The Barnes Foundation – “The Art of the Steal”

Posted by gvikan on Monday, March 8th, 2010

 There is a powerful new documentary out there called The Art of the Steal (http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/movies/26artof.html). It’s the story of one of the art world’s most wonderfully odd characters, Albert Barnes (d. 1951), his fantastic collection of Renoirs, Cezannes, Matisses et cetera, which came to rest in a suburb of Philadelphia decades ago, and of the planned move of that collection to downtown Philadelphia in 2012.

Albert Barnes in the Barnes Foundation ca 1950

Albert Barnes in the Barnes Foundation ca 1950

The documentary has a very strong point of view, obvious from its title, and as a viewer you are certain to react one way or the other. Last Sunday morning I introduced an advanced screening of The Art of the Steal at the Charles Theatre here in Baltimore, and moderated a very lively conversation after the screening.

I think it would be fair to say that 80+% of those present agreed with the thesis of the film.

It will be shown at the Charles later this month.  And all over the country.

SEE IT!

Posted in Aesthetics, Art, Cultural Property, Museums | No Comments »

“Egg…Modern”

Posted by gvikan on Friday, March 5th, 2010

Photo: GV

Photo: GV

TWO IMPERIAL FABERGE EGGS

THE TREASURY, THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM

How did these magnificent mementos of a vanished age make it to Baltimore?  Both eggs remained treasured possessions of Russia’s imperial family until 1917, but after that year – after the Revolution –, they disappeared. 

More than a decade later, in 1930, the building superintendent of what was then the private “Walters Art Gallery,” was checking the contents of a crate containing the artworks Henry Walters had purchased on his last trip to Paris.  The manifest listed two items which, in the most humble way, eventually proved to be of extraordinary interest – and value (quote): “one egg in white enamel with a ring of little enameled pearls … modern” and “one copper egg decorated with enameled roses, modern.”

“Orphaned” and unknown then, the Gatchina Palace and Rose Trellis Imperial Easter Eggs have since come to be recognized as among the greatest treasures of the Walters Art Museum.

Posted in Art, Baltimore, Henry Walters, Museums, The Walters, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Win a Prize? Guess how much…

Posted by gvikan on Monday, March 1st, 2010

These are 3000-lb, lion-headed godesses, 14th century BC, from Thebes

WALTERS ANCIENT EGYPT GALLERY

The prize is a one-year membership in THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM, with all the substantial rights and benefits that accrue thereto.  Like free entry to museums all over the country, and discounts at local restaurants.  Plus, best of all, free admission to ticketed shows at the WAM, and to all its great programs. And, of course, our members help keep the Walters’ permanent collections free for the public!

Anyhow, Henry Walters bought six Sekhmets in his lifetime. These are 3000-lb, lion-headed godesses, 14th century BC,  from Thebes. Like the two in the picture.

But he gave them all to the MET in New York!  Well, he lived there (in NYC), was VP of the MET at the time, and they’re pretty heavy and hard to move.

The British Museum has something like 33 Sekhmets, but shows only a few.  So we asked the BM: can we borrow two of yours for 10 years?  Yes, they said, but you have to pay to get them from our store room in London to your gallery in Baltimore.

Fair enough.

So, the contest is easy: how much did that cost?  All inclusive.

And like “The Price is Right,” the winning guess will be that one closest to the actual cost, without going over.

GV

PS: If I’ve told you the answer over the years, please sit on your hands.

Posted in Art, Baltimore, Henry Walters, Museums, Uncategorized | 27 Comments »

Object of the Week: A BIG Painting Re-Discovered

Posted by gvikan on Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Installing a huge altarpiece by the Italian Renaissance artist Michele Coltellini

In 1912 Henry Walters bought a huge altarpiece by the Italian Renaissance artist Michele Coltellini signed and dated 1506 (http://art.thewalters.org/viewwoa.aspx?id=1627).  But because it was so grimy, so difficult to see and admire, it remained on a rack in deep storage for decades. 

For two full years, between 2003 and 2005, Coltellini’s dirty altarpiece was the sole project of a single Walters conservator named Gillian Cook.

As the cleaning unfolded it became increasingly clear that despite the layers of dirt, there was something very exciting and wonderful beneath.  For unlike nearly all paintings of this scale from the Italian Renaissance, our Coltellini, in its entire 500-year history, had never before been cleaned!  Which means that beneath the grime the painting was pristine.

Gradually, through the meticulous work of our conservator and with the aid of thousands of saliva-empowered Q-Tips a cleaners, a gem of a Renaissance painting began to appear.  One which, like very few others, still retained those translucent top glazes of paint that allow light to travel into and come back out of the work.  And by which, the colors are made to glow.

Come and see for yourself, for we have given Coltellini’s great altarpiece, “The Madonna and Child Surrounded by Saints,” pride of place at the center of the east wall in our Early Renaissance Gallery.

