Da Vinci's The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne at the Louvre

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, a Leonardo da Vinci's oil on wood painting (168 cm × 112 cm (66 in × 44 in) depicting St. Anne, her daughter the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus grappling with a sacrificial lamb symbolizing his Passion as the Virgin tries to restrain him, is being exhibited at the Louvre together with all surviving related works.

Leonardo had already represented these figures together in The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist, sometimes called The Burlington House Cartoon, a charcoal and black and white chalk drawing on eight sheets of paper glued together.

Commissioned as the high altarpiece for the Church of Santissima Annunziata in Florence, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne was started in 1501, as it was first mentioned in Isabella d’Este’s correspondence, and it was left unfinished upon his death in 1519.

The painting was recently restored with the aid of the C2RMF (Center for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France), however this process wasn't exempt from controversy. On 7 October 2011, Le Journal des Arts, a Paris art publication, reported that the restoration posed more danger to the painting than was previously expected.

The exhibition includes compositional sketches, preparatory drawings, landscape studies and The Burlington House Cartoon (National Gallery), brought together for the first time since the artist’s death and revealing his lengthy meditation and succession of solutions he had envisioned for this masterpiece.
Other painted artworks by Leonardo are also used to illustrate how Saint Anne is the true culmination of the artist’s numerous and varied explorations on nature and art.

In order to bring out the full scale of Saint Anne's innovative nature, the exposition also strives to reposition the artwork in the iconographic tradition of its subject (The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne) and affirm its considerable influence on Italian art in the early 16th century.
More recent tributes to the artist by Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, and Max Ernst bear witness to the masterpiece’s longstanding influence.

Leonardo da Vinci's The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, can be visited at the Louvre (Napoleon Hall, beneath the Pyramid) from March 29 to June 25, 2012.
The exhibition is organized by Vincent Delieuvin, curator in the Department of Paintings, Musée du Louvre.

Woburn Abbey unveils "Portrait of an Old Man" as Rembrandt masterpiece

An oil painting entitled Portrait of an Old Man or The Old Rabbi, dated 1643 and usually hung in a private room of the Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, home of the 15th Duke and Duchess of Bedford, has been authenticated as a Rembrandt masterpiece.

Regarded as a world authority on Rembrandt, Professor Ernst van de Wetering invited to Woburn Abbey last year to study the portrait. He concluded that the quality and style of work corroborate it could only have been painted by the Dutch old master Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn.

This painting goes far beyond a study of old age, for as Professor van de Wetering has highlighted: “This painting is one of Rembrandt’s most impressive evocations of dignity in old age. The way the light makes the figure emerge from the dusky space and illuminates the wrinkled skin of the face, and the hands resting on a stick, makes it an outstanding specimen of Rembrandt’s art.”

It is believed that the portrait owned the Dukes of Bedford and a painting in the Gemaldegalerie, Berlin (thought to be a portrait of Rembrandt’s wife, Saskia) were intended as a pair. Both were painted in 1643 on a mahogany panel taken from the same sugar case. This along with the arrangements and drawing similarities, as well as its biblical style: the prominent hands each displaying a ring on the little finger, the black hat with fine decoration and the decorative chains, led to the suggestion from Professor van de Wetering that the pair are depicting the Old Testament biblical story of Boaz and Ruth.

The first written reference to "Portrait of an Old Man" in the Abbey records dates from 1791, indicating it was cleaned that year. Along with two other portraits, it was initially accepted as a Rembrandt, however later studies of the three portraits resulted in uncertainty. Nonetheless the curatorial staff believed that the portrait had virtues that made it stand out as something special.

Woburn Abbey General Manager Jonathan Irby said: “This is a discovery and a fine addition to the Abbey’s wonderful collection of Dutch art.
We are very excited about bringing this exquisite painting into the public eye, especially since visitors will be able to get within a few inches of it. The opportunity to discover a ‘new’ Rembrandt will provide an even more memorable day for our visitors in 2012.”

"Portrait of an Old Man" or "The Old Rabbi," will be on public display from 30th March in the gold and silver vaults of the Woburn Abbey. An unparalleled opportunity to view this ‘new’ Rembrandt up close.

The Musée Maillol presents: Artemisia - Power, Glory and Passions of a Female Painter

On the 8th of July 1593 was born in Rome the eldest daughter of the italian baroque painter Orazio Lomi Gentileschi, Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi.

Artemisia began receiving instruction in the art of painting at a very early age, quite probably by her father. In a letter dated July 3, 1962, adressed by her father to the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, he atests his daughter's artistic skills.
The young woman's first ever signature, “ARTEMITIA. / GENTILESCHI. F / 1610”, appears in the lower left hand corner of a "Susanna and the Elders," currently in the Schönborn collection in Pommersfelden, Germany.

At the age of 18, Artemisia is raped by Agostino Tassi, a colleague of Orazio’s. After the rape, Tassi promises to marry the young woman and convinces her to continue a relationship with him for another nine months.

However around March-April 1612, impelled by public morality, though also by personal interest, her father decides do denounce Tassi and make public his rape of Artemisia.
The rape trial of Agostino Tassi opens on March 2 and continues for another seven months, until October 29.

