Concerns over shipping and insurance have delayed the opening of a Titian exhibition in Prague, the Art Newspaper reports, following concerns that the exhibition space at Prague Castle’s Imperial Stables were unsafe for the works.  “We decided to postpone the opening as we were not sure the Castle would be ready,” says organizer Monika Burian Jourdan, the president of Art for the Public. “From our side, we had everything set, including all export and shipping permits, and the paperwork from the Italian Minister of Culture.” (more…)

A portrait attributed to the Venetian master Titian has been discovered in a remote basement room of the National Gallery in London.  The discovery of the painting, depicting Doctor Girolamo Fracastoro, was acquired by the museum in 1924, and positions the National Gallery as one of the leading collections of Titians in the world. (more…)

“Daniele Barbaro” of 1545 has been part of the National Gallery of Canada’s holdings since the museum acquired it in 1928. At that time, the msueum believed it was in fact by Titian himelf because of correspondence between the subject and the Bishop. However, another painting of Daniele Barbaro is in the Prado, and a comparison of the two in the 1990s resulted in the determination that the NGC’s was a copy. A recent restoration has revealed that it is in fact by the Venetian master, and has been confirmed by Prado experts.
(more…)

Titian, Diana and Actaeon (1556-1559)

A monumental figure of the Italian Renaissance, Titian was considered  a master of color and figure whose vibrant works and striking subject matter cemented his reputation as the chief talent of the Venetian School of the 16th century.  His series the Poesies represents this skill through a series of depictions of Ovid’s Metamorphosis, pushing the evocative nature of visual storytelling to its limits on canvas.  Now, several of these works are being publicly shown again at the National Gallery in London.

Mark Wallinger, Diana (2012)

Yet another monumental event The National Gallery is showing the Death of Actaeon, Diana and Actaeon (both based on the myth of Actaeon the hunter, who stumbled upon the bathing Goddess Diana, and was transformed into a stag, doomed to a savage death at the hands of his own hounds) , and the recently acquired Diana and Callisto.  In addition, the museum has sought to tie the past with the present, commissioning a number of new works by Chris Ofili, Conrad Showcross and Mark Wallinger to be shown in conjunction with Titian’s classic pieces.

(more…)

Tiziano Vecellio (Titian), A Sacra Conversazione: The Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria, c. 1560 (est. $15-20 million, realized $16.9 million), via Sothebys.com

Sotheby’s 378-lot Old Master Sale in New York today realized a total of $90.6 million and set a record for a Titian painting at auction. The painting generated only one bid from an unidentified European collector and sold for its low estimate of $15 million. Still, the sale broke the previous record for a painting by the artist at auction that was set 20 years ago with the sale of Venus and Adonis for $13.6 million at Christie’s in London. The new record-holding painting is a late work and, according to the auction house’s research, has changed hands only six times since its creation around 1560.

-J. Mizrachi

At Sotheby’s Sale, Titian Draws One Bidder [New York Times]
Titian Painting Fetches Auction Record [ABC News]
Titian’s Madonna Fetches Record $16.9 Million at Sotheby’s Old Master Sale [Bloomberg]

–>

Caravaggio, The Taking of Christ (or, The Kiss of Judas) 1573-1602, which was stolen two years ago and was recovered recently by German and Ukranian authorities.

German police announced Monday that a painting by Italian Renaissance master Caravaggio, rumored to be worth $100 million, was recovered after being nabbed from a Ukranian museum two years ago. According to the Associated Press, four suspects (three Ukranian nationals and one Russian) were arrested in Berlin as they attempted to sell the painting. Twenty additional suspects were arrested in the Ukraine in connection with the theft.

More text and images after the jump…

(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…)

Helvoetsluys – the City of Utrecht, 64, Going to Sea, Joseph Mallord William Turner (Exh 1832). Via Tate

In acknowledgment of the grand artistic tradition of admiration, imitation and competition, through January 31 Tate Britain will present the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner alongside some 100 related works by Old Masters and Contemporaries. Amid the 30+ artists presented are Canaletto, Titian, Poussin, Rembrandt, Rubens, Veronese, Watteau and Constable.

Moonlight, a Study at Millbank, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1797). Via Tate

J.M.W. Turner is often regarded as one of the most artists of his time, whose work varied to include watercolors, oil paintings, drawings and prints. While Turner’s spirit is often deemed as independent, David Solkin, Professor of the Social History of Art at the Courtauld Institute, University of London who conceived the exhibition, wishes to highlight how Turner was in fact, deeply engaged with the work of other artists.

Related Links:
Tate Britain Website [Tate.org.uk]
Tate Britain exhibition revives Turner’s and Constable’s old rivalry [TimesOnline]
Turner and the Masters [Guardian.co.uk]
The Times; May 8, 1832 – Royal Academy Exhibition [TimesArchive]
Turner and Constable: We’ve lost the art of feuds for art’s sake [Telegraph.co.uk]
Revealed: how Turner began his career copying the old masters [TheIndependent]

More Images and text after the jump…

(more…)

Marc Quinn’s Blood Head Self-Portrait displayed in a refrigeration unit at The National Gallery in London via Guardian

The National Portrait Gallery in London acquires and shows the most recent of Marc Quinn’s self-portraits created with the use of artist’s own blood [Bloomberg]

Titian, Diana and Acteaon via Artdaily

In related, Titian’s Diana and Acteaon, one of the six large-scale mythologies inspired by Ovid, acquired by The National Gallery in London, is to be displayed at Trafalgar Square [Artdaily]
Three paintings attributed to Adolf Hitler were sold at Weidler’s auction house in Germany for an accumulative price of  $60,000 to three phone bidders [The New York Times]
The Museo National del Prado’s is exhibiting 2 Sorolla paintings of the Fanjul family that were illegally confiscated by the Cuban government which may cast the museum’s directors legal bind [Reuters]
A private European collector helps settle a 7-Year discord between the Swedish Moderna Museet and heirs of a Jewish businessman over a Nazi-looted Nolde painting and in related, Dutch Museums will return 13 artworks lost during Nazi occupation to heirs of Jewish collectors [Bloomberg]

Velázquez, Portrait of a Man via The New York Times

After restoration and cleaning of “Portrait of a Man” in MET’s collection, the author of the painting attributed to Vélazquez’ workshop is confirmed to be Vélazquez himself [The New York Times]
Phillips de Pury auction house, known for its focus on contemporary art, is adding 18 new sales for the upcoming year and a half [The Wall Street Journal]
As the market fluctuates, art collectors seize opportunities of investment, yet the auction market based on no identical units, making calculated predictions almost impossible, turn investing into gambling [NYTimes]
The Glyndebourne Opera House, England to sell a painting by the Italian Old Master, Domenichino; estimated at $16.5 million [Bloomberg]
Bill Viola declines an invitation to participate in a culture summit, organized by Pope Benedict XVI in an attempt to reconcile spirituality and artistic expression, supposedly due to the artist’s disagreement with policies put forth by the Vatican and the Catholic Church [Artnet]

Six of the missing works by Andy Warhol via Telegraph

$1million is being offered for a lead to locating the “Athletes” series by Andy Warhol from Richard Weisman’s collection that has been stolen from the collector’s Los Angeles residence [Telegraph]
Pencils from an installation by Damien Hirst were stolen by a 17-year old artist named Cartrain [The Independent] who had been stripped of his artwork for incorporating Damien Hirst’s ideas into his collages [ArtObserved]
“You can be immortalized in an artwork” says Damien Hirst in his search for a numerous sets of identical twins to literally become part of his artwork at Tate Modern [Guardian]

