News

12.04.2019

Lawmakers hope that this measure will help in the fight against smuggling and block the way of financing terrorist organizations.

The European Union has adopted new rules for the importation of cultural heritage objects, designed to curb the illegal trade in them and involving, among other things, obtaining a license to import artifacts older than 250 years.

EU representatives say that these measures will “provide effective protection against illegal trade in cultural property and prevent its loss and destruction,” and will help prevent “the financing of terrorist organizations and money laundering by selling to the European Union buyers cultural property obtained by illegal means.”

The new rules apply only to items imported from non-EU countries. To obtain an import license, you must provide documents proving that the objects were exported from the country of origin by legal means. Information on imported cultural property will be stored in a centralized electronic database to which the authorities of all countries – participants of the European Union will have access. German Culture Minister Monika Grütters said that the new rules will come into force in the autumn of 2020.

However, the chairman of the International Association of Ancient Art Dealers, Vincent Gerling, believes that “the new rules contain a number of extremely controversial moments that will greatly affect the art market and collectors, if introduced.”

Until now, the countries of the European Union did not have general legislation regulating the importation of cultural heritage. The existing European laws in the field of trade in cultural property relate only to the export and return of objects illegally exported from the territory of the EU.

10.04.2019

The still life of the San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts (FAMSF), which many experts considered fake, was attributed to the experts of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and dated in the autumn of 1886.

The inscription on the back of the “Still Life with Fruit and Chestnuts” (oil on canvas) reads: “Nature mort, paint par Vincent van Gogh” (“Still Life written by Vincent van Gogh”). The picture was donated to the museum in 1960 by Californian collectors Bruno and Sadie Adriani. However, due to doubts about its authenticity, caused by colors that were unusual for that time, it mostly collected dust in the storeroom and was not included in the authoritative catalog of Van Gogh’s reason.

Now the experts of the Van Gogh Museum have confirmed that the canvas and colors correspond to those used by the artist. Infrared reflectography also helped to reveal that there is another image under the still life (presumably a female figure) – a common practice for an eternally impoverished painter, forced to save even on brushes and paints. Stylistically, the picture fits into a series of still lifes created by van Gogh in Paris from October to December 1886. Studies of the Amsterdam Museum traced the provenance of work to the inventory of 1890, made shortly after the artist’s death, and confirmed the sale of the canvas in 1899 to an art dealer in Paris, Ambroise Vollard.

In the exposition of the Legion of Honor, one of the two FAMSF museums, the picture was previously exhibited only with a note about the possible authorship of van Gogh. She also participated in an exhibition at the Wallraf – Richartz Museum in Cologne in 2012, organized by Barbara Schaefer – she was convinced that this is the real Van Gogh.

Shtedelevsky Art Institute in Frankfurt is going to ask for a canvas for an exhibition of works by van Gogh acquired by German collectors of the twentieth century (Sadie Adriani was among them). The exposition “The Creation of Van Gogh. A love story for an artist in Germany ”will open in October.

08.04.2019

A picture that was falsified by Frans Hals. Photo: © Sotheby’s

London’s art dealer Mark Weiss will be forced to pay Sotheby’s $ 4.2 million to settle the dispute over the fake picture of Frans Hals.

The painting went through the hands of a French dealer, Giuliano Ruffini, involved in the sale of counterfeit works of old masters. Weiss and Sotheby’s succeeded in reaching a pre-trial agreement on the amount of compensation: Weiss will pay Sotheby’s $ 4.2 million “without any acknowledgment of responsibility,” other settlement conditions remain confidential.

Recall that in 2011, Sotheby’s acted as an intermediary in the private sale of the “Man’s Portrait” painting, which Mark Weiss previously bought from Julian Ruffini in conjunction with the Fairlight Arts Venture in London. In 2016, the picture was found to be false, and Sotheby’s returned to buyer Richard Hedren $ 11.2 million. Since then, Sotheby’s has been trying to charge that money from Weiss and Fairlight Arts Venture. Sotheby’s claim to Fairlight Arts Venture is under investigation. Weiss also has legal claims to Fairlight Arts Venture but refused to comment on them in a statement to the press.