Meanwhile, Orazio Gentileschi sends a letter to the Grand Duchess Christine of Lorraine in Florence about the trial, pleading with her to intervene and to prevent Agostino Tassi from walking free. In that letter, he also proposes to send the Grand Duchess one of his daughter’s paintings to demonstrate her abilities. At this stage, according to her father, Artemisia has already been painting for three years.

The verdict is announced on November 27, 1612: Agostino Tassi is sentenced to a five years exile from Rome‘sub pena triremium,’ as a galley slave. Subsequently, the punishment is judged to have been unfair and Tassi never serves his sentence.

On November 29, 1612 Artemisia marries Pierantonion Stiattesi, a minor artist born in Florence, son of a cobler and brother of Giovan Battista. He was also friend of Orazio.
Their first son, Giovanni Battista, is baptized on September 21, 1613, in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Forence.

While in Florence, Artemisia starts gaining reputation. Among her commissions, there's an Allegory of Inclination commissioned by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger.
She becomes a member of Florence’s Accademia del Disegno on July 19, 1616, as testified by two documents that also make reference to Orazio. It’s probably over the following years that, thanks to Buonarroti and Matteo Frescobaldi, Artemisia becomes a friend of Galileo Galilei, a member of Accademia del Disegno since 1613 and with whom she would later remain in correspondence.
Along the following years and between several commissions, Artemisia's life and of her family suffers inumerous mishaps.

Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi was quite probably deceased between 1652 and 1654; a document dated from January 31, 1654, provides proof of the collaboration between Artemisia and Palumbo.
According to 17th to 19th century sources, Artemisia was buried in the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini in Naples. The precise location of the grave remains uncertain, as the headstone bearing the simple inscription “HEIC ARTIMISIA” had already disappeared when restoration work was carried out in 1785.

From March 14th throughout July 15th, 2012, the Musée Maillol - Fondation Dina Vierny,Paris, presents the major exhibition "Artemisia - Power, glory and passions of a female painter" (Artemisia - Povoir, gloire et passions d'une femme peintre."
The exhibition includes a significant number of paintings from several important museums and galleries in Italy and abroad, as well from private art collections.

Da Vinci's lost fresco “La Battaglia di Anghiari” likely found in Florence

Copy made in the mid-16th century and then extended at the edges in the early 17th century by Rubens, who also completed the sword of the fourth horseman.

Behind Giorgio Vasari's fresco “La battaglia di Marciano,” painted in 1563 when the Hall of Five Hundred in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, was being remodeled, is likely to be found Leonardo Da Vinci's “La battaglia di Anghiari” (The Battle of Anghiari), that he started painting in 1505 but left unfinished when he left Florence in 1506.

Vasari painted several frescoes there and the Da Vinci's fresco was thought to be destroyed.
But Seracini, when surveying the hall using laser and radar methods, discovered air gaps behind Vasari's fresco and suspected that he built a wall in front of Da Vinci's unfinished masterpiece and painted it over with a fresco in order to preserve it.
Seracini also discovered a telling clue: Vasari included a soldier in the fresco holding a flag that reads, "CERCA TROVA"(Seek and you shall find), a proof of Vasari's intention to preserve Leonardo's work.



Researchers led by Maurizio Seracini, art history professor at the University of San Diego, California, and sponsored by the UCSD and The National Geographic Society, used probes to drill a few small holes in the fresco painted by Vasari.

Terry D. Garcia, executive vice president for Mission Programs for the National Geographic Society, who supports the investigation, atests that the holes in the mural were made in areas that had been previously restored or in fissures, thus assuring Vasari's painting.

Analysis made to the chemical content of the paint, showed that its composition was similar to that in the paint that Da Vinci used when he painted the "Mona Lisa" and "St. John the Baptist."

Beige paint and special black pigments were found, as well as traces of red lacquer, a pigment seldom used in murals due to its reduced light fasteness and high price.
The red lacquer is used in oil paintings and the find of this pigment matches with Leonardo's intention to paint his 'Battle of Anghiari' with a technique used in oil paintings.

Seracini told reporters during a press conference this monday that the pigments found beneath Vasari's fresco are consistent with the organic paint Da Vinci used on his frescoes.

The team of researchers believes be one step closer in its search to find Da Vinci's lost masterpiece "The Battle of Anghiari"



Although this investigation counts with several important supporters, namely from the city of Florence and of renowned art restoration institute Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Tomaso Montanari, a professor at the University of Naples Federico II said that Seracini's process is not transparent and is based on sensationalism rather than science; Seracini, who's been working on this search for near 30 years, was featured in Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code."

He also afirms that the painting behind Vasari's fresco could be ornamental decoration, or paint used by other artists in Florence during the same time period. And because of Da Vinci's experimental painting techniques, it's unlikely that "The Battle of Anghiari" would be preserved for so long.

Montanari has undertook a petition signed by more than 100 art historians who oppose the process, including experts from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and The National Gallery in London.

In the meantime, Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi told reporters they may decide to remove parts of the Vasari work which were restored in the 19th and 20th centuries in order to look behind them.

Un Univers Intime - Paintings in the Frits Lugt Collection

The full scope of the Frits Lugt Collection - Fondation Custodia will be on dsplay for the first time at the Institut Néerlandais in Paris.

Expanded in the last two years, including an acquisition of nearly 60 oil sketches on paper from the bequest of Carlos van Hasselt (1929-2009), former director of the Fondation Custodia, the exhibition brings to the public a wealthy selection of 115 paintings, including masterpieces of the Dutch Golden Age, together with Flemish, Italian, French and Danish paintings, from a collection created gradually, with great passion and discernment, over nearly a century.

Recognized by its the Dutch Golden Age paintings that included works from Nicolaes Berchem (1620-1683), Jan van Ravesteyn (c. 1572-1657), Jan Lievens (1607-1674), Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634), Ambrosius Bosschaert the Younger (1609-1645), Nicolaes Maes (1634–1693 (buried)) and Jacob Vrel(active around 1654-1670), the Frits Lugt Collection spans a range of famous works by renowned artists such as the British Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828); Martinus Christian W. Rørbye (1803-1848), Johan Thomas Lundbye (1818-1848) and Vilhelm Kyhn (1819-1903) from Danmark; Jacques Linard (around 1600-1645) and Nicolas de Largillière (1656-1746)from France; and the Italian painters Francesco Guardi (1712-1792), Cristoforo Munari (1667-1720), Francesco Guardi (1712-1792) and the famous female artist Sophonisba Anguissola (around 1535-1625).

Visitors will also have the opportunity to view works from the Silver Age, as historians call the Dutch 18th century, that include landscapes and city views by artists such as Jan ten Compe (1713-1761) and Hendrik Pothoven (1725/28-1807), as well as works of the 19th century from Josephus Augustus Knip (1777-1847, (1844-1910) and Jozef Israëls (1824-1911), the last two protagonists of the Hague School caracterized by Dutch landscapes and interiors.
A reference must be made to George Hendrik Breitner (1857-1923), first affiliated to the Hague School, later settled in Amsterdam.
A painter and photographer, friend of Van Gogh, Breitner is one of the major Dutch artists at the close of the 19th century and certainly the most gifted.

The Flemish artists are well repesented through the Brueghel dynasty with works from Jan Brueghel the Elder, often known as the “Velvet” Brueghel (1568-1625) and Jan van Kessel the Elder (1626-1679), grandson of the “Velvet“ Brueghe, in a total of 25 paintings including from David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690) and Pieter Lastman (1583 - 4 April 1633 (buried))

Also included and on display for the first time, are the recently acquired works from Eugène Isabey (1804-1886) and Achille Etna Michallon (1796-1822), the teacher of Corot.

In the last year and a half a great deal of attention has been devoted to the condition of the paintings in the collection and many of the works in exhibition as well as frames were cleaned and restored when necessary, which besides reassuring that the majority of the paintings are very well preserved, it also revealed a lot of information about technique.

Press visit: Wednesday 29 February from 12 pm to 2 pm
Public opening: Wednesday 29 February from 6 pm to 8.30 pm

"Un Univers intime" The Paintings of the Frits Lugt Collection, can be visited at the Institut Néerlandais, Paris, between 1st March and 27th May 2012 (Tuesdays to Sundays, from 1 pm to 7 pm).

Admission: Adults 6 €, Discount 4 €.

Major Rembrandt retrospective at The Cleveland Museum of Art

From February 19 through May 28, 2012, The Cleveland Museum of Art is showing two parallel exhibitions about the work of Rembrandt yan Rijn: "Rembrandt in America" and "Rembrandt Prints from The Morgan Library & Museum."

The close relation between both, offers the chance for the visitor to better apprehend the facets of Rembrandt, not only as an excellent painter but also as a skilled draughstman and printmaker.

The Rembrandt in America exhibition takes place at the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall and shows 30 works by Rembrandt, some of them autograph and others thought to be by the artist when they entered American collections but whose attributions can no longer be maintained, and over 20 works by other artists.

In 2006, several exhibitions worldwide celebrated the 400 years of Rembrandt's birth, nonetheless Rembrandt in America brings an indepth perspective about his career as a painter, as well as information about his studio, a broader network of adapters, followers, and copyists.

The public is invited to examine the gradual opinions and methods of scholars and collectors regarding what constituted an autograph Rembrandt painting over a period of more than a century, while at the same time earning skills in connoisseurship and opinions on authenticity thanks to the display of works in small groupings.

Rembrandt in America occurs at a time when scrutiny of “Rembrandt” versus “not Rembrandt” continues to trouble the discipline and affect the art market significantly. As the first major exhibition to take a broader look at the history of Rembrandt collecting and connoisseurship in America and namely in Cleveland, the show also addresses growing interest in the country’s collecting history.



The Cleveland Museum of Art owns four paintings associated with Rembrandt, two acquired in the early 20th century by the Cleveland collectors John L. Severance and Elisabeth Severance Prentiss and two others purchased by the museum in 1950 and 1967.
Each came to the museum attributed to Rembrandt, and all have subsequently been questioned to various degrees, with consensus yet to be reached.

The exhibition, well complemented by its accompanying catalogue, explores the often-controversial issues of collecting and connoisseurship, with a focus on individual paintings where these two related topics intersect.


Rembrandt in America is organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of Art, where was on view between October 30, 2011 and January 22, 2012; Raleigh; and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, to where will travel from June 24 through September 16, 2012.



