| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net | | Established in 1996 | Friday, March 6, 2020 |
| | | Blockbuster Rome show marks 500 years since Raphael's death | |
|
|
A visitor looks at the painting "Portrait of Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de Medicis and Luigi de Rossi" by Renaissance master Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, on March 4, 2020, displayed at the exhibition "Raffaello" at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome. The exhibition, marking 500 years since the death of the Italian master, runs from March 5 to June 2, 2020. Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP.
by Kelly Velasquez
ROME (AFP).- Italy is marking 500 years since the death of Renaissance master Raphael with a blockbuster exhibition whose preparations were marred by a row over a treasured portrait some feared was too fragile to move. The show at Rome's imposing Scuderie del Quirinale presidential palace includes 200 works by the prolific painter, designer and architect, a child prodigy who died aged only 37 in 1520. Experts are deeply divided over a portrait of Pope Leo X with two cardinals belonging to the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, the Renaissance capital which lent a quarter of the works going on display in Rome from Thursday through June 2. Painted in burgundy reds and blood orange between 1518 and 1519, the stunning work caused a sensation at the time for its revolutionary group portraiture concept. The Uffizi's scientific committee decided that the 154 by 119 centimetre (61 by 47 inch) painting was too fragile to make the trip to Rome. All four members of the committee r ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day A tourist takes picture inside the step pyramid of Djoser in Egypt's Saqqara necropolis, south of the capital Cairo, on March 5, 2020. Egyptian authorities inaugurated the famed step pyramid of Djoser,one of the earliest built in the country's ancient history, after years of renovation. The 4,700-year-old structure is nestled south of Cairo in the ancient capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage site, home to some of Egypt's most fascinating monuments. Renovation works started in 2006 but was interrupted in 2011 and 2012 for "security reasons" due to turmoil caused by a popular uprising that toppled late president Hosni Mubarak. Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP
|
|
|
|
|
| | Egypt reopens ancient step pyramid after renovations | | New dates announced for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2020 | | British Museum acquires internationally significant 3,000-year-old gold pendant, found in Shropshire |
Tourists tour inside the step pyramid of Djoser in Egypt's Saqqara necropolis, south of the capital Cairo, on March 5, 2020. Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP.
CAIRO (AFP).- Egyptian authorities reopened the 4,700-year-old step pyramid of Djoser to the public on Thursday, after years of renovation. The roughly 60-metre-high (almost 200 feet) pyramid dominates the vast Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo, and is part of the ancient capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage site. "We completed the restoration ... of the first and oldest pyramid in Egypt, that of King Djoser, the founder of the Old Kingdom," Antiquities and Tourism Minister Khaled el-Enany said on Thursday at the site. It is "the first building in the world made entirely of stone", Enany added. The Old Kingdom is known as the age of pyramid builders. Dating to 2,680 BC, the Djoser pyramid was built under the direction of architect Imhotep. A 1992 earthquake caused considerable damage to the monument's interior. Renovations started in 2006 but were interrupted in 201 ... More | |
Lina Ghotmeh Architecture, Stone Garden North Façade, Stone Garden under construction a year ago, 2020. © Takuji Shimmura.
VENICE.- The Venice Archiecture Biennale 2020, curated by Hashim Sarkis, will be held in Venice (Giardini and Arsenale) from Saturday, August 29 (preview Thursday 27 and Friday 28) through Sunday, November 29, instead of from May 23 through November 29, as previously announced. The new dates for the Venice Architecture Biennale have been established as a consequence of the recent precautionary measures in the matter of mobility taken by the governments of a growing number of countries around the world, which will have a domino effect on the movement of people and works in coming weeks. This period of time coincides with the delicate initial phase of setting up an international exhibition as complex as the Venice Architecture Biennale, which involves architects and institutions from over 60 countries on all continents. This situation poses a risk to the realization ... More | |
A masterpiece of European Bronze Age gold work, it is evidence of the importance of the sun in peoples beliefs and cosmology during this period.