Charles Saatchi with his wife Nigella Lawson via The Independent

“My Name is Charles Saatchi and I am an Artoholic”, a book written by Charles Saatchi, who almost never gives interviews, is released without a loud PR campaign and is written in a format of potential interviewer’s questions and answers [Guardian UK]
Aleksandra Mir’s installation at Collective gallery in Edinburgh consists of rows of a limited edition cookbook titled “The How Not to Cookbook: Lessons Learned the Hard Way” [The Moment]
German police uncover a thousand fake Giacometti bronzes in the possession of  a man who tried to sell them as originals [Art Market Monitor]
An editorial on the state of galleries dictated by the financial market provides an encompassing snapshot of what a gallery represents in the art-world and how it is likely to function in the current economic condition [NYTimes]

Bruce Nauman’s skywriting fittingly reads “Leave The Land Alone” via Los Angeles Times

On September 12 in Pasadena, artist Bruce Nauman realized his skywriting project, reading Leave the Land Alone, after a 40 year wait [Los Angeles Times]
Frédéric Mitterrand’s appointment to the post of French minister of culture is well received by most for his extensive previous background  and involvement in the world of art and culture [The Art Newspaper]
London’s Outset Contemporary Art Fund brings artwork to a fair to be seen publicly and then purchased by the Tate [Bloomberg]
The story of Tony Shafrazi, art terrorist and later gallerist [Artnet]

A view of Sol LeWitt’s unveiled mural at 59th street via Gothamist

Sol LeWitt’s mural, comprised of 250 porcelain tiles, is installed at Columbus Circle subway station in Manhattan[Lindsay Pollock]
Run by oligarch Viktor Pinchuk, the PinchukArtCenter in Kiev announces a new art Prize and the shortlisted 20 nominees [ArtReview]
Gagosian’s plan for a gallery in Paris’ prestigious 8th arrondissement promises to gain instant success by providing access to Picasso’s work [Bloomberg]
In related, Gagosian is to open a bookstore on Madison avenue in Manhattan selling books, catalogues, magazines and Jeff Koons puppy vase that come in an edition of 3,000 [Art fag City]
UBS, a global financial services firm, is to close its gallery in Manhattan in an attempt to cut back on costs [Artinfo]

A photograph of Emmanuel Perrotin via The Selby

The Selby visits Emmanuel Perrotin at his gallery in Paris [The Selby]
Research shows that visitors to museums housing modern art are likely to respond emotionally, while those viewing ancient artworks are more prompt to describing their experiences in more cognitive terms [Miller McCune via Artinfo]
“The Art of the Steal”, a documentary film by Don Argott, explores the Barnes Foundation, a Post-Impressionist and early Modern art collection [The New York Times]
John Currin interviewed by Glenn O’Brien speaks about art, the art market and shares personal stories [Interview Magazine]
The rating service Moody’s estimates the current financial troubles and hence auction market distress to persist and drops Sotheby’s corporate credit rating by one level [Bloomberg]
Kara Walker’s participation in Whitney’s Biennial is manifested in an email correspondence with the organizer of the show documenting the artist’s refusal to participate in the Biennial [Artnet]

Centquatre art space in Paris via The Daily Undertaker

A site of the Municipal Funeral Services in Paris is now turned into an arts center providing the capital’s northern reaches an art initiative it has been lacking [Financial Times]
A survey of artistic practice based on technology and its move towards the usage of the Internet as means of expression [The New York Times]
Thomas Campbell, director of Met, shares his plans for the museum in an interview with The Art Newspaper [The Art Newspaper]
American artist Greg Wyatt’s 22-thousand-pound bronze sculpture “Two Rivers” is being transported to Piazza della Signoria in Florence, “the soul of the world of sculpture,” where it is to become the first American displayed at that location [Bloomberg]
An interview with the billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, who spoke about democratization of art and educational reforms [The Wall Street Journal]

–>
Triumph of Love, Titian Via ArtInfo

While the key aim of the exhibit is locating the use of paintings as reverses and covers during Italian Renaissance, the main attraction of it- is Titian’s rediscovered “Triumph of Love.”   “Triumph of Love” (mid 1540s maybe) has undergone conservation and cleaning and will be publicly displayed for the first time in 50 years. It was last shown at the Royal Academy in 1960. The painting will be moved to the Ashmoleon Museum in Oxford after the show at the National Gallery is over September 20, 2009.

