gallery. The works are preparatory for groups which apparently were never produced but were supposed (...)
Five paintings stolen from the Frans Hals Museum recovered 20/09/2008
The Dutch police have recovered five paintings which had been stolen in 2002 from the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem.
Exhibition of drawings by Gustav Klimt at the Coatalem Gallery 08/09/2008
The event is rather unusual : an exhibition of twenty-three drawings by Gustav Klimt, no doubt the leading artist of the Viennese Sezessionist movement, in a private gallery.
Xavier Salmon appointed Directeur du Patrimoine et des Collections for the Château de Fontainebleau 27/02/2010
Now an « Etablissement public », the château in Fontainebleau is no longer run by a curator, like Versailles and some other museum institutions, something which we have often pointed out as being an unfortunate (...)
The Odiot holdings join the Musee des Arts Decoratifs 04/01/2010
Last January (see news item of 26/1/09) we had already spoken of the fund drive launched by the Ministry of Culture in its search for a patron to help in the acquisition of a series of 176 drawings from the Manufacture of Jean-Baptiste-Claude (...)
A predella panel by Sano di Pietro for the Uffizi 14/09/2008
Thanks to a generous donation from the former president of Fiat, Paolo Fresco, and his wife the Uffizi Gallery in Florence recently received a panel from a predella by Sano di Pietro representing
Strasbourg purchases a Jean Barbault and receives an Antonio Vaccaro 26/07/2009
The Museum in Strasbourg has just purchased a painting by Jean Barbault, undoubtedly one of the artist’s masterpieces which had remained unpublished until now
Saint John the Baptist by Leonardo moves on to Rome 13/01/2010
After a month-long exhibition in Milan, the Saint John the Baptist by Leonardo da Vinci from the Louvre is being presented, from 1st to 31st January, at the Palazzo Venezia in Rome as part of the show Il Potere e la Grazia. I Santi Patroni (...)
An El Greco acquired by the Onassis Foundation 04/11/2008
The Alexander Onassis Foundation has acquired a Crowning of the Virgin by El Greco from an American art dealer for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition of a Saunier console by Versailles now confirmed 10/09/2008
Last 11 December, Jean-Jacques Aillagon announced the acquisition : « of an important piece of furniture belonging to the first Dauphin, listed as a Trésor National
A painting by Salomon de Bray acquired by the Frans Hals Museum 01/03/2011
On 27 January 2011,the Frans Hals Museum acquired a painting by Salomon de Bray representing The Queen of Sheba in front of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem at Sotheby’s New York for $194.000 (including charges). No doubt a student of Pieter (...)
Beaubourg-Metz To Show Works outside Exhibitions 24/09/2013
The announcement might have appeared to be hastily made but the idea had been in the pipeline for some time : the Centre Pompidou Metz will present works from the Parisian collection, outside of formal exhibitions, for at least two years (and (...)
The architect in charge of Versailles represents himself as a Roman emperor 12/10/2008
The French association for heritage protection, Momus (Monuments, Musées, Sites et Monuments), makes a very revealing disclosure on its new website
The Tournai Cathedral threatened by an architectural project 03/12/2008
What is the use of being protected by UNESCO ? The question is well worth asking when seeing the project which Tournai, in Belgium, wishes to build in the immediate vicinity of the cathedral, within the perimeter of protection for the monument (...)
A call against the appointment of the former McDonald’s chief as head of Italian museums 19/11/2008
France was the first country to establish a system, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, for leasing its masterpieces out on a large scale to foreign museums. We had warned of the danger of setting a precedent, as the Louvre in (...)
Saint Peter’s Denial by the Le Nain brothers officially joins the Louvre 20/01/2010
As we had announced already last 29 May 2009 (see news item), Saint Peter’s Denial by the Le Nain brothers (ill.) officially entered the Louvre (the Ministry of Culture issued a press release on the 14th confirming the name of the patron, (...)