Showing a significant set of works from the Morgan Libray & Museum, considered the largest and finest collection of Rembrandt prints in USA holding nearly 500 impressions by the artist from circa 1626 to about 1661, during which time he executed some 290 plates, the Rembrandt Prints from The Morgan Library & Museum exhibition offers a broad overview about the artist's skills and creativity as printmaker.

Contrary to most of his predecessors, who sought to achieve a standardized representation of the printed image with little variation from impression to impression, Rembrandt was inclined to experiment. He would achieve an array of effects by varying the support and how the plate was inked, so that impressions from the same plate could differ noticeably.

The artist improvised as he worked on the plate, sometimes even changing the concept of the image, adding and subtracting lines, leaving traces of the previous work on the plate, while printing proofs at various stages of the work’s completion. He used different types of paper, and he also printed on vellum, as it is a non-absorbent support.
Rembrandt created tone not only by controlling the amount of ink left on the surface of the plate before printing, but by using drypoint as well, which produces broad, velvety lines. He also successfully integrated drypoint with etched and engraved work in one composition.

Rembrandt’s prints cover a wide range of subjects, including Old and New Testament narratives, landscapes, portraits and self-portraits, nudes, and scenes from daily life as it was common in his time. He sometimes returned to the same theme, allowing for a comparison of a subject executed decades apart, illustrating his artistic development and experimental advances.

The Rembrandt Prints from The Morgan Library & Museum exhibition is a collaboration between the Morgan Library & Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Hans Holbein's "Darmstadt Madonna" goes to Schwäbisch Hall

Acquired last year by the by German entrepreneur Reinhold Würth for near €70 million, the "Darmstadt Madonna" (also known as Madonna of Jakob Meyer zum Hasen), painted by Hans Holbein the Younger around 1526 in Basel, will go on display at the Johanniter Church (Johanniterkirche) in Schwäbisch Hall, southwestern Germany.

The painting, widely called "Virgin of Mercy" (Schutzmantelmadonna), depicts the Mother of God, with the Christ Child in her arms, standing in a huge scalloped niche. Mary's outspread cloak, identifying her as the Virgin of Mercy, shelters the people kneeling at her feet, including Bürgermeister of Basel Jakob Meyer zum Hasen, his first wife (who had died earlier), his current wife, and his daughter. The work ends with a semicircle at the top.

Part of the Würth Collection, the "Darmstadt Madonna" can be seen from January 24, 2012 at the Johanniterkirche (Tue-Sun 11am-5pm), together with other works by Old Masters such as Lucas Cranach the Elder, Tilman Riemenschneider or the Master of Messkirch, Johanniterkirche and Hans Holbein the Elder.

No buyer for Goya's Portrait of Don Juan López de Robredo

Last month, the fact that the Spanish authorities didn't meet the price asked by a private collector for Goya's Portrait of Don Juan López de Robredo, Embroiderer to King Carlos IV of Spain, and that little time was given for particulars or private institutions to make an offer, caused controversy when it was announced that the painting would be sold at auction.

Francisco de Goya's painting, a 42 5/8 x 32 3/8 in. (108.3 x 82.3 cm.) oil on canvas depicting a Portrait of Don Juan López de Robredo, Embroiderer to King Carlos IV of Spain, seated, half-length, holding an embroidery design, was auctioned in yesterday's Old Master & British Paintings (Evening Sale) at Christie's London, King Street.
However, the painting with an estimate price of £4,000,000 - £6,000,000($6,248,000 - $9,372,000), did not find a buyer.

Nonetheless, the December 7, Old Master & British Paintings (Evening Sale) saw some new world record prices for artists at auction: " The Battle between Carnival and Lent" by Pieter Brueghel II, £6,873,250 ($10,722,270 / €8,021,083); " Dutch men-o'-war and other shipping in a calm" by Willem van de Velde II, £5,921,250 ($9,237,150 / €6,910,099); "An old man at a casement" by Govaert Flinck, £2,337,250 ($3,646,110 / €2,727,571); "The Holy Family" by Francesco Zaganelli da Cotignola, £1,015,650 ($1,584,414€ /1,185,264); "Portrait of a gentleman, possibly Richard Salwey, half-length, in a fur-trimmed red coat and a turban, leaning on a plinth" by Andrea Soldi, £825,250 ($1,287,390 / €963,067). The prices include buyer's premium.

X-ray scanning reveals hidden Rembrandt unfinished self-portrait

An X-ray fluorescence spectrometry scan, performed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) light source in Grenoble, France, revealed an unfinished self-portait of Rembrandt, according to specialists.

In roughly 8 hours, the new Maia detector system, mapped the chemical elements in the colours used to paint the "Old Man With a Beard." The detected elements included copper for blue and green, iron for yellow, orange and brown, and mercury for red.

The 15cm x 20cm painting, hidden under the work "Old Man With a Beard", until now attributed to a Rembrandt's pupil, was supposedly painted when the artist was near 24 years of age and his reputation started to develop, leading him to move from Leiden to Amsterdam.



According to art historian Ernst van de Wetering, head of the Rembrandt Research Project, the discovered self-portrait, although not completed and lacking facial details, revealed contour lines of a beardless, seemingly younger male wearing a collar and beret, showing a typical posture characteristic of Rembrandt's early self-portraits.
Similarities with two denoted self-portraits, one of them dated from 1630, are also evident.
The attribution is attested by a 1633 print of the composition, with an inscription stating it was made by Rembrandt.

Authenticating Rembrant's works can reveal itself a complex task, as the old master encouraged his students to copy his works and he himself would perform final corrections in their works.

Between May 1 and July 1, 2012, the Rembrandt House Museum will stage a special exhibition of research into 10 paintings by Rembrandt and his contemporaries using XRF technology, including the investigation results about the unfinished self-portrait mentioned on this article.

Developed by Joris Dik of Delft University and Koen Janssens of Antwerp University, the X-ray fluorescence spectrometry enables the mapping of different chemical elements, revealing pigments in hidden layers of paint and allowing different views of the hidden image.

Goya escapes from Spain and goes to auction at Christie's

A portrait painting by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, depicting Don Juan López de Robredo, embroiderer to King Carlos IV of Spain, is going to be auctioned at Christie's London.

Before the impossibility of the painting being acquired by the Museo del Prado or by the Patrimonio Nacional, the Spanish Ministry of Culture has authorized its exportation, a fact that has cause great controversy and has receive unfavorable opinions by the Spanish media.
According to official sources, the public institutions weren't capable of meeting the price asked by the owner of the painting, a private collector from Madrid.

Although not one of the most important paintings from the artist, it's a painting from one of the most important Spanish masters and a renowned artist worldwide.

The portrait of Don Juan López de Robredo, Embroiderer to King Carlos IV of Spain (El bordador Juan López de Robredo), an oil on canvas measuring 42⅝ x 32⅜ in. (108.3 x 82.3 cm) and with an estimated value of £4,000,000 – 6,000,000, will go on sale during the Old Master and British Paintings Evening Sale on 6 December 2011, at Christie's London.

Other 36 paintings, spanning near 500 years of European art history, will be offered up for auction during the same sale, including The Battle between Carnival and Lent by Pieter Brueghel II (1564/5-1637/8) (estimate: £3.5 million to £4.5 million); a full length Portrait of Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield (1755-1815), by Thomas Gainsborough, R.A. (1727-1788) (estimate: £2.5 million to £3.5 million); Dutch men-o'-war and other shipping in a calm by Willem van de Velde II (1633-1707) (estimate: £1.5 million to £2.5 million); An old woman spinning in an interior by Nicolaes Maes (1632-1693), 1658 (estimate: £1 million to £1.5million) and An old man at a casement, 1646, by Govaert Flinck (1615-1660) (estimate £700,000 to £1,000,000).

"Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is showing a major exhibition of works by the acclaimed Dutch old master Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669).

Gathering an exceedingly rare and singular series of seven portraits depicting the head of Christ and complemented by more than fifty related paintings, prints, and drawings, some of them rarely exhibited or lent due to their light-sensitivity and fragility, the "Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus" exhibition invites the viewer to grasp the religious, historic, and artistic significance of these works, while at the same time witnessing Rembrandt's iconoclasm and his search for a meditative ideal.

These bust-length portraits portraits of Jesus mark a new step in the history of Christian art, which had previously relied on rigidly copied prototypes for Christ, by making use of a human model.

The "Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus" exhibition can be visited until October 30, 2011.

Greek authorities recovered a stolen version of "The Calydonian Boar Hunt" by Paul Rubens

One of the versions of Rubens' "The Calydonian Boar Hunt", dated from 1618 and probably painted by one of his students, was recovered this last Thursday by the Greek police.
Two suspects, a 65 year old man, ex-antiquary, and a fourty something year old woman, were arrested by undercover agents who act as potential buyers and offered a generous amount for the 28cm x 52cm (11in x 20in) painting, valued at €200,000 ($285,000).
According to the Greek authorities, the suspects don't seem to be the original robbers.

"The Calydonian Boar Hunt" was stolen in June 2001 from a museum in Ghent, Belgium, when three masked robbers snatched two works by the Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens. The other painting was "The Flagellation of Christ", painted around 1617 and described as "priceless." Fortunately during their hasty getaway, one of the thieves dropped the painting, which was imediately recovered and didn't suffer any important damage.

The Culture Ministry of Greece and the authorities took the chance to refer that a second raid also conducted Thursday led to the arrest of another six Greeks and the recovery of stolen antiquities: three prehistoric bronze items, a metal seal and a manuscript in Arabic script.

The ministry said it would publicly present the painting and other items at a later date, possibly next week. No further details were immediately available, and Belgian police had no immediate comment.

“The news in the press was received with great enthusiasm by the museum staff and collaborators,” said Marie-Julie Dellaert, spokeswoman of the Fine Arts Museum of Ghent.



Painted by Peter Paul Rubens around 1611-1612, a few years after an extended stay in Italy, "The Calydonian Boar Hunt," an oil on panel measuring 23 1/4 x 35 1/2 in, was acquired by The Getty Museum in 2006.

In Berlin: Renaissance Faces - Masterpieces of Italian Portraiture

Renaissance Art Exhibit Kicks-Off in Berlin... por NTDTV

The Gemäldegalerie—National Museums in Berlin and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, have partnered to organize a major exhibition on the genesis of the Italian portrait of the Renaissance.

