https://youtu.be/N_50PZxHyoY There are successive stories of old masters on the art market and yet no two are quite alike. Absolute record The absolute record for an old masters work, 450 million dollars, was obtained by Christie’s in 2017 for the famous “Salvator Mundi”, a painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci which was contested […]
https://youtu.be/RqfCyryJ2Ec Waiting for the museums to reopen In Paris there is a place that is absolutely unique in the world, which exudes an aura of art history and the mysteries of past masters. It is little known among the general public, and residents of the French capital can visit to experience the powerful sensation […]
Biographers and trends No one should believe that art history presents a fair view of artistic creation. Artists’ legacies wax and wane according to the changing tastes of biographers and trends. Such is the case for the German artist Albrecht Altdorfer (1480-1538), who is the subject of an exhibition at the Louvre comprising 200 […]
City of migration Palermo is a fascinating city, and one that’s sparked a lot of conversation in recent years. Firstly, this is due to its current international relevance as it’s one of the major sites of migration from Africa to Italy, where its mayor Leoluca Orlando, contrary to the nationalist discourse proliferating around the […]
The end of the operating rules Nothing in the art market works as it used to. The great operating rules which once governed it have all been thrown into disarray by the Covid-19 crisis. Competition between dealers and auction houses The art dealers, gallerists and antiquarians have always been seen to be in competition […]
Drawing specialist Louis-Antoine Prat is a drawing specialist who happens to be very French. Firstly because the Parisian taught the subject of French drawings at the École du Louvre for no less than 40 years. And secondly because he decided to start collecting drawings in the 1970s. He harboured the unique and crazy desire […]
Established for many centuries When talking about the art market there’s a tendency to immediately think of 20th-century art, which attracts the most fans and the highest figures. However, at a time when values are being called into question, it’s good to observe the market’s offerings as a whole and in particular the niche […]
Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer Leonardo in Paris As the whole world descends on Paris to see the masterpieces at the magnificent Leonardo retrospective, there is another very important exhibition also taking place in Europe: in Vienna. The giant of the German Renaissance It has the […]
El Greco El Greco El Greco El Greco El Greco El Greco El Greco El Greco The question of autorship The problem with exhibitions devoted to the old masters is that you never really know what you’re looking at. Works from this era are constantly being contested and the field itself is rife with subtle […]
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci (infrared reflectography) Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci Antonello da Messina Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci (infrared reflectography) Sebastien Allard Leonardo da Vinci Unmissable It’s an exhibition the likes of which are seen perhaps once in a decade. An […]
Tom Hill showing his Pontormo Caravaggio ? Caravaggio? (detail) Caravaggio?( detail) Caravaggio? (detail) Caravaggio? (detail) Caravaggio ? Tom Hill’s collection of Christopher Wool in Hong Kong Tom Hill ‘s collection of Christopher Wool in Hong Kong Jacopo da Pontormo Tom Hill showing his Pontormo Unknown Imagine an absurd situation where there’s a canvas measuring […]
Studio of Leonardo (detail) Studio of Leonardo Piero di Cosimo Sandro Botticelli Bartolomeo Veneto Studio of Leonardo? Studio of Leonardo? Carlo Antonio Procaccini? Anonymous painter after Leonardo François Clouet Anonymous painter around 1560 Endless speculation There’s been endless speculation in the media surrounding the nature and whereabouts of the Salvator Mundi, a heavily […]
Andrea del Verrocchio (detail) Sandro Boticelli Andrea del Verrocchio Desiderio da Settignano Andrea del Verrocchio Andrea del Verrocchio Andrea del Verrocchio Andrea del Verrocchio (detail) A pyramid of artists The history of the Italian Renaissance resembles a virtuosic acrobatics show, in which each great master climbs onto the shoulders of his predecessor in a tower […]
Caravaggio? (detail) Caravaggio ? Caravaggio?( detail) Infrared Reflectography, Caravaggio? (detail) Danie Buren /Caravaggio The attic where the Caravaggio? was found Caravaggio Caravaggio (detail) Caravaggio (detail) Uncertainty for ever In the field of Old Masters art uncertainty reigns. The most distinguished specialists spend their time contradicting each other and new discoveries from the history […]
Jean Michel Basquiat (detail) Shied of Achilles Louis Daguerre Joseph Wright of Derby Joseph Wright of Derby Antonio Ricci Jean Michel Basquiat Barry X Ball Barry X Ball War Machine Tefaf in Maastricht, Holland, is a veritable war machine dedicated to the antiques trade. With its 279 participants and renowned for its excellent […]
Admiring Leonardo Rembrandt Rembrandt Rembrandt Rembrandt Rembrandt A Rembrandt belonging to the Louvre Abu Dhabi Vermeer Vermeer Jan Lievens Vanished Leonardo After a little over a year in existence and with over a million visitors, the Louvre Abu Dhabi has shown itself to be a force to be reckoned with in the museum world. To […]
Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel the Elder Certain figures take their place in the art history pantheon because they’ve invented something new. […]
Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini The museums with the richest collections of paintings always stage the most beautiful temporary exhibitions of Old Masters art. This is, quite simply, because these collections constitute a great currency of exchange. But it’s also because they naturally attract the most knowledgeable curators […]
