Displaying items by tag: tintoretto

Though musician and cultural icon David Bowie kept his life as an art collector almost entirely a secret, the lesser-known side of his life will be revealed when hundreds of pieces from his personal collection are staged in an exhibition and auction entitled “Bowie/Collector” at Sotheby’s next month. The three-part sale on November 10 and 11 will encompass over 350 works, including a 'spin' painting Bowie created in collaboration with Damien Hirst, an altarpiece by Renaissance master Tintoretto, works by 20th Century British Masters, and more. These pieces have been published in a catalogue, and images are displayed online to give the public a sneak-peek.

Masterpieces by artists including Tintoretto and Peter Paul Rubens have been stolen fr om the Museo Civico di Castelvecchio, Verona, according to reports in the Italian media. The theft reportedly took place on Thursday evening (19 November). Three armed men entered the museum after it had shut, disabled the security system and immobilised a guard, before grabbing the 17 paintings worth in total around €10m-€15m.

Visitors to the 16th-century Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice, home to a spectacular cycle of wall and ceiling paintings by Tintoretto, are now able to view these masterpieces in a new light—literally. The 25 pictures in the Sala Superiore (upper hall) are being transformed by a project to clean centuries’ worth of grime from the sculpted marble that surrounds them, while a new LED lighting system has been installed in the Sala dell’Albergo. The three-year restoration project, which began in 2014, is sponsored by the luxury Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Géza von Habsburg, an art historian in suburban New York, would have inherited part of an Austrian empire if only his ancestors had not made some terrible life choices. He did inherit the title of archduke and an interest in the history of luxury goods — the kind his family commissioned for centuries. Recently, he watched as about 100 of his family’s former heirlooms were installed at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts here for a new exhibition, “The Habsburgs: Rarely Seen Masterpieces from Europe’s Greatest Dynasty,” that runs through May.

It is the most comprehensive display yet staged for the collections from these Holy Roman Emperors, who owned palaces from Ukraine to Mexico. Gowns, rifles, suits of armor, sorbet cups, gilded knickknacks and artworks by luminaries like Rubens, Titian, Velazquez, Tintoretto and Holbein have come from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Spain’s Museo del Prado may lose some of its most famous works to a new museum for the Spanish Royal Collection, set to open in 2016. According to a report by Spanish paper, El Confidencial, the president of the country’s national heritage authority, José Rodríguez-Spiteri Palazuelo, has requested that the museum return four paintings to the Royal Collection. The paper claims that Palazuelo sent the request to Museo del Prado director Miguel Zugazza in a letter on July 24th.

The four works requested to be returned are: Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights (1500-1505) and The Seven Deadly Sins (1500-1525), Tintoretto’s Washing of the Feet (1548), and Roger van der Weyden’s The Descent from the Cross (c. 1435).

The painting shows an old, weary man slumped in contemplation in his armchair and has spent more time in the National Gallery's storeroom than on display because it is attributed to a follower of Rembrandt rather than the artist himself.

But the gallery is being urged to rethink. The academic widely acknowledged as the world's leading expert on Rembrandt is about to drop an art historical bombshell by arguing it was not only painted by the 17th century Dutch master himself, but it is also a pivotal work for the artist.

"It is of wonderful quality and is revolutionary in a sense," Ernst van de Wetering told the Guardian. "It is a very important painting."

The Portland Art Museum in Oregon is the only U.S. venue for "Venice: The Golden Age of Art and Music." The show focuses on La Serenissima" or "the most serene," the period between the early 16th century and the fall of the Venetian Republic at the end of the 18th century that was defined by a surge in artistic innovation. During this time, music and art flourished thanks to painters such as Tintoretto, Canaletto, and Guardi, as well as composers such as Willaert, Gabrieli, Monteverdi, and Vivaldi.

Organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the exhibition is the first to explore the important interrelationships of the visual arts and music in Venice's civic ceremonies, festivals, and culture. The show will present 108 objects from 38 lenders including paintings, prints, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculptures, original period instruments, and early music texts. Period music will be audible in the galleries to create a more comprehensive visitor experience.

 "Venice: The Golden Age of Art and Music" will be organized by theme. Sections will include -- Basilica of San Marco, which will explore Venice's center of religious devotion; Civic Pageantry, which will look at the many festivities and processions held throughout the year in Venice; The Scuole and The Ospedali, which will explore the impact that schools and hospital orphanages had on art and music in Venice; Musicians and Concerts, which will look at the impact and importance of music in the city; Popular Music; and Mythology and Opera.  

 "Venice: The Golden Age of Art and Music" will be on view at the Portland Art Museum through May 11, 2014.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City will present Diego Velázquez’s (1599-1660) Portrait of Duke Francesco l d’Este, one of the most important portraits by the Spanish painter, through July 16, 2013. The painting is on loan from Italy’s prestigious Galleria Estense in Modena and has never traveled to the United States before. The exhibition, Velázquez’s Portrait of Duke Francesco l d’Este: A Masterpiece from the Galleria Estense, Modena, will coincide with the opening of the Met’s renovated New European Painting Gallery, 1250-1800.

Velázquez, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV, painted d’Este, the Duke of Modena and Reggio Emilia, while he was visiting Madrid in 1638 to meet with King Philip and ask for his support. The commanding portrait of the 17^th century ruler is a key work of baroque portraiture as well as a prime example of Velázquez’s artistic contribution to Spanish diplomacy.

The Galleria Estense acquired the portrait of d’Este in 1843 where it joined works by Tintoretto (1518-1594), El Greco (1541-1614), and Paolo Veronese (1528-1588). The museum also boasts a strong collection of decorative works, musical instruments, archaeological material, and sculptures. The Galleria was damaged in 2012 when a series of earthquakes struck the region of Emilia-Romagna. Restoration of the building has begun but will require years of repair. In the meantime, while many of the museum’s works are being held at the Ducal Palace in Sassuolo, Velázquez’s portrait will make a highly anticipated appearance to New York.

Ever wondered what Luc Tuymans thinks of the Louvre? At Frieze Masters, you’ll find out. The highly-anticipated Frieze London spinoff's talks program is power-packed. Artist Cecily Brown will talk with National Gallery of Art director Nicholas Penny about how she uses traditional imagery and subject matter in her art, while Glenn Brown will discuss his appropriation of historical artwork with Kunsthaus Zurich curator Bice Curiger. Tuymans will offer insight into his decision-making process when painting iconic historical moments in a conversation with Louvre Museum senior curator Dominique de Font-Réaulx.

These events get at the heart of the inaugural Frieze Masters, which plans to mix Old Master treasures with modern masterpieces in an effort to lure collectors out of their comfort zones.