The exhibition shows more than 150 works, including drawings, paintings, sculptures and medals loaned by major art museums, galleries and private collections, such as the Louvre, the National Gallery in London, the Uffizi Gallery, Museum der bildenden Künste in Leipzig, Victoria and Albert Museum, Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin.

Set against the backdrop of Italy’s geographical, political and cultural complexities in the 15th century, the exhibition is divided into three thematic sections: Florence, where the independent portraiture debuted on a significant scale; the courts of Ferrara, Mantua, Bologna, Milan, Urbino, Naples and finally papal Rome; and finally Venice, where only late in the century a portrait tradition established itself.
Through the observation of profile portraits from 15th-century Italy, visitors will observe a society dominated by family descent and social hierarchies, where conventions were binding.

Among the celebrated painters from the Renaissance who are represented in this major exhibition, are the names of Antonello da Messina, Bellini, Botticelli, Donatello, Francesco Laurana, Giambono, Lombardi, Mantegna and Masaccio.
But for many, the major highlight is Leonardo da Vinci with his painting ‘Lady with an Ermine’ from the Czartoryski Collection, Cracow.


Leonardo da Vinci - Lady with an Ermine por ikonotv

An extensive programme of events is on offer to accompany the major exhibition,
including a series of five lectures, held from September to November
2011, on the various sitters and the world famous artists who painted them.

The exhibition "Renaissance Faces - Masterpieces of Italian Portraiture" (Gesichter der Renaissance - Meisterwerke Italienischer Portrait-Kunst) can be visited at the Bode Museum in Berlin, from 25 August 2011 to 20 November 2011 (Fri – Wed 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Thur 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.).
After which it will be exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,
from 19 December 2011 to 18 March 2012.

A catalogue (ISBN 978-3-7774-3581-7) with 432 pages, 261 plates in colour and black-and-white, 20.3 × 25.4 cm, hardback, is available at the museum for the special price of €29.90.

Available for download for free at www.smb.museum/gesichter or at the Apple Store/www.apple.com/itunes, is an online application containing around 100 commentaries, over 250 artworks in high resolution images, as well as some 50 videos.

Stolen Rembrandt "The Judgement" Recovered

A 17th century 6x11 inches quill pen and black ink drawing by Rembrandt and sign on its back, was recovered by the authorities in a San Fernando Valley church, about 20 miles from the hotel lobby from which it had been stolen. The church's name wasn't released.
In a statement, officials said that an anonymous tip led officers to "the Judgment," in Encino, Calif.
Nobody is in custody, but the investigations continue.

Included in a Linearis Institute sponsored private exhibit at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Marina del Rey, California, "The Judgement" had been stolen over the weekend between 22:20 and 22:35 local time, while one of the curators was momentarily distracted by someone who seemed interested in buying another piece.
It's not certain if that person was involved but the authorities believe that at least two people participated in the theft.
The drawing was being displayed on an easel or wooden stand and was apparently not secured.



Valued at $250,000, "The Judgement" seems to depict a court scene with a man prostrating himself before a judge.
A Linearis Institute employee attested the authenticity of the recovered drawing.

"Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey" by George Stubbs sold for £22,441,250 at Christie's

During the Old Master and British Paintings Evening Sale, today July 5, at Christie's in London, the painting "Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey" by the British artist George Stubbs, was sold for £22,441,250 (includes buyer's premium), which sets the price near the lower margin of the previous estimate value (£20,000,000 - £30,000,000).

More information about this painting and George Stubbs can be found in this article.

Rembrandt and his Circle. Master drawings from the Frits Lugt Collection

The Dutch cultural centre Institut Néerlandais, Paris, has put together nearly one hundred of the finest drawings by Rembrandt and his circle from the famous Frits Lugt Collection.

"Rembrandt and his circle" exhibition shows twenty drawings by Rembrandt and a selection of the best work from his pupils and contemporaries, including Ferdinand Bol, Govert Flinck, Lambert Doomer and Nicolaes Maes.

The drawings are shown in frames which range from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century from the Netherlands but, France, Italy, Spain and Germany, which have been recently restored especially for this occasion. Oak, walnut, poplar, ebony, pear, tortoise-shell and gold leaves are among the used framing materials.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606 -1669) produced a considerable number of drawings with a great variety of subjects and techniques.
He would lodge his apprentices in his studio, where he taught numerous students.
These students had usually began their studies under the instruction of other artists before they came to Rembrandt, namely Carel Fabritius, Ferdinand Bol, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Samuel van Hoogstraten and Willem Drost.



Managed by the Fondation Custodia, a partner of the Institut Néerlandais in Paris, the private collection of Frederik (Frits) Johannes Lugt (1884-1970) is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s greatest private collections of Rembrandt drawings and etchings, together with a coherent collection of works by artists in Rembrandt’s circle, including pupils and followers.

Lugt's collection includes finished works as well as sketches in black chalk and sanguine, some of them connected to paintings, many of them produced as exercises or for personal pleasure, and others likely to have been used as models for Rembrandt’s pupils. Pen and ink, washes, brown ink, sanguine, black chalk and gouache were some of the mediums used by Rembrandt.