Posted in Art, Baltimore, Henry Walters, The Walters, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Friday from the Vault: The Nuremberg Torture Instruments

Posted by gvikan on Friday, February 19th, 2010

Henry Walters occasionally bought some very odd things. Probably the strangest of all was the collection of  “Nuremberg Castle Torture Instruments” – 625 items in all, including gallows hooks, iron masks, executioners’ swords, manacles, thumb-holders, whips, and pillories. The Nuremberg Torture Instruments

The most spectacular object in the collection was the “Celebrated Original Iron Maiden,” a (quote) “terror-inspiring” two-part wooden contraption fitted with iron spikes, which, when closed, would impale the occupant.

An English art dealer named Julius Ichenhauser purchased the collection in 1890, and sent it on tour in Great Britain, including Louis Tussaud’s Maddox Street Galleries.  The press went wild.  The London Morning Advertiser of May 18th, 1891 reported that (quote) “it may be safely affirmed that there is nor more comprehensive and reliable collection its kind in the world.”

In 1905, Ichenhauser talked Henry Walters into buying the entire Nuremberg Torture Collection, along with a “Criminal Library.”  Was Henry swayed by twinges of Gothic romanticism from his childhood reading?

We don’t know.

But we do know that soon, Henry Walters came to the realization that he had made a mistake.  Though in fact, he may have had some wise council help him come to that conclusion.  For according to local lore, Henry Walters’ decision to “deaccession” the Nuremberg Torture Collection, came in response to the powerful voice of his neighbor on Charles Street, just two blocks south: none other than James, Cardinal Gibbons.

Posted in Art, Baltimore, Henry Walters, Museums, The Walters, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Art + Science Wednesday: Brain Size and Intelligence

Posted by gvikan on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

 

Photo: GV ("Pippi")
Photo: GV (”Pippi”)

If you care at all about creativity and/or dogs and/or the most exciting frontier for research these days, have a look at the interview with Princeton neuroscience professor Samuel Wang in the Science Times  last week: ( http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/science/09conv.html?scp=2&sq=claudia%20dreifus&st=cse).

Learn why he chose neuroscience over physics as his career (isn’t it obvious); learn that Sudoku won’t do us older folks any mental good (though more exercise might), and that playing Motzart for babies is a waste of time (for both parent and baby).

But the really intresting part is about dogs. Dr. Wang studies dog MRIs (brain scans) looking for correlations between brain size/characteristics and dog breed characteristics. There’s quite a range, because dogs can vary by a factor of x60 in  body mass and x3 in brain size.

So, poodles are smarter than most dogs, and pugs (Wang has one) are sweet but not so bright.  I will assume for now that my French Bulldog’s brain is closer in size to that of the pug than the poodle, but I (we both) await Dr. Wang’s findings. 

Of course, compared with dogs, humans are all alike, Einstein’s brain included.

Where’s this all going?  I don’t know, but stay tuned, it’s got to come around to art sooner or later.

Posted in Neuroscience, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Mystery Art Object of the Week – and a PRIZE!

Posted by gvikan on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Photo: GV

Photo: GV

What is this?  The first person to get the right answer gets a free membership to the Walters!

And even if you live far away, there are lots of reciprocal benefits involved – which means with a WAM membership you get in free to a whole bunch of other museums.

And, as you know, the Walters if FREE all the time.

So, what is it?

Posted in Art, The Walters, Uncategorized | 43 Comments »

Monday: Object of the Week – THE RUBENS VASE!

Posted by gvikan on Monday, February 15th, 2010

Photo: GV

Photo: GV

This is one of the Walters’ most precious masterpieces. Carved from a single piece of agate, it is translucent, and light striking the inside causes it to glow in warm, honey-colored tones.

For nearly a millennium, this spectacular example of gem carving lived a quiet life of splendid isolation, in the Byzantine Imperial Palace in Constantinople (modern Istanbul).

But in 1204, this all changed.

French Crusaders sacked the city and took the vase back to France.  And there, over the next 400 years, it passed from one famous collection to another: from Louis I, Duke of Anjou; to his brother, Charles V, King of France; then to the treasury of Notre-Dame Cathedral, and finally the palace of King Francis I, just outside Paris.

Around 1590, the vase was stolen from the king’s palace, and apparently lost; but about 30 years later, it resurfaced in a Parisian “flee market,” where it was purchased by the great Flemish painter, diplomat, and art collector, Peter Paul Rubens. 

But soon, Rubens fell on hard times and had to sell it, and its buyer then offered it to Shah Jahan, the Grand Mogul of India. 

Dangerous encounters continued. 

 On its way to India, the Rubens Vase was “lost” in a famous shipwreck off the coast of Australia.  But somehow, miraculously, the vase was recovered, and next emerged, