News

06.08.2018

Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh and X-ray. Photo: National Gallery, London

The X-ray picture of the famous painting by Vincent van Gogh “Sunflowers” from the museum of the artist in Amsterdam showed that the sensitive paint used by him for the image of petals and stems is gradually losing saturation. In a two-year study commissioned by the museum, it turned out that Van Gogh used two different types of yellow pigment. One of them is prone to greater degradation due to the chromium contained in it, which darkens when exposed to light. While color changes are almost invisible to the naked eye, and to predict how the shades will change in the future, it is difficult, because, according to the expert from the University of Antwerp Frederic Vanmert, it depends on many factors. Separate fragments of Van Gogh painting can, over time, brighten. “In small areas, the artist used emerald green and red paint with lead, these plots may become lighter in the future.” Experts on the color changes in the paintings of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists experts from Belgium and France reported three years ago, linking this with the use of yellow cadmium in colors. To minimize damage, they urged the museums that own the paintings of these artists to reduce the illumination in the halls, which several years ago was done at the Van Gogh Museum.

03.08.2018

Large-scale retrospective exhibitions devoted to creativity from prominent old masters of world art to well-known representatives of the present – it is always a laborious work and a great responsibility of professionals involved in logistics.

How to deliver such masterpieces to your destination? What general nuances should be taken into account when transporting such cargoes? And how much does it cost, on average, to organize a grand artistic exposition? These and other data were provided to one of the European publications by the expert of the insurance company Uniqua Peter Aybel.

According to her, holding an exhibition of masterpieces of world art can cost more than the cost of its exhibits. One insurance of such an exposure can cost from 1.5 to 2 billion euros. As a result, the full protection of works of art from damage in the process of transportation, as well as from fires, floods and vandalism is ensured. If you add packaging costs, security guards, expert examination and transport, then as a shame, it costs an additional from 35 to 40 million euros.

Also, Ms. Aybel noticed that if a piece of art costs more than 100 million euros, it is only transported alone, no other paintings or sculptures in a specially equipped truck is prohibited. Such requirements may cost even more substantial money. Transportation by rail and water is also strictly prohibited. For intercontinental transportation, aircraft usually use aircraft, but loading some expensive art objects in one liner is also strictly prohibited because in case of possible air crashes there is a threat of destruction of all cargo. There are also such exhibits, which are strictly prohibited. They include, for example, engraved wood engravings of the Dutch painters of the Bruegel dynasty.

Each exhibit, which is intended for transportation, requires a strict individual approach from the representatives of logistics. The team of professionals jointly decides and takes into account all the nuances in which conditions and how the transfer process will take place. Each picture is placed in a special sealed packaging, which provides a permanent microclimate and protects the canvas from mechanical damage and the penetration of harmful microorganisms. All special vehicles must be equipped with special belts, pneumatic suspension and climate control. And huge and massive exhibits, such as sculptures transported in containers using air cushion.

After the exhibits arrived at their destination they are not immediately unpacked but give them the opportunity to “acclimatize” at least within one day. And only after, in the presence of the members of the special commission, who fix the whole process, the exhibits are released from the package and delivered to the exposition with great caution.

02.08.2018

For an untrained eye, it looked like a piece of sticky tape. But for Jeannette Redensec, a scientist who examined hundreds of paintings in preparation for the exhibition of the German-American modernist Joseph Albers, a yellowed strip of glue, stuck on the back of one of the works, became a revelation. A modest scrap of tape gave the last clue that told the whole story of the picture. So, according to the inscriptions on a piece of paper, the owner of the canvas was a collector from Cleveland. Jeannette Redensec belongs to a separate subculture of world art, consisting of curators, conservatives, researchers and other market professionals who like to recognize the “reverse side of works of art.”