Peter Schatborn, former head of the Rijksprentenkabinet, the national print room
at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and expert on 17th century drawings, in particular by Rembrandt, spent these last ten years studying the Frits Lugt’s collection of drawings by Rembrandt and his circle.
This exaustive research led to new attributions; thus twenty-five of
the drawings changed authors, some of whom had not yet been represented in the collection.

Schatborn's annotations have been recently published in the catalogue raisonné of the Frits Lugt Collection and this exhibition acknowledges his work by presenting and explaining them to the public in an exhibition room focused on this thorough research.
A free of charge lecture by Peter Schatborn will take place Tuesday 13 September 2011 at 7 pm (reservation is required).

The "Rembrandt and his Circle" exhibition (Rembrandt et son Cercle) can be visited until the 2nd of October 2011 at the Institute Néerlandais, 121 rue de Lille, Paris.

"Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey" by George Stubbs to be auctioned at Christie’s

During the the Old Master and British Paintings Evening Sale on 5 July 2011 at Christie's in London, one of the most important works of the British painter George Stubbs (1724-1806) is expected to realise in excess of £20 million.

Commissioned by the horse’s owner, Frederick St. John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, and executed during the year of 1765, "Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey (40in. x 76¼in. (101.6 x 193.6 cm.) shows Gimcrack in the foreground with his trainer and jockey, a stable-lad rubbing him down, and in the background winning a ‘trial’ by some distance.

George Stubbs spent his early artistic career working as a portrait painter, first in his native Liverpool, and subsequently in York. He visited Rome in 1754 and later on spent 18 months in a farmhouse in Lincolnshire dissecting and drawing horses in preparation for the publication of his famous book The Anatomy of the Horse.

His accurate depictions of animals and exceptional talent earned the artist the patronage of many important aristocrats, particularly those involved in horseracing, the ‘sport of Kings’.
Often celebrated as the most remarkable artist-scientist since Leonardo, Stubbs portrayed the horse with anatomical perfection, showing his veins pulsing through his skin.

Gimcrack was one of the most popular and admired of all 18th century racehorses. Although he was small, he had great stamina and won an impressive 28 of his 36 races, finishing unplaced only once.

Sold by the Bolingbroke family in 1943, it was bought by Walter Hutchinson, founder of the National Gallery of British Sports and Pastimes, before being sold again at Christie’s in 1951 when it made £12,600 and entered the Woolavington Collection.

This is the third time that "Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey" appears at Christie's.
The painting is offered from the Woolavington Collection, one of the finest private collections of Sporting Art, and will be auctioned at the Old Master and British Paintings Evening Sale on 5 July 2011 in London.

“Caravaggio, il corpo ritrovato” - Symposium in Avezzano, Italy

One of the most celebrated painters of all times, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is not only admired because of his masterpieces, but also for the obscurity sorrounding his life that has awaken the curiosity of art historians through time.

Caravaggio was quite probably one of the most controversial characters of his time.
His successful romantic life, quarrels, the problems with justice (on May 1606 Caravaggio was accused of murder and fled from Rome to Naples, Sicily and Malta to escape the price that had been placed on his head), conclude in misterious circumstances in one day of July 1610 in Porto Ercole, but his body was not found and his death remains involved in mistery.

Produced by Doclab (authorship of Patrizia Marani and directed by Marco Visalberghi) for the National Geographic Channel HD, the documentary "Caravaggio, il corpo ritrovato" follows step by step the unveiling of an important scientific discovered wit the collaboration of Giorgio Gruppioni, antropology teacher at the Università di Bologna; Elisabetta Cilli, geneticist at the Università di Bologna; Antonio Moretti geology teacher at the Università dell’Aquila; Maurizio Calvesi, the most acredited Caravaggio's Italian biographer and art history teacher at the Università La Sapienza di Roma.

After several scientific exams, DNA comparisons and historiacal researches, the team os scholars believes that the bones kept in an ossuary in a church crypt in Porto Ercole, after reportedly being exhumed in 1956, are of a man who died in about 1610, aged between 38 and 40.

During the symposium organized by L’Associazione Culturale Etereoarte, the Liceo Scientifico “V. Pollione”, the Liceo Classico “Torlonia”, and Liceo Artistico “Bellisario", a team of researchers will illustrate the methodology and the contribution of modern scientific tecniques to help to come to a conclusion about this enigma.

The team will be constituted by: Antonio Moretti; Marco Visalberghi; Gianluca Ferrini (geology teacher Università dell’Aquila); Domenico Mancinelli (Facoltà di Scienze Università dell’Aquila); Emidio Di Carlo (art historian in Aquila).

The “ Caravaggio, il corpo ritrovato “ will take place on the 27th of May (9h30) in the mutimedia hall of the Cinema Astra in Avezzano, Italy.

In 2009 The Art Inquirer started to present to its readers a series of videos about famous artists. Watch the first episode about the life and art of Caravaggio.

"The Art of the Enlightenment" (启蒙的艺术) at the National Museum of China

Under the the joint auspices of Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China, and Christian Wulff, German Federal President, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen Munich jointly present "The Art of the Enlightenment" exhibition in partnerhisp with the National Museum of China, one of the largest museum buildings in the world.

This major exhibition follows the completion in spring 2011 of renovation work by Hamburg-based architects Gerkan, Marg und Partner and marks the high point of the German-Chinese programme of cultural events, bilaterally agreed upon in 2005.