Related Links:
–>
Titian’s “Triumph of Love” [artinfo]
–>
Clean-up casts new light on £1m Titian handed to museum to settle tax bill [GuardianUK]
–>
Titian’s Triumph o Love [The National Gallery]
–>
Titian’s “Triumph of Love” saved for the nation [Oxford Thinking]
–>

–>
An Allegory of Prudence, Titian vie National Gallery

More text and pictures after the jump…

(more…)

–>
Gilbert and George’s ‘Hoi Polloi,’ part of their exhibition ‘Jack Freak Pictures’ via Arndt & Partner

Gilbert and George speak about friendlessness, bigotry in the art world, and their latest exhibition, ‘Jack Freak Pictures,’ opening in London at White Cube next week [Guardian]
–>
Damien Hirst turns down the Royal Academy’s offer to become a Royal Academician [Artdaily]
–>
Thief sentenced to two and half years in Oslo for the 2004 Munch ‘Scream’ Heist [NY Times]
–>
Haunch of Venison will close its Zürich gallery by 2010 [ArtNewspaper]
–>
After concerted effort by Eli Broad, MOCA announces that its financial troubles are over with a number of new gifts and trustees [LA Times] and LACMA also announces new trustees, including Dasha Zhukova, founder of Moscow’s Garage Centre [LA Times]
–>
The Metropolitan Museum of Art responds to economic crisis, cuts 357 positions [Crain’s]

–>
Titian’s ‘Triumph of Love’ via Artdaily

Director of Tate Britain Stephen Deuchar is appointed director of Art Fund [ArtReview] in related, the Tate Britain recently bought and secured for Britain Titian’s Triumph of Love [Artdaily] and, finally the Art Fund launched an “Art Saved” resource online [Art Knowledge News]
–>
At least 24 New York galleries have closed since the economic collapse, with a number closing for the summer [Artnet]
–>
Connoisseurs are buying increasingly rare Impressionist and Modern masterpieces [NYTimes]
–>
Why auctions may not be the best method for museums’ deaccessioning [Wall Street Journal]
–>

–>
Cai Guo-Qiang and Shen Wei speaking Lincoln Center via WSJ

Choreographer Shen Wei and artist Cai Guo-Qiang discuss their role in the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies and how changing attitudes in China have affected their work [Wall Street Journal]
–>
ArtTactic’s Art Market Confidence Indicator shows increased confidence in the contemporary art market, with 2/3 of those survey predicting a rebound by 2011 [ArtTactic via The Art Collectors] and more cautious indicators of a rebound [Artnet]

–>
Ji Lee’s ‘Duchamp Reloaded’ via Wooster Collective

Duchampian street sculpture in front of MoMA [Wooster Collective]
–>
Bravo’s art reality show holds open calls and Paddy Johnson speaks with the casting director [Art Fag City]
–>
A work painted in 1623-24 by a fellow scholar depicts Rembrandt at 16 [TheIndependent]
–>
The Pietzch Collection, which includes many rare surrealist art works, opens to public display in Berlin [Monsters and Critics via Art Market Monitor]
–>

–>
Adam Kimmel stands in front of a photo of Dan Colen as the Marlboro Man via Purple

Riffing on Richard Prince, fashion designer Adam Kimmel has Dan Colen as the Marlboro Man in a series of photos by the creator of the original ads, Jim Krantz [Purple]
–>
A look at what the latest auctions in London could mean for the outlook of the art market [Financial Times]
–>
How London’s proximity to emerging market art buyers from Middle East, Russia and Asia may now have negative effect [Wall Street Journal]

–>
Rachel Wardell, the first participant in Antony Gormley’s ‘One and Other’ via The GuardianUK

The first participants are announced in Antony Gormley’s ‘One and Other’ on the fourth plinth in Traflagar Square [Guardian]
–>
More Intelligent Life investigates the increased interest in Picasso’s late musketeer paintings and finds links between the artist’s pacifism, the mood of the 1960s and younger collectors today [Economist]