“On the reverse side of the picture can be stored almost as much information as on the front,” – said Cathy Rogers, president of the Association of Researchers Raisonné Scholars Association. The face of the picture conveys its art historical context, but its reverse often carries the history of the work itself. On the backs of canvases, stretchers and the lower side of the frame, attentive experts can often find inscriptions left by the artists. Very often such inscriptions are made by dealers, collectors and museums with designations, from greased pencil notes to wax seals, exhibition labels and inventory numbers. All these markings can be considered a passport of the picture, because they represent the personality of the work, its travels and even the change of address.
The artist’s notes usually serve as a means of ensuring that important information about the work, such as its title, date and authorship, is preserved as it is transmitted. But the practice is individual; some artists share more curious details or use both sides of the canvas. Artists, constantly altering canvases, can delete previously written on stretchers the old names, leaving hints on images disguised as layers of superimposed smears. “On the” Portrait of Saint Philip Neri “from the Metropolitan Museum Carlo Dolci left a few notes in which he says, when he began work on the piece, how long it took, and the fact that he started writing it on his birthday,” recalls Keith Christiansen, chairman of the department of European paintings in the Metropolitan Museum. Verso by Robert Motherwell. The French line of 1960. Provided by the Dedalus Foundation. For artists of the twentieth century, experimenting with abstraction, the backs of paintings were a convenient place to leave explanatory notes. For example, abstract artist-expressionist Motherwell sometimes left keys for decoding several layers of meaning in the title of the works.

On the reverse side of the collage called “The French Line” (1960), the artist detailed all possible interpretations of the picture: “1. Painting (French) / 2. Diets (amis fidèles de votre ligne) / 3. Boats (transatlantic) / 4. Cote d’Azur (shoreline). ” Restorers paid attention to the reverse side of works of art, at least from the end of the XVIII century, if not earlier. Aristocratic European collectors once minted their paintings with wax seals bearing the family coat of arms, canvas producers stamped their signs on raw materials, and auction houses branded their lots with peculiar alphanumeric configurations. For example, the French art dealer of the early twentieth century Ambroise Vollar, as a rule, recorded his inventory in blue pencil. Art, looted by the Nazis during World War II, also has such marks. Most often they depict a symbol similar to a two-headed eagle. Understanding these markings is important to confirm the authenticity of the picture or to increase its market value.

Source: http://art-news.com.ua/sekrety-skrytye-na-oborotakh-yzvestnykh-proyzvedenyi-19632.html
© Art News Ukraine. Under the guidance of Sotheby’s.

31.07.2018

David Killen paid $ 15,000 for 200 abandoned works, including a potentially sensational discovery. A New York art dealer who reluctantly bought the contents of the abandoned storage in New Jersey for $ 15,000, believes that he may have involuntarily acquired six previously unknown paintings of Willem de Kooning.

David Killen, who runs the gallery of the same name in Chelsea, decided to take a risk, acquiring unknown works on the art block after the local auction house refused them. According to Killen, the block contained unclaimed works from the studio of the late conservative arts Orrin Riley, who died in 1986, and his late partner Susannah Schnitzer. Riley worked in the security department at the Solomon Guggenheim Museum before starting his own practice. The heirs of Schnitzer’s property tried unsuccessfully for nine years to return the remaining work to their original owners. However, the Attorney General of New York declared this property abandoned and released works for sale. Killen says that the remaining 200 works were mostly “secondary creations of unknown artists”. He told reporters that he plans to use them as “fillers” for the two-month auctions that a man spends in his gallery. But this small adventure paid off when he came across what, he claims, is half a dozen unsigned de Koonings. The de Kooning Foundation does not provide authentication services, so an official decision will be difficult to find. But Killen invited the former assistant artist Laurence Castagno to express his opinion. Castagna told reporters that, in his opinion, the works are genuine and date back to the 1970s. “In my opinion, this is Willem de Kooning. There is no doubt about that, “he said. The verdict of Castagny was supported by “an important authority in de Kooning’s case,” who expressed his opinion on the condition of anonymity, says Killen. He says he contacted the de Kooning Foundation to inform them of his discovery, but no one answered his calls and emails. It remains to be seen whether the market will accept these works with skepticism or with enthusiasm. Marion Maneker notes that the artist’s small abstract works since the 1970s have recently been successful at the auction. “A small abstract work of the artist (1977) was sold at the auction of Phillips in May for $ 4.2 million, which is more than twice the initial estimate of $ 2 million,” he said. The dealer will present works at a party in his gallery on Tuesday evening and plans to sell them at upcoming auctions in the period from October to January 2019. According to the price base of online publications, de Kooning’s auction record is $ 66.3 million.

Source: http://art-news.com.ua/art-dyler-utverzhdaet-chto-nevolno-kupyl-6-kartyn-de-kunynha-19623.html
© Art News Ukraine. Under the guidance of Sotheby’s.