LONDON.- In May 2018, a metal detectorist in Shropshire made the find of a lifetime: cushioned by peaty soil for 3,000 years was an astonishingly well-preserved gold pendant decorated on all its shimmering surfaces with semi-circles and geometric motifs. One side shows a stylized sun a rare and hugely significant addition to the art and iconography of Bronze Age Britain. Solar symbolism is a key element of Bronze Age cosmology and mythology across Europe, but before the discovery of this pendant was very rarely seen on objects found in Britain. The pendant was immediately reported to the local Finds Liaison Officer for Shropshire & Herefordshire, who notified the Coroner and brought it to the British Museum under the Treasure process. The Coroner found the bulla to be Treasure and the independent Treasure Valuation Committee recommended a value ... More |
|
|
|
| |
| | Property from the estates of Georgia O'Keeffe & Alfred Stieglitz drive Sotheby's $17.2 million auction in New York | | The Art Market 2020 reveals resilience in dealer and private sales despite a year of challenges | | Making a mark: Qatar warns desert monolith vandals |
Georgia O'Keeffe, Untitled (Apple and White Dish). Courtesy Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, NY.- Public institutions and private collectors zealously vied for works from the estates of Georgia OKeeffe and Alfred Stieglitz in todays auction Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia OKeeffe, Juan Hamilton: Passage at Sothebys New York, driving the sale to achieve $17.2 million total well in excess of the auctions $13.3 million high estimate, and with a strong 87.4% of all lots finding buyers. Featuring never-before-seen artworks and personal effects emerging from the collection of artist Juan Hamilton, friend and confidante of OKeeffe, the selection of works on offer traced the artistic evolutions and shared histories of the three American artists. Kayla Carlsen, Sothebys Head of American Art, said: We are very pleased with the results of todays auction, which drew many new clients to participate in our salesroom. These results demonstrate that collectors and fans remain ... More | |
This year's report also delves deeper into the collecting behavior of High Net Worth Collectors.
BASEL.- The fourth edition of The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report is now available. Written by renowned cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew, Founder of Arts Economics, The Art Market 2020, published by Art Basel and UBS, presents the results of a comprehensive and macro-level analysis of the global art market in 2019. Addressing the various sectors and dynamics of the global art market, this year's report also delves deeper into the collecting behavior of High Net Worth Collectors. The full report is free to download on the Art Basel and UBS websites. Key findings of The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report include: Global Sales: Global sales of art and antiques reached an estimated $64.1 billion in 2019. After two years of growth, declines in the three largest art markets contributed to a fall in sales of 5% year-on-year, returning the market to ... More | |
US artist Richard Serra stands on April 08, 2014 in front of his new permanent art installation consisting of four steel plates that are about 15 metres (49 feet) tall. AFP PHOTO/VICTORIA BAUX.
DOHA (AFP).- Towering over the Qatari desert, American sculpture artist Richard Serra's four steel monoliths called "East-West/West-East" look virtually unassailable. But the 15-metre-high (50-foot) rust-coloured works have been blighted in recent months by visitors intent on leaving their mark and carving names and slogans into the work, authorities said Thursday. "Vandalism of any kind to our public art, not only affects the community's enjoyment of the piece but also harms Qatar's cultural heritage," said Abdullatif al-Jasmi, cultural heritage protection director at Qatar Museums, which is responsible for the work. The installation is located in the Brouq desert reserve in the Gulf country's far northwest, a secluded area only accessible by 4X4s and renowned for sweeping landscapes, ... More |
|
|
|
| |
| | Exhibition of recent paintings by Mamma Andersson opens at David Zwirner | | Koller to offer Old Masters and 19th century paintings held for decades in private collections | | Holbein's Henry VIII and The Ambassadors go on rare public display together |
Mamma Andersson, WoodCut, 2019 © Mamma Andersson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Bildupphovsrätt, Sweden. Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner.
NEW YORK, NY.- David Zwirner is presenting an exhibition of recent paintings by Mamma Andersson, on view at 533 West 19th Street in New York. This is the artists fourth solo show with the gallery. Characterized by a unique combination of textured brushstrokes, loose washes, stark graphic lines, and evocative colors, Mamma Anderssons works embody a new genre of landscape painting that recalls late nineteenth-century romanticism while also embracing a contemporary interest in layered, psychological compositions. Her often-panoramic scenes draw inspiration from a wide range of archival photographic source materials, filmic imagery, theater sets, and period interiors, as well as the sparse topography of northern Sweden, where she grew up: mountainous backdrops, trees, snow, and wooden cabins are recurrent elements within her works. Yet, rather ... More | |
Bicci di Lorenzo, The mystical marriage of St Catherine. Circa 144550. Tempera on gold ground panel. 165 Ã 98 cm. Estimate: CHF 250 000/350 000.