02.04.2019

A little more than a year has passed since Leonardo da Vinci’s World Savior was sold at Christie’s auction in New York for a record $ 450 million, and the work was again in the spotlight.

 Leonardo da Vinci. “Savior of the World”

Tabloids and even respected publications came out with sensational headlines, from which it followed that the “Savior of the World” Leonardo da Vinci “disappeared”, “disappeared” or even “in the Louvre do not know where the picture is.” The reason for the mass hysteria around the work was the publication in The New York Times of March 30, dedicated to the fate of the painting after the auction. No new and especially sensational facts are given there, but the text is replete with speculation and rumors. However, one phrase that the staff of the Louvre Museum – Abu Dhabi privately admit that they do not know anything about the whereabouts of the Savior of the World, was enough to raise the hype in the press. Recall that in December 2017, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi announced that it had acquired Leonardo’s work for the Louvre-Abu Dhabi Museum and will soon be replenished with her exposure, however, the picture scheduled for autumn 2018 was canceled last September without explanation and no further comments from the UAE officials. However, the owner (whether the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi or someone else) has the right to dispose of the work of art at its discretion and decide on where to store the picture and expose it, without reporting to the world community and the museum staff in Abu – Dabi. It would seem, who cares, whether the work is with the owner (immediately after the purchase there were suggestions that someone from the ruling dynasty of Saudites acquired it, and the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi was only a screen), in a cell of one of the freeport or in the restoration workshop and for what reason – for reasons of safety or security? However, as a result of Christie’s marketing campaign before the auction, the painting was dubbed “the religious version of Mona Lisa”, advertised as “the last Leonardo in private property”, and after a record sale, they added “the most expensive painting in the world” to the titles, so interest in its fate too can be understood. Apparently, it remains to wait for the fall, when the Leonardo exhibition opens in Paris – perhaps the Savior of the World can be seen in the Louvre starting in October, and where the picture will be up to this point is not so important.

Recall the main points of the article in The New York Times.

1. The author of the article, David Kirkpatrick, still calls the owner of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, and notes that it remains a mystery how Abu Dhabi could get the picture, whether it was a gift from the Saudis, a private sale or a painting on temporary exhibiting. An anonymous buyer at an auction in New York was Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, one of the members of the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Despite all the measures taken by Christie’s to keep the buyer’s name secret, contracts and correspondence were at the disposal of The New York Times, proving that Bader had acquired the job. Later it was reported that Prince Bader acted in the interests of the Crown Prince Mohammed. A few months after the auction, the royal court-appointed Prince Bader as the first Minister of Culture of Saudi Arabia. In turn, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed is a close ally of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed.

2. The Louvre would like to get a picture of the exhibition of works by Leonardo da Vinci, timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the death of the artist, which opens in Paris in the autumn of 2019. However, according to an official from the French government who was familiar with negotiations with the museum in Abu Dhabi and who wished to preserve anonymity, the Louvre of Paris could not find the “Savior of the World.”

However, The Art Newspaper quotes the Louvre press secretary in an article dated February 18, 2019: “I confirm that the museum requested the Savior of the World picture from the owner for the Leonardo exhibition, which opens in October, and the museum really wants to exhibit this work, however, they have not yet received a response from the owner. ”

3. The article discusses the reasons why the Savior of the World display in the Louvre – Abu Dhabi museum could be canceled. For example, the desire of Prince Mohammed bin Salman to keep the picture for himself. Or his unwillingness to expose the work for fear that the discussion about the authenticity of the work will be resumed.

4. In addition, David Kirkpatrick for The New York Times turned to Dianne Modestini, who restored the work before Christie’s, and Oxford professor and creative artist Leonardo Martin Kemp with a question about what they know about the location of the painting. Both replied that they knew nothing. As if by the way it is mentioned that skeptics expressed doubts about the belonging of the work by Leonardo, and also expressed the opinion that she was so carefully restored by Professor Modestini, that she was as much her work as Leonardo’s. “Nonsense,” she said in an interview with The New York Times, calling it “ridiculous pretensions.”

