The British Government has placed a temporary export ban on a 16th century drawing by Raphael, in hopes that a British buyer will come forth to keep the work in the country.  Head of a Young Apostle (1519-1521) was sold at auction in December for £29 million, setting the auction record for a work on paper at three times its estimate.  “I hope that placing a temporary export bar on the Raphael will allow time for a UK buyer to come forward and secure this magnificent example of Raphael’s work for the nation.”  Says British Arts Minister Ed Vaizey. (more…)

In a record-breaking auction, the black chalk “Head of a Young Apostle” by Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael), sold Tuesday, December 4th, 2012 for $47.8 million. This is the highest price paid for any work on paper, and the second highest for any Old Master, after Ruben’s “Massacre of the Innocents” which raised $78.2 million at Sotheby’s in 2002. The highest bidder was Natasha Mendelsohn, who bids on behalf of clients for Sotheby’s (BID) London.  (more…)

The Louvre will inaugurate its new branch in Lens, northern France, with several important paintings such as Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, Raphael’s Baldassare Castiglione, Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People. The project opens to the public on December 12th, 2012 and cost $194 million. It was generated from an idea to spark both economic and cultural development in the region. (more…)

A Raphael drawing and medieval manuscripts may set records when they are auctioned by Sotheby’s on December 5th. The Duke of Devonshire has decided to auction the Raphael with an estimated value of £10 million to £15 million in an attempt to raise money to preserve his home. The drawing, which was purchased 300 years ago, has been kept in the family collection at Chatsworth, Derbyshire, but the Duke has stated that “living at Chatsworth is a very expensive business.” He stated further, “It is the first time that any work of art has been sold from Chatsworth for a purpose other than paying taxes. I deeply regret it.”

(more…)

Raphael‘s ‘Portrait of a Young Man,’ one of Poland’s most important pieces, which disappeared in 1945, was found in a bank vault in an undisclosed location.

(more…)

Plans to replace 3,000 old masters with modern art in Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie have left many local fans of classical art, and art historians, incensed. The galleries will be filled with an extensive collection of surrealist and expressionist art donated by a billionaire industrialist named Heiner Pietzsch, who gave his collection under the condition that it be displayed in its entirety. The old masters collection–including works by Brueghel, Raphael, and Caravaggio–will be temporarily housed in the Bode Museum, with no plans announced for a permanent home.

(more…)

–>
Tacita Dean’s Christmas tree, ‘Weihnachtsbaum‘ at Tate Britain via Zimbio

The Tate has been embracing the Christmas spirit this week with a series of headlining seasonal happenings.  The Tate Christmas Tree 2009, “Weihnachtsbaum” designed by Tacita Dean, shocked critics by actually appearing “Christmassy”[Bloomberg]  This weekend, Tate Modern’s vast Turbine Hall was taken over by Rob Pruitt‘s festive ‘Flea Market’ – originally held at Gavin Brown’s Passerby gallery in New York in the late 1990s, this event was programmed to coincide with the Tate Modern exhibition Pop Life: Art in a Material World, in which Pruitt also appears [POP Magazine]

Italian police have seized works of art belonging to Carlisto Tanzi – founder of the Italian firm Parmalat who collapsed in a massive fraud scandal in 2003. The 19 paintings and drawings, included works by Picasso, Monet and Van Gogh, and is estimated to be worth more than 100million euros [BBC News]

–>
Antony Gormley’s Event Horizon that will appear in New York’s Madison Square Park in March 2010 via ArtInfo

Antony Gormley has announced plans to install 31 nude sculptures cast from his own body in and around Madison Square Park in Manhattan’s Flatiron District beginning March 26 [NY Times]

to stay apprised of the latest relevant news of the art world read more…..
–>
(more…)

Self-Portrait, Sir Anthony van Dyck at Sotheby’s, London

As supply diminishes and demand increases for Old Master works, this week’s sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s in London may be remembered as significant in the recent history of the art market. Collectors seized the opportunity to purchase rare and significant works from the giants of European art history and pushed prices so high that numerous existing records were smashed. The auction of Old Masters and 19th Century Art at Christie’s on Tuesday, December 8, realized £68,380,250 – the highest ever total for an Old Masters auction. 2 of the top 5 prices ever paid for an Old Master work at auction were also witnessed at Christie’s in addition to new artist records for Raphael, Rembrandt and Domenichino. At Sotheby’s sale, a rare self-portrait of Anthony van Dyck that sold for £8,329,250, above the pre-sale estimate £2-3 million, helped bring the total within estimate at £15,098,250. Strong prices, record-breaking prices were also seen for works by the Dutch artist Cesar Boetius van Everdingen and the prominent British masters, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer and Samuel Scott.

More images, text and related links after the jump….
(more…)

Head of a Muse, Raphael via Guardian UK

-Offered for the first time at public auction as part of Christie’s Old Masters sale, Raphael’s drawing “Head of a Muse”- a study for a figure in one of his Vatican frescoes, if it achieves its estimate £12-16million, will break the auction record for an old master drawing currently held by Michelangelo’s and Leonardo da Vinci’s works [Guardian UK]

-As art collectors become more cautious with their purchases, dealers at Frieze and FIAC fairs put works on reserve, among them $40 million Mondrian allegedly put on hold for Bernard Arnault [Bloomberg]

-Ms. Temkin, the chief curator of painting and sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, introduces unexpected changes, unframing certain paintings and subjecting the almost sacralized permanent collection to frequent renewal [The New York Times]

“Your Mercury Ocean” Skateboard by Olafur Eliasson via aarting

-Another collaboration between Mekanism and Olafur Eliasson results in a 13-ply deck 3d patterned skateboard with a mirror coating [aarting]
-In related, Olafur Eliasson commissions by the mayor of Copenhagen to design a bridge for the Danish capital; the artist shares his plans for a transparent bridge in a close vicinity to the water [The Art Newspaper]

– The survey carried out by the Art Fund, the UK’s independent art charity, shows that despite the substantial drop in public funding and investment income, a figure that proves to grow in the context of economic fall is the number of visits to museums [Art Knowledge News]

-In the midst of economic uncertainty, gallery Matthew Marks, which represents artists such as Jasper Johns, and Peter Fischli and David Weiss, plans on expansion with a new space on the West Coast [The New York Times]

To stay apprised of most of the relevant art news for this past week… (more…)