25.07.2018

Pictures of Auguste Renoir’s “Girls on the Meadow” and Peter Paul Rubens “The Holy Family and Holidays Anna”, stolen from the gallery owner in Monza, which in the north of Italy last year found Italian carabineers and returned to the owner. Law enforcers accuse several individuals of involvement in the theft of a total worth of $ 30 million. According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, an unfortunate incident happened on April 20, 2017. The gallery, located in Monza, the suburbs of Milan, appeared as a man who introduced himself to the Israeli diplomat and rabbi Samuel Abram Levi Graham. He met with the owner of the gallery, who himself showed the best paintings from his collection. Rabin was delighted and stated that he intended to buy some of them.

He chose Renoir’s “Girls on the Meadow” painting and the work of Rubens from the “Holy Family” cycle. The interested buyer offered to make an agreement at the Israeli Consulate in Milan. On the appointed day, the owner of the gallery with two guards brought the painting to the specified address. The linen lay in special boxes. Rabbi met them and spent in an apartment. There was another man, whom Graham presented as his assistant.

They checked the pictures, put them back in the box again and reported that they would pay by wire transfer. Then, under the pretext of having to urgently go to the bank, the scammers left the apartment, drove into a Peugeot car and drove away. After a while, the tired wait owner of the gallery suspected it was not good. He ordered the guards to open the boxes. There were no pictures in them. It turned out that the rabbi and his assistant replaced the boxes. Only after that the owner of the gallery opened his eyes. There was no Israeli consulate in the house where he had brought the picture, I had no birth. The apartment above the apartment is located in Albania. A “rabbi and Israeli diplomat” turned out to be the result of a 44-year-old croaking from Croatia named Nenad Yovanovich. It was he who was now arrested by the Italian police.

23.07.2018

About this legendary personality, you can shoot a movie, it would have turned out not less enthusiastic and colorful than the ribbons about the legendary agent 007.

“A wonderful sportswear, all muscular. He is a champion in athletics and as a swimmer surprises even those who grew up by the sea. And in the evening, wearing a tuxedo, he turns into a secular man, who is turning into an international company in his hotel “, – wrote in Paris in 1936, the Paris newspaper” Nouvel Journale Literer “.

Meet Nikolai Petrovich Glushchenko, People’s Artist of the USSR, Laureate of the State Prize of the Ukrainian SSR named after Shevchenko, the glory and pride of the Ukrainian fine art, the Ukrainian Monet, and also the Soviet intelligence scout who operated under the pseudonym “Yarema”.

Kozatsky’s nephew spent his childhood on the unbridled thresholds of Zaporozhye, who was raised on legends and songs. After his father’s death, he and his mother moved to Yuzivka (Donetsk), where in 1918 he graduated from a commercial school and planned to join the Kharkiv High School of Technology, but the fate changed the grip of the war. Glushchenko, 18, was mobilized to the Denikin Army, which, in the territory of Poland, was interned to the Schelkovskii camp, from there Glushchenko escaped to Berlin. There he graduated from a private art school and academy.

In Berlin, Glushchenko met with the future writer and filmmaker Alexander Dovzhenko, at that time a Soviet diplomat who recruited a novice artist to Soviet intelligence.

In 1924 Glushchenko moved to Paris. There, on the street Volunteers, 23, with the support of Hetman UNR Pavlo Skoropadsky, he opened an art studio, where the leaders of Ukrainian emigre groups were looking at – one of the founders of the OUN Dmitry Andrievsky, Colonel of the Ukrainian Galician Army Vasyl Vyshyvany.

Active secular and bohemian life helped Glushchenko collect information about the activities of “hostile anti-Soviet and nationalist organizations.”

At the same time, Glushchenko friended writer Volodymyr Vynnychenko. It is believed that oversight of him was one of the tasks of the agent “Yarema”. Vynnychenko somehow asked Glushchenko to draw a cottage to him, and Glushchenko painted it … portraits of Ukrainian hetmans.

Glushchenko and Vynnychenko were personally acquainted with Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, although they absolutely did not perceive the work of Picasso. And during the first exhibition of the artist in Paris, they even threw him and visitors into rotten apples and eggs. Interestingly, the first nudist beach in Paris was organized by Glushchenko and Vynnychenko.

After coming to power Hitler, Glushchenko, on behalf of the Soviet leadership, focused on gathering information about the military-industrial complex of Germany. It is thanks to his connections that the Center in Moscow received secret drawings of 205 types of military equipment, including fighter engines.