29.03.2019

One of the most famous paintings on the political theme of the British graffiti artist Banksy called Devolved Parliament (“Degraded Parliament”) returned to the exposition of the Bristol Museum on the occasion of the UK leaving the European Union. Banksy reported this on Instagram on Thursday.

 

“I created it 10 years ago. The Bristol Museum has just returned it to the exhibition to mark the day of Brexit,” the artist wrote.

In the picture, Banksy depicted a meeting room of the House of Commons in which chimpanzees sit instead of deputies. The work itself is one of the most ambitious, made by the artist on canvas, was first presented in the Bristol Museum in 2009 and returned here again from a private collection. Devolved Parliament will be available for free to a wide audience from March 29 and will stay in Bristol until September. “When we showed this work 10 years ago, it caused a real stir and became one of the brightest exhibits of the Banksy exhibition in the Bristol Museum. Over the past years, this picture has only become more relevant,” said Philip Walker on the television channel ITV.

The UK’s exit from the EU was originally scheduled for March 29, after which, according to the plan, a transitional period should begin, which will last until the end of 2020. However, due to the inability of the British Parliament to accept the reached agreement on Brexit conditions, at the EU summit on March 21 a unanimous decision was made to postpone Brexit based on two possible scenarios: it will be postponed until May 22, if the British parliament approves withdrawal, or by April 12, if this agreement is not approved.

27.03.2019

“Portrait of Dora Maar” by Pablo Picasso, stolen 20 years ago from a sheikh’s yacht on the Cote d’Azur, found by art detective Arthur Brand

The canvas “Bust of a Woman” (“Portrait of Dora Maar”) in 1938 worth € 25 million was found by a Dutch art detective Arthur Brand in a four-year investigation. “I unpacked the picture and hung it on the wall for the night,” he told AFP. “So for one day, my house became one of the most expensive in Amsterdam.”

The story began in 1999 when Pablo Picasso’s painting was stolen from the yacht of a billionaire from Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Moshen Abdulmalik al-Sheikh, who was under repair on the Cote d’Azur. The abduction of the canvas, which at that time was estimated at € 7 million, baffled the French police and forced collectors to monitor security on their yachts more closely. In 2015, Arthur Brand was first rumored that a certain “Picasso painting stolen from a yacht” was circulating in the criminal circles of the Netherlands. But, as clarifies the art-detective, “at that time I did not know what kind of work in question.” It turned out that the work went from hand to hand for many years and was often used as collateral, emerging from a weapons transaction or selling drugs.

The brand began to spread information in the right circles about what the “Bust of a Woman” was looking for, and here some people contacted him and brought a picture wrapped in cloth and garbage bags directly to his home. “Two representatives of a Dutch businessman contacted me and said that the picture was with their client,” an art detective AFP told the details of this story. – He was absolutely confused. He thought he had acquired Picasso by legal means. It turned out that the transaction was legal, but the method of payment was not. ” The detective attracted the Dutch and French police, where they had already managed to close the case, and they promised that they would not pursue the current owner. “From the moment of the abduction, the picture passed from hand to hand at least ten times,” says Brand.

Now “Woman’s Bust” is in the insurance company, which is to decide its fate.

Detective, art historian Arthur Brand – a famous person. He has already been nicknamed “Indiana Jones of the Art World”. In 2018, he returned to Cyprus a Byzantine mosaic depicting St. Mark, stolen from the church in 1974. Prior to that, in 2015, he discovered “the horses of Hitler” – two bronze sculptures of the Nazi sculptor’s horses, Joseph Torak, who were standing in front of the Reichstag and, as was thought before, died during the Battle of Berlin. Brand for several years posing as a collector and was able to get on the trail of sculptures in Dallas. A book telling this story was recently published. The list of victories of the detective also includes the return of the painting “The Adolescence” by Salvador Dali, “The Musician” by Tamara de Lempicki, several paintings stolen from the Dutch city of Horn. Arthur Brand has already starred in the role of himself in the documentary film “Iconoclast”, which tells about crimes in the field of art. Obviously, a feature film about him is not far off.