Held at the National Museum of China in Beijing/Peking, 北京 "The Art of the Enlightment" (启蒙的艺术) is divided in nine separate chapters 'Court Life in the Age of the Enlightenment', 'Perspectives of Knowledge', 'The Birth of History', 'Far and Near', 'Love and Sensibility', 'Back to Nature', 'Shadows', 'Emancipation and the Public Sphere' and 'The Revolution of Art' exemplifying the great ideas of the Enlightenment, its influence on the fine arts and its effective history, from the artistic revolutions of the 18th century right up to the present day.

Occupying over 2700 m² and with 579 loans including the art of famous artists such as Angelika Kauffmann, Caspar David Friedrich, Francisco Goya, Jean-Antoine Watteau, Marie-Gabrielle Capet, Theobald Reinhold von Oër, Thomas Gainsborough, Julius Caesar Ibbetson and Piranesi, the exhibition shows the full spectrum of the art in the Europe of Enlightenment, encompassing painting, drawings, sculpture, prints, crafts, fashion and even exquisite scientific instruments.

Also for the entire duration of the exhibition, the Stiftung Mercator will stage the Enlightenment in Dialogue series comprising a number of dialogue blocks at intervals of around two months, addressing various facets of a contemporary examination of the subject of enlightenment.

BMW is also a partner of the exhibition and will support a cultural programme that will include an exchange programme for young curators from China and Germany, which is designed to approximate both cultures, a youth congress and a series of concerts entitled “The Music of Enlightenment".

The exhibition can be visited from April 2nd 2011 to March 31st 2012.

The National Museum of China is located at Tiananmen Square, 16, East Chang’an Street, Dongcheng district Beijing.

The Institut Néerlandais presents Netherlandish Masters 1500-1700: the hundred most beautiful drawings of the Hamburger Kunsthalle

The Hamburger Kunsthalle conserves one of the most important and beautiful collections of Dutch and Flemish drawings from the 16th and 17th centuries. At the occasion of the publication of a fully descriptive catalogue of these drawings comprising circa 1337 plates , which took Annemarie Stefes near ten years to complete, the Fondation Custodia was invited to select one hundred of the most beautiful works, which is being exhibited at the Institut Néerlandais in Paris.

The exhibition is divided in halls.

The first hall is dedicated to the 16th century, showcasing the works of masters such as Gerard David, one of the last Flemish Primitives, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525/30 – 1569), Maerten van Heemskerck (1498 – 1574) , as well as by others turning the century like the lanscape painters Roelant Savery (1576/78 – 1639) et David Vinckboons (1576 – 1629).

The second one, dedicated to the 17th century and containing the higher number of works, features three drawings by Rembrandt (1606 – 1669), and works by Nicolaes Moeyaert (1592/1593 – 1655), Adriaen van Ostade (1610 – 1685) and Hendrik Avercamp (1585 – 1636). This hall also includes a section dedicated to landscapes, exhibiting drawings by renowned Dutch landscape painters Barent Fabritius (1624 – 1673), Ferdinand Bol (1616 – 1680), Govert Flinck (1615 – 1660), the last two distinguished Rembrandt's pupils, and another section containing Dutch scenes represented by Janvan Goyen (1596 – 1656), Anthonie Waterloo (1609 – 1690), Allart van Everdingen (1621 – 1675) and Aert van der Neer (1603/1604 – 1677).

In the third hall, dedicated to the 17th Flemish century, visitors can explore some major works of important Flemish masters such as d’Antony van Dyck (1599 – 1641), Jacob Jordaens (1593 – 1678), Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568 – 1625) and Adrian Brouwer (1605/06 – 1638).

The fourth hall exhibits figure studies by Dutch artists such as Rembrandt's master Pieter Lastman (1583 – 1633) and works by followers of Italian compositions like Nicolaes Berchem (1621/22 – 1683). Also represented in this all are Paul Bril (1554 – 1626), Jan-Baptist Weenix (1621 – 1659/1661) and Jan Asselijn (1610 – 1652).

When visiting the fifth hall, one can explore three sections: portraits, villages and marine views. The Dutch portraiyed through drawings of Jan Lievens (1607 –1674) and Leendert van der Cooghen (1632 - 1681). Village views are represented in the works of Jan van der Heyden (1637 – 1712), Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/29 – 1682) and Pieter Saenredam (1597 – 1665), regarded as the best artist of the century of this representative subject of the Dutch art. To represent a theme where Dutch artists have excelled, the marinescapes, Ludolf Bakhuyzen (1630 – 1708) and Willem van de Velde le Jeune (1633 – 1707) are the selected artists. The exhibition will be accompanied by a free leaflet (in French), which describes the drawings on display. Possibility to buy the catalogue written by Annemarie Stefes (3 volumes, in German). In collaboration with the Hamburger Kunsthalle.

"Netherlandish Masters 1500-1700: the hundred most beautiful drawings of the Hamburger Kunsthalle" (Maîtres des Pays-Bas 1500-1700: Les cent plus belles feuilles de la Kunsthalle de Hambourg) can be visited from March 24 through May 22, 2011 at the l’Institut Néerlandais, 121 rue de Lille, 75007 Paris.