The State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine preserved a copy of the reporting agent “Yarema”, in which he stressed that despite the treaty on friendship concluded with the USSR, the German government is actively preparing for the war against the Soviet Union.

At the beginning of 1940, the Soviet intelligence commissioned Glushchenko to organize an exhibition of Soviet fine art in Berlin.

On the last day of the Berlin exhibition, it was attended by senior executives of the Third Reich led by Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. Turning to Nikolai Glushchenko, he said that Hitler highly appreciates his talent. He considers him one of the best landscape painters in Europe and gives the album a lithograph of his best watercolors.

Subsequently, Glushchenko gave the album to Stalin, who expressed his desire to get acquainted with the work of the Führer. After the death of Glushchenko in 1977, it turned out that only one page from the album returned to him.

During his life, Nikolai Glushchenko wrote, according to various data, more than 10,000 paintings. Among them are the most landscapes. His works are kept in private collections and exhibited in museums in Ukraine, Russia, France, Germany, the USA, Canada, etc.

Source: https://ukraineartnews.com/news/news/ukrajinskij-dzhejms-bond-hudozhnik-i-rozvidnik-robotami-jakogo-zahopljuvalisja-jevropejtsi

20.07.2018

In 1978, Robert Motherwell hired a transport company to transport his paintings from one storage facility to another. Somewhere along the road, dozens of his works were missing. However, today one of them returned home. The Manhattan District Attorney conducted a repatriation ceremony in the center of New York City to announce the restoration of the anonymous abstract painting of the artist.

The work was among the works stolen 40 years ago. The canvas, created by Motherwell in 1967, will now be returned to the headquarters of the Dedalus Foundation, which was created in the same year when the artist died, to promote the heritage of the master. The work is probably worth millions, given the recent sales of comparable Motherwell works. The artist’s auction record of $ 12.7 million was installed on the Phillips in May this year. To date, more than 30 works of Motherwell sold at auction for more than $ 1 million. Red and black abstract painting was restored after the son of a transportation company employee brought her to the Dedalus Fund earlier this year to authenticate. Jack Flam, president and CEO of the Dedalus Foundation, quickly compared work with images and other records documenting stolen paintings. Then the FBI team on art crimes interfered. An unidentified person who is believed to have been unaware of the theft and was not charged with committing the offense voluntarily agreed to transfer it. Investigation of the remaining works of the painter continues, confirmed officials at a press conference. According to Bill Sweeney, Motherwell hired Santini in 1978 to store and transport paintings and other items to a new storage facility. Soon after, the artist said that dozens of his paintings were gone. “It is an honor for us to restore this extraordinary work of art in the Dedalus Foundation so that those who appreciate the fine arts will now know the true story of the past and future of the picture,” Sweeney said. “We can only hope that anyone who can know about the whereabouts of other pictures will bring information to the attention of law enforcement agencies so that those masterpieces were put on public display.”

Source: http://art-news.com.ua/naidena-kartyna-roberta-mazervella-pokhyshchennaia-40-let-nazad-19551.html
© Art News Ukraine. Under the guidance of Sotheby’s.

18.07.2018

The theme of the main exhibition was the pseudo-Chinese saying “God forbid you live in the era of change”

Curator of the main project of the 58th Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art, Ralph Rugoff, announced the theme of the exhibition – “May you live in interesting times”, similar to the Russian “God forbid you live in an era of change”. The saying in the world is widely known as the ancient Chinese and is attributed to Confucius, but in fact, there are no sources that would confirm such an origin.

“This is a Chinese curse invented and, despite the fact that it is a figment of the imagination, it has had a real impact on public rhetoric and polemics,” explained Rugoff. – At a time when the dissemination of false news and “alternative facts” undermines the political discourse and trust, on which it depends, it is worth stopping and revising our understanding of what is happening. Art can make us think about how we define our cultural boundaries. ” The Biennale, according to Ralph Rugoff, will strive to emphasize the idea that the meaning of works of art is not built exclusively into objects, but is concluded in discussions – first between the artist and works of art, and then between them and the audience, and finally between different communities.

The next Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art will be held from May 11 to November 24, 2019.