ZURICH.- A monumental, museum-quality tempera and gold ground on panel painting by Florentine artist Bicci di Lorenzo has come to auction at Koller after decades in a private collection (lot 3007, CHF 250 000/350 000). Created circa 1445/50, this is a mature work by Bicci, who received numerous important commissions in his day and worked alongside such masters as Domenico Veneziano and Piero della Francesca. In this masterwork, Bicci artfully blends the International Gothic style with his Florentine roots, utilising his unique and powerful technique to its fullest. Recently discovered in a Swiss private collection, an early still life by Milan artist Fede di Galizia is an extreme rarity on the art market (lot 3018, CHF 150 000/200 000). The daughter of miniature artist Nunzio Galizia, Fede managed not only to establish her place in a male-dominated profession, but to significantly contribute to the development of the still life genre i ... More | |
(from left): Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery and Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of The National Gallery between Holbeins Henry VIII and Henry VI and The Ambassadors. Photo: © The National Gallery, London.
LONDON.- The National Portrait Gallerys famous Henry VIII cartoon by Hans Holbein the Younger (1536-1537), is now on display for the first time in over twenty years next to the painting that partly inspired it, Holbeins The Ambassadors, at the National Gallery. One of the National Portrait Gallerys most treasured works, this fragment of a preparatory drawing for a now lost painting, has very rarely been loaned since it was acquired by the gallery in 1957. The portrait is the first in a series of works to be displayed at the National Gallery as part of the National Portrait Gallerys major programme of activities, supported by Art Fund, which will see hundreds of works from the gallerys collection shared across the UK when work begins on Inspiring People, the gallerys biggest ever redevelopment, in July 2020. The loaned portrait gives ... More |
|
|
|
| |
| | Méïr Srebriansky's first solo exhibition in New York opens at 81 Leonard Gallery | | Sotheby's to auction three works to benefit Coronavirus efforts across Greater China | | Henry Cobb, courtly architect of Hancock Tower, dies at 93 |
Taher Jaoui, Dont Pretend Nothing is Wrong, 2019 (detail). Mixed media on canvas. 43 x 61 in. Courtesy of the Artist.
NEW YORK, NY.- 81 Leonard Gallery is presenting artist Méïr Srebrianskys first solo exhibition in New York. The exhibition opened to the public on Thursday, March 5th and remains on view through April 30th, 2020. Age of Resin presents Srebrianskys resin works, amassed since his return to painting. After a cataclysmic fire razed Srebrianskys studio and destroyed his body of work, the artist took a sabbatical from painting. Upon returning to his practice, Srebriansky experienced a strident shift in subjectivity and medium; the artist evolved his paintings beyond pigment and canvas to incorporate resin as a medium. The works on view in this exhibition represent epochs of this painterly investigation, notably a new series of tulip and tondo-style paintings, resin and mixed media paintings, and select works on paper. Upon entering the gallery, the viewer encounters a vibrant spray of tulips rendered in resin and affixed to t ... More | |
Sophie Chang, Source of Hope 2019, oil on canvas, 116.5 x 91cm Est. US$50,000 - 100,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.
HONG KONG.- As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to generate headlines around the world, Sothebys announced the sale of three artworks which will benefit efforts tackling the outbreak across Greater China, one of the most affected regions. The Modern Asian works Chu Teh-Chuns calligraphy La Lune, Pang Jiuns Monets Garden and Sophie Changs Source of Hope will be auctioned at Sothebys Hong Kong Modern Art Evening Sale, relocated to New York on 16 April 2020. A portion of the sale proceeds of the three works will be donated to support three separate organisations in Greater China endeavouring to combat the outbreak of the virus. La Lune and Source of Hope will be offered without reserve. Sothebys would like to thank Ms Tung Ching-Chao, wife of Chu Teh-Chun, and Espace Nelombos for donating La Lune, and the respective consignors of Monets Garden and Source of Hope for their generosit ... More | |
The John Hancock Tower in Boston. Evan McGlinn/The New York Times.