–>
A vandalized Banksy mural in Bristol via Bristol Evening Post

A popular Banksy mural in Bristol is vandalized as the Bristol Museum currently holds a major exhibition of the grafitti artist’s work [Bristol Evening Post via Arts Journal]
–>
Jeff Koons describes Michael Jackson as a “contemporary Christ figure” [Bloomberg]
–>
and Koons is now collaborating with watchmaker Ikepod to make a titanium watch [Newsweek]

–>
Terence Koh in his studio via Whitewall

Terence Koh in his all white studio in New York [Whitewall]
–>
Critic Jerry Saltz initiates a discussion with MoMA Chief Curator Ann Tempkin over the museum’s lack of female artists through Facebook [Edward Winkleman]
–>
A Holocaust conference including 46 nations urges more efforts to restitute art stolen by Nazis [Bloomberg]
–>

Diana and Actaeon (1556-1559), by Titian, via The Guardian.

Titian’s masterpiece painting Diana and Acteon (1556-1559) has finally been secured. The five-month campaign to raise £50 million has succeeded.  The National Galleries of Scotland and London’s National Gallery made a joint effort to raise the funds.  The Scottish government pledged £2.5 million, £.4 million came from public donations, and £2.5 million came from the National Galleries in London. The rest of the money came from the National Heritage Memorial Fund which gave £10 million; the Monument Trust which pledged £2 million; £.6 million came from the National Galleries of Scotland and £1 million was taken from the Art Fund.  Such a joint venture outweighs the previous fundraising record of £22 million in 2004 for Raphael’s Madonna of the Pinks.

The fundraising campaign had the backing of 40 leading contemporary artists such as Lucien Freud, David Hockney, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, and Antony Gormley.

Museum page: National Galleries of Scotland
Funds Secured for Titian Painting [BBC]
UK Buys Titian Diana Painting for 50 million Pounds [Bloomberg]
Titian’s Diana and Actaeon Saved for Nation as Art Galleries Hit £50 million Target [TimesUK]
Artists Jubilant as £50 million Titian Saved for Nation [The Independent]
Titian’s Diana and Actaeon Saved for the Nation [The Guardian]
Is Titian’s Diana and Actaeon worth £50 million? Definitely [The Telegraph]
National UK Galleries mobilize to secure Titian masterworks [ArtObserved]

More detail on the story after the jump…

(more…)

Diana and Actaeon by Titian via the BBC

The National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery in London have initiated a joint campaign to buy two paintings by Titian.  The seventh Duke of Sutherland, who is 68, is offering the works to the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery in London for £50m each.  If Diana and Actaeon is sold to the National Galleries of Scotland, Diana and Callisto will be offered for a similar sum to the National Gallery in London in 2013.  The two paintings are part of the Bridgewater collection which since 1945 has been on loan to the National Galleries of Scotland. The Bridgewater collection also includes three paintings by Raphael, a Rembrandt, a Van Dyck, a Tintoretto and two more Titians. Though the Duke is definitively seeking to sell the two works, Diana and Callisto and Diana and Actaeon , he has offered the works to the national galleries for a lower price than the works would fetch in an open market sale, though there are significant tax implications for selling to a national collection. The BBC quotes the National Gallery of Scotland’s director, John Leighton.”The Bridgewater Loan … is the most important Old Master paintings loan to any public museum in the world,” “Losing Diana and Actaeon would be like the Mona Lisa being taking out of the Louvre”.

U.K. National Galleries Seek 50 Million Pounds for Titian Work [Bloomberg]
Race to save £300 million Titians for UK [The Art Newspaper]
£100m appeal to keep Titian works [BBC]
Don’t let these dramatic Titians leave Britain [TelegraphUK]
The battle of the Titians [GuardianUK]
Art auction: National galleries scramble to keep Titians as duke cashes in [GuardianUK]
Who might buy the Titians? Meet the new collectors of the art world [GuardianUK]
Is it worth spending £50m on a Titian? [GuardianUK]

(more…)