16.07.2018

On the first day of the Banks exhibition titled “The Biggest Hits 2002-2008”, which opened in the prestigious London Lazinc Gallery, only VIP guests were allowed, and within hours after the opening they bought three paintings, one of which cost the artist an admirer at £ 1.5 The sum has become a new record for Banksy’s picture. Before that, his most expensive canvas was considered “spotty” canvas of Damien Hirst, which painted a street artist. In 2008, this work went from Sotheby’s bid to New York for £ 970,000. It’s also worth noting that not all of the Benxi products presented in the Lazinc gallery are sold. The exhibition was organized by the owner of the art space, Steve Lazarides, who in the past was the manager of the artist and helped him become famous, but now it is not connected with him.

Despite the rupture of relations, Lazarus still can pretty expensive sell Banksy’s paintings. At his show are several series of 25 paintings, such as Girl and Balloon and Flower Thrower. Pictures from the first series were once exhibited at £ 250. But in March, one of them at Bonhams auction was worth £ 344,750, surpassing all the previous expectations.

Source: https://ukraineartnews.com/news/news/robotu-benksi-pridbali-za-rekordnu-sumu-na-vistavtsi-v-londoni

25.06.2018

Interesting art films about art are a rarity in world cinematography. In recent years, it turned out not so many movies that can capture the attention of the viewer and make him watch, holding his breath. Below you will find 5 films that will help you better understand how brands of works of art and artists are created and how the art industry works.

1. “Woman in gold”. Country: United States, United Kingdom. Director: Simon Curtis. Year: 2015. Budget: $ 11 million

In April 2015, US screens out the movie trailer for “The Woman in gold,” which tells the real story of the successor to the Austrian sugar magnate Maria Altman.

Mrs. Altman lost during the Second World War not only her family, but also many family treasures that took her away from the Nazis. Several decades later, Mary, armed with the support of the young lawyer tries to return five paintings that belonged to her family, including Gustav Klimt’s legendary painting “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer”, also known as “Golden Adele”. Heroes have to undergo many trials before the cultural heritage returns to their legitimate owner.

2. “Best Offer”. Country: Italy. Director: Giuseppe Tornatore. Year: 2013. Budget: $ 1 million

Virgil Oldman is managing director of a leading auction house. Occasionally his partner Billy in full view of the world he turns the sophisticated scam, deftly manipulating and misleading both sellers and buyers. In the secret hall of his villa, he collected hundreds of priceless paintings of different eras. Once, a mysterious woman hiding his personality asks him to sell her family antiques. Among numerous works of art, Oldman once again finds particles of a long-lost mechanism. At one time there was talk that in order to revive it, the makers have resorted to using higher powers … Making like a puzzle found details with his friend Robert brilliant they try to unravel the secret. But Oldman is interested not only in the objects of antiquity, not noticing how he himself was trapped.

3. “Big eyes”. Country: USA. Director: Tim Burton. Year: 2014. Budget: $ 10 million

History unfolds in the bright and prosperous America of the 1950s. In juicy colors of San Francisco, it’s what shattered the traditional view of art and will irreversibly change the way our lives look. Appearing from nowhere, the artist Walter Keane came up with pop art. His unusual paintings, depicting moving children with huge eyes, caused a real outrage and literally flooded the whole world. They are printed on calendars, leaflets, housewives are thrilled in an apron with their image. Walter becomes the king of contemporary art, one of the most famous artistic figures on the planet.

But at the peak of the artist’s fame, his modest wife, Margaret, suddenly states that Walter is a swindler, and she is the author of famous paintings. Suddenly, the shocking details of the life of Spencer Keane are revealed. The whole world stood in anticipation of the answer to the question: who is still a genius whose bold and original paintings adorn every living now from Paris to Alaska?

4. “Artist”. Country: Argentina, Italy. Director: Mariano Con, Gaston Dupra. Year: 2008. Budget: $ 400 thousand

Jorge Ramirez, the nursing home’s sanatorium, becomes famous thanks to the drawings that he once decided to show one gallery of contemporary art. But the author of interesting works is not Jorge, but the patient he cares for. Only the success did not last long.

5. Boogie Woogie. Country: United Kingdom. Director: Duncan Ward. Year: 2009. Budget: $ 6 million

The owner of the London Gallery of Contemporary Art, Art Spindle, wishes to buy a picture of “Boogie Woogie”. This canvas is decorated with the house of the zealous collector Alfred Rhineholm, who does not want to sell it for any money. Except for Spindle, the “Boogie Woogie” put an eye on another collector. Those who want to buy a masterpiece are many, and all of them are bound by difficult personal relationships.