by Fred A. Bernstein
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Henry N. Cobb, who in 70 years as an architect more than half of them in partnership with I.M. Pei designed some of the countrys most prominent buildings, including Bostons blue-glass John Hancock Tower, the tallest building in New England, died Monday at his home in Manhattan. He was 93. His death was confirmed by Ian Bader, a partner at their architecture firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. A Boston native who could trace his Massachusetts lineage to 1626, Cobb moved to New York in 1950 to begin his career, concluding that his hometown offered little promise. I had formed an opinion, not wrong at that time, that Boston was moribund, he said in an interview for this obituary in 2010. It was, in my view, self-satisfied, deeply resistant to change. And yet over the next seven decades he played a crucial role in ... More |
|
Artist Talk: One Work with Haegue Yang | MoMA LIVE
|
|
| |
| | More News |
Ann Grifalconi, whose children's books bridged cultures, dies at 90
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Ann Grifalconi, who drew on different cultures to write and illustrate dozens of well-regarded childrens books, notably the award-winning The Village of Round and Square Houses, set in Central Africa, died on Feb. 19 in Manhattan. She was 90. Her niece, Mia Grifalconi, said the cause was complications of advanced dementia. Grifalconi, who was white, often based her books on the traditions and experiences of people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, especially Africans and African Americans. She said a trip to a remote hamlet in Cameroon had inspired her to write and illustrate The Village of Round and Square Houses (1986), which recounts a local folk tale describing how women there came to live in round houses and men in square ones after a volcanic eruption. It was not until I was almost ... More
World Monuments Fund names Jonathan S. Bell as Vice President of Programs
NEW YORK, NY.- World Monuments Fund today announced Jonathan S. Bell as its new Vice President of Programs. Dr. Bell will be the first individual to hold this newly created position. Since 1965, WMF has partnered with local stakeholders to safeguard more than 600 sites worldwide, including Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap, Cambodia; the Forbidden Citys Qianlong Garden in Beijing, China; and Civil Rights sites across Alabama in the United States. Dr. Bell, who comes to the organization from the National Geographic Society, has spent over twenty years collaborating with national and local governments to develop conservation and management strategies for cultural heritage sites and infrastructure around the world. Over his career, he has worked with the Getty Conservation Institute on World Heritage Sites in China and Egypt, evaluated ... More
Edward Steichen's White Lotus brings record for the image
NEW YORK, NY.- It was a Whos Who among American photographers in Classic & Contemporary Photographs at Swann Galleries on Tuesday, February 25. The auction brought $1M and saw competitive bidding in the room and on the Swann Galleries App. Edward Steichen led the sale with the dye transfer print White Lotus, 1939, printed 1940. The scarce color work brought a record for the image at $81,250. Also by Steichen was a 1922 silver contact printa portrait of the artist Constantine Brancusi, which sold for $17,500. Margaret Bourke-Whites 1933 warm-toned silver print The George Washington Bridge, came across the block from the collection of Robert Edward Kiehl, by descent, and earned $81,250. The Weston family provided a strong showing with Edward Westons 1930 silver print Eroded Rock earning $12,500 and Brett Westons ... More
Swann Auction Galleries to sell dramatic diary of tragic US bomber navigator
NEW YORK, NY.- On March 10 Swann Auction Galleries will offer the dramatic diary of a navigator on an American bomber who died with his entire crew on a raid to Germany in World War II. Second Lieutenant Richard E Thomas was just 22 when his Liberator Heavy Bomber was shot down over Lermoos in Austria on 3 August 1944. Part of the 465th Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the 15th USAAF based at Pantanella in Southern Italy that had been activated two days earlier, it was the only one of the eight aircraft in the group that day where not one crew member got out alive. They had been on a mission to bomb steel plants at Friedrichshafen in southern Germany. Thomas, who flew 39 missions in Italy, had started to keep the diary towards the end of his training in 1943 and, as well as detailing his activities, it charted his mental state as ... More
Unique Harry Potter first edition to cast spell on Bonhams Books Sale
LONDON.- A rare first edition of one of the most popular books ever written, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone signed by author J. K. Rowling to Bryony... the first person ever to see merit in Harry Potter is to feature in Bonhams Fine Books, Atlases, Manuscripts & Photographs sale on 11 March in Knightsbridge, London. It has an estimate of £70,000-90,000. Bryony Evens was the office manager for the literary agent Christopher Little, when in 1996, she picked up a three-chapter submission from the slush pile and started reading. Instantly hooked, Bryony asked Little to request that the author send the rest of the book. They soon received the full manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by the then unknown J.K. Rowling, and the rest is history. Having been rejected by twelve publishers, the book was sold to Bloomsbury for ... More