22.03.2019

Міжнародна виставка мистецтв у Венеції триватиме з 11 травня до 24 листопада 2019 року.

Україна на ній представляє проект «Падаюча тінь” Мрії “на сади Джардіні» під кураторством Відкритої групи. 9 травня 2019 в полудень найбільший в світі вантажний літак «Мрія» * пролетить над Венецією і на кілька секунд кине тінь на сади Джардіні. Усередині літака буде знаходитися HDD диск з інформацією про всіх сучасних художників, які погодилися взяти участь у проекті. Для цього достатньо заповнити анкету на сторінці www.ukrainian-pavilion.org. Заявки на участь у Венеціанській бієнале Відкрита група ** приймає до 10 квітня 2019 року. «Ми звертаємося до всіх українським художникам, художницям і художнім групам з пропозицією стати частиною проекту в національному павільйоні України. Незважаючи на техніку, ідеї, освіту і вік, запрошуємо заповнити анкету і кинути тінь «Мрії» на сади Джардіні, – розповідають куратори. – Наш проект присвячений переосмисленню поняття міфу, його значення і впливу на українське сучасне мистецтво. Розповідь про Мрію – це алегорична форма присутності в Венеції ». За результатами збору всіх даних буде створений архів, який у формі книги-довідника стане основою каталогу національного павільйону. Наповненням проекту стане не тільки тінь «Мрії», а й міф навколо неї. В українському павільйоні протягом шести місяців буде відбуватися переказ польоту з вуст в уста – протяжний у часі перформанс в спеціально створеній для нього сценографії. «Проект« Падаюча тінь “Мрії” на сади Джардіні », який представляє Україну на Венеціанській бієнале, розповідає про нас як про країну з унікальним характером, здатної привнести нові смисли в дискусію про сучасне мистецтво. Переконана, що відібрана конкурсною комісією і підтримувана Міністерством культури кураторська робота надихне світ говорити про Україну », – зазначила комісар українського павільйону, перший заступник міністра культури України Світлана Фоменко. Венеціанська бієнале – одна з провідних виставок сучасного світового мистецтва, яку оцінює міжнародне журі. Перша бієнале відбулася в 1895 році. З тих пір вона грає ключову роль у формуванні сучасного мистецтва і художньої інтерпретації подій в світі. Тема цьогорічної виставки – «May You Live in Interesting Times» ( «Щоб ви жили в цікаві часи»). Саме в садах Джардіні знаходяться національні павільйони багатьох країн-учасників Бієнале (українська експозиція розміститься не в Джардіні, а в розташованому неподалік Арсеналі).

«Я не можу уявити собі кращого проекту для презентації на 58-й художньої бієнале у Венеції, як і кращої метафори для вираження цього спеціального моменту в історії України. Ми маємо великі мрії, не боїмося говорити про них, а головне – прагнемо реалізувати їх. Таке послання має ідея Відкритої групи. Або ми маємо сміливість Мріяти з великої літери, або це не мрії », – коментує Єжи Онух, директор польського інституту в Нью-Йорку і один з ініціаторів першого участі України в бієнале у Венеції в 2001. Інформація про павільйоні: Національний павільйон України організований Міністерством культури України. Співорганізатором є Галерея Labirynt (Люблін, Польща). Комісаром від Міністерства культури України є Світлана Фоменко, перший заступник Міністра культури України. Куратор проекту – Відкрита група: Юрій Белей, Павло Ковач, Станіслав Туріна, Антон Варга.

* Ан-225 «Мрія»-самий великий в світі транспортний літак, створений київським КБ імені Антонова. «Мрія» з максимальною спорядженою масою 640 т є найважчим і найпотужнішим літаком в світі. Ан-225 був створений, перш за все, для потреб космічної програми для транспортування вантажів, зокрема, космічних кораблів багаторазового використання «Буран» і компонентів ракетної системи «Енергія».