The Saint Louis Art Museum buys a Degas and sells several other paintings 28/09/2007
This American museum has just acquired from Blondeau Fine Arts Services in Geneva for the sum of $10 million a canvas by Edgar Degas representing
Madonna with the Yarnwinder recovered 06/10/2007
Having passed away last month, the Duke of Buccleuch was not able to witness the return of the Madonna with the Yarnwinder, which was stolen four years ago and which has just been recovered by the (...)
The sale of French heritage censured by the Conseil Constitutionnel 06/01/2010
The Conseil Constitutionnel [or Constitutional Court] has just censured article 116 (formerly article 52) of the 2010 Finance law which included a provision ceding the rights of historical monuments belonging to the government to local entities (...)
French government to sell off Notre Dame in Paris ! 01/04/2009
Façade of future L… M… Water World (before restoration), Paris Photo : Wikipedia We know that the French government, desperately in need of money, is selling off whatever it can. After the Hôtel de la Marine, it was obvious that this (...)
Reappearance of Antoine Callet’s morceau d’agrément 18/11/2007
At a sale in Antwerp on Monday, 12 November, at Bernaerts, a large painting
Thomas Gaehtgens Appointed Head of Getty Research Institute 15/08/2007
The most Francophile of the German art historians, Thomas Gaehtgens, founder and currently director of the German Center for Art History in Paris, has just been appointed as director of the Getty Research (...)
Uffizi Acquires A Virgin and Child by Bigallo Master 09/08/2007
he Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici of Florence recently purchased, for the Uffizi, a Virgin and Child by the Bigallo Master
Saint Martina by Pietro da Cortona acquired by the LACMA 01/08/2007
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art recently announced the acquisition thanks to funding from the Ahmanson Foundation of a unknown painting by Pietro da Cortona representing
A Biard Painting Donated to the Dallas Museum of Art 19/03/2013
Charles Baudelaire did not like François-Auguste Biard and signed his critical execution in a few lines when reviewing the Salon of 1846, once again proving that this great poet was a mediocre art critic. In fact, Biard was a multi-talented (...)
Nicolas Sarkozy Confirms the Louvre’s Management of the Hôtel de la Marine 26/01/2012
Theoretically, the French President’s speech to the cultural world in Paris expressing his new year’s wishes is usually posted on the Elysée website shortly after. But at publication time, this was still not the case and, not having been able to (...)
A Degas pastel from the Musee d’Orsay stolen in Marseille 07/01/2010
A small pastel by Edgar Degas, The Choristers (ill.), belonging to the Musee d’Orsay was stolen from the Musee Cantini in Marseille where it was on display as part of the exhibition De la scene au tableau (see the review here) which ended on 3 (...)
Fundraising drive by Fontainebleau for an Albani 12/10/2008
Fontainebleau owns an important collection of old masters, little known to the public as they are exhibited in rooms which are rarely open due to a lack of guards. These works are in many cases former deposits from the Musée du (...)
The Portrait of Yvonne Lerolle by Maurice Denis joins the Musée d’Orsay 16/06/2010
The masterpiece by Maurice Denis which just joined the Musée d’Orsay is an important acquisition for French heritage. In 1982, the planners of the future museum had tried to purchase it from the Parisian gallery who owned it at the time but to no (...)
Aurelie Filippetti Filed an Application for Listing the Rue des Carmes 26/07/2012
Aurelie Filippetti, French Minister of Culture, has made the remarkable, and above all exemplary, decision to file an application requesting that the 18 buildings representing the southern front of the Rue des Carmes in Orleans be listed as a (...)
The Chardin works commissioned for Bellevue join the Louvre 09/08/2010
Thanks to the Amis du Louvre and the generosity of Eudoxe Marcille’s heirs, two masterpieces by Jean-Simeon Chardin, commissioned to hang over the doors in the chateau of Bellevue and exhibited at the Salon of 1767 where they were highly praised (...)
... | 250 | 300 | 350 | 400 | 450 | 500 | 550 | 600 | 650 | ...
