‪ Abu Dhabi’s Louvre, $27 billion Zayed National Museum, and Guggenheim openings delayed to 2015, 2016, and 2017 respectively from their 2013-2014 previous deadlines, though substantial work has been completed. [AO Newslink]
Cy Twombly is the first contemporary American artist to create a permanent work for the Louvre: a 3,750-square-foot painting on the ceiling of the Salle des Bronzes. A council of international experts selected Twombly to paint the mural for one the oldest and largest wings of the museum, in keeping with the Louvre’s commitment to incorporating modern art within its galleries. Along with Anselm Kiefer of Germany and Francois Morellet of France, Twombly is the third artist to paint a decorative work for the Louvre since 2007.
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Joseph with Jacob and His Brothers, ca. 1546–48 all images via The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Running through April 18 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a show dedicated to the Italian Renaissance painter, Agnolo Bronzino. Although best known for his paintings, Drawings of Bronzino, pulls together all 61 known or attributed drawings by this artist. In addition to the unprecedented gathering of the artist’s drawings in one location, this show represents the first solo exhibition of Bronzino’s works. The exhibition features loans, rarely put on public view, from institutions such as Galleria degli Uffizi, Musée du Louvre, British Museum, Royal Library of Windsor Castle, Ashmolean Museum, Kupferstich-Kabinett Dresden, and Staatliche Museen Berlin, as well as private collections. Drawings of Bronzino was organized by the Metropolitan in conjunction with Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi and the Polo Museale Fiorentino, Florence.
Philippe de Montebello interviews Carmen Bambach, curator of Italian Drawings in the Department of Drawings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, about “The Drawings of Bronzino.” Via THIRTEEN
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Diana and Callisto, Gaetano Gandolfi. Estimate: $800,000 – $1,200,000. Price Realized: $4,114,500
After the success of London’s ‘Old Master Week’ that took place in December 2009, expectations were high for the Old Master auctions that took place this week at Sotheby’s and Christie’s in New York. While perhaps not as rousing as the sales in London, the Old Master auctions in New York marked the first opportunity to verify suspicions that buyers were returning to the art market with confidence. Christie’s two days of sales included the two-part auction of Old Master & 19th Century Paintings, Drawings & Watercolors on Wednesday and a special private collection sale, A Cabinet of Curiosities: Selections from the Peter Tillou Collections on Thursday, achieved a combined total of $40,858,500. While these auctions were successful, the auction that led the week was Thursday’s sale of Important Old Master Paintings and Sculpture at Sotheby’s, which brought $61,599,250 – twelve lots sold for more than $1 million, and almost 60% of the works sold brought prices above the high estimate.
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