** Відкрита група була заснована у Львові в серпні 2012 року. На сьогоднішній день художня група складається з чотирьох учасників – Юрій Белей, Станіслав Туріна, Павло Ковач та Антон Варга. У 2013 році Відкрита група отримала Спеціальний, а в 2015-му – Головний приз Премії PinchukArtCentre. Їх роботи були представлені в українському національному павільйоні на 56-й La Biennale di Venezia. У 2017 робота групи була представлена ​​в проекті Future Generation Art Prize @ Venice 2017 рамках офіційної паралельної програми 57-ої Міжнародної виставки мистецтв у Венеції – La Biennale di Venezia.

Джерело: http://art-news.com.ua/prinyat-uchastie-v-venecianskoj-biennale-smozhet-kazhdyj-ukrainskij-xudozhnik-20253.html
© Art News Ukraine. Under the guidance of Sotheby’s.

20.03.2019

The Danish businessman Allan Warburg has two hobbies – wine and modern art. True, his second hobby appeared after he acquired the plantations of Donum vineyards in California in 2011 and began producing the Pinot Noir wine brand, and drinking a dry drink of his own production, in 2015 he became interested in art. Now, so that his plantations were still looking stunning, Allan decided to decorate them with sculptures from his collection of the most famous modern sculptors.

The park is called “Donum Sculpture Collection”, and here you can see the works of Ay Weiwei, Keith Haring, Louise Bourgeois, Tracy Emin, Jean Wang, Anselm Kiefer, Yayoi Kusama, Yu. Minjun, Subodh Gupta and many other artists. And now the Warburg brand will become even more famous because such events always attract the attention of the press. The businessman explained that he collected the collection according to several criteria.
“I’m a Dane. He lived in China for 29 years. My wife is Chinese, who has lived in Australia for many years. We love to travel, so we want to represent all these cultures. It was important for us that the collection was global. ” According to the winemaker, the selection of sculptures fully reflects his tastes, so he calls the collection “very personal.” The decision to purchase works is made without the participation of any curators, and the Warburg family collects only what they like.

Source: http://art-news.com.ua/datskij-biznesmen-ukrasil-svoi-vinogradniki-skulpturami-izvestnyx-masterov-20225.html
© Art News Ukraine. Under the guidance of Sotheby’s.

18.03.2019

For the first time in 18 years, a well-known Ukrainian artist returns to New York with a personal exhibition “Ivan Marchuk: Paintings”, which will be opened on April 4 at the Ukrainian Institute of America.

At the retrospective exhibition after the ocean, viewers will be able to see the works of different periods of the outstanding masters. Exciting works by the artist will be offered to his fans, deep philosophical reflections on his life’s quest, the earliest memories that are repeated by dreams and prophetic visions.

Emphasizing high attention to detail and high-precision skill, the author’s works of Marchuk are made in a complex original technique, which is made up of hundreds of interlaced thin lines or threads, which enhances the illusory effect of visible depth, bright enamel-shaped surfaces and rich gradations of light. At the beginning of his career, he called this drawing style “plonteinism”, a neologism, derived from the Ukrainian word “weave”.

Recall that in March 1989 Ivan Marchuk was forced to emigrate abroad. For a long time, living in Australia, Canada and the United States, returned to Ukraine in 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attack in New York.

Marchuk’s exhibitions always have insidious fame, including the latest retrospective of landscapes at the National Museum “Kyiv Picture Gallery”, which lasted for more than 15 thousand people for three weeks, which has become a record for the museum in recent years.

15.03.2019

 Richard Hudson Sculpture, Love Me / Photo: Donum Sculpture Collection

The arts and culture have a great influence on the economy. To this conclusion came the researchers of the American Bureau of Economic Analysis. They published a report that says that art contributes more to the US economy than agriculture and related industries.

According to researchers, the field of culture brings to the US economy more than $ 763 billion. This industry also creates a large number of jobs across the country. In 2015, almost 5 million people were involved in American culture and art. The researchers noted that this is not just about big cities.

The report also mentions that the US cultural industry is growing faster than the country’s economy as a whole. Due to this, more people work in art than in the fast food industry, which is considered one of the largest in the country. In addition, US organizations regularly engage in importing works of art and cultural objects to other countries.