Kunstmuseum Den Haag acquires rare flower pyramids
THE HAGUE.- This was the chance of a lifetime, says director Benno Tempel of the museums acquisition of two seventeenth-century Delftware flower pyramids. Very few flower pyramids have survived intact over the centuries, and virtually none as a pair. These are probably the last pair on the open art market. The two large pyramid-shaped flower holders were made in Delft around 1690. Their blue-and-white decoration depicts birds, rocks and flowers in a Chinese style. There are only three other sets of flower pyramids of this extraordinary iconic style in the world and just one single vase. Experts had no idea there was a fifth set. Kunstmuseum Den Haag, which has one of the most important museum collections of Delftware in the world, had no flower pyramids, despite the fact that they are the symbol of Delft blue. This purchase ... More
Landscape gardener finds unique Medieval Welsh seal working on his in-laws garden
LONDON.- Dix Noonan Webb, the international coins, medals, banknotes and jewellery specialists, will be offering a perfectly preserved 15th century Bronze Seal Matrix, the earliest known surviving example from Brecon, in their sale of Jewellery, Watches, Antiquities and Objects of Vertu to be held on Tuesday, March 17 2020 at 1pm at their auction rooms in central Mayfair - 16 Bolton St, London, W1J 8BQ. It is estimated to fetch £2,000-3,000. 53 year-old Malcolm Shepherd was landscaping his wifes parents garden in North Wales last Summer when he found the perfectly preserved 15th century Bronze Seal Matrix in the cleared soil while using a Minelab Equinox metal detector. The property was in Old Colwyn, which is by the sea and lies adjacent to an old Roman road. The Seal is of a pointed oval shape measuring 48mm high and has an image in the ... More
Nationalmuseum acquires a daguerreotype by Johan Wilhelm Bergström
STOCKHOLM.- Nationalmuseum has acquired a central work in early Swedish photography, Johan Wilhelm Bergström's portrait of his wife Henriette Charlotta Catharina. The daguerreotype was probably created sometime in the mid-1840s, an era when Bergström was one of the very few portrait photographers working in Stockholm. The incredible sharpness and delicate composition of the image make this one of the daguerrotypists finest works. In his day, Johan Wilhelm Bergström (18121881) was very much a self-made man in Stockholms mechanics industry. His father was a carpenter who worked in the foundry and mechanical workshop of the prominent inventor Samuel Owens. At the age of twelve, Bergström became apprenticed to a glassblower. After completing a master's test and coming of age, he opened his own workshop. It was one of the first ... More
1959 sports boat sells for £18,400 at H&H Classics Auction Online
LONDON.- This 1959 Healey Model 75 Sports Boat was found in a garage. With just 136 hours on its engine from new, it had only seen freshwater usage and was very original. It was in full working order and featured an inboard Healey Sprite engine with twin SU carburettors and a Borg Warner gearbox. Estimated to sell for £13,000 to £15,000 it made £18,400 at yesterdays H&H Classics Auction Online, March 4th. This charming 1950s speedboat, 14ft 9in length with a beam of 5ft 6in and a 2ft draft features a water ski pylon. It came with an original Healey braked trailer. Donald Healey fell in love with waterskiing after vacationing in the Bahamas in 1955 with racing driver Stirling Moss, who was also an enthusiast. Moss was one of his first customers and also helped him with the marketing of the boats, whose attractive lines and affordable prices made them ... More
San Antonio Museum of Art acquires new works of Latin American Contemporary art
SAN ANTONIO, TX.- The San Antonio Museum of Art announced today that it has acquired a number of works by contemporary Latin American artistsand that it has also received a gift of five works of contemporary art from the Alex Katz Foundation. Works by Jose Dávila, Sonia Gomes, Pedro Reyes, and Analia Sabannow on viewadd to the Museums existing strength in contemporary Latin American art. The other five works given by the Alex Katz Foundationpieces by Sinéad Breslin, Gaby Collins-Fernandez, Leah Durner, Keltie Ferris, and Rob Pruittsupport SAMAs targeted growth of its contemporary art holdings and are the second grouping of works given to the Museum by the Foundation in the last two years. It is exciting to be able to share news about such a diverse group of contemporary art acquisitions all at once, as ... More
|
|
PhotoGalleries
Historic Thomas Center
Sprüth Magers
Asian Art Museum
Grayson Perry
Flashback On a day like today, Italian painter and sculptor Michelangelo was born March 06, 1475. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni or more commonly known by his first name Michelangelo (6 March 1475 - 18 February 1564) was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance born in the Republic of Florence, who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. In this image: A portrait painting (ca. 1544) of Michelangelo by Daniele da Volterra hangs on the wall at the Michelangelo exhibit titled 'Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, November 13, 2017 in New York City.
|
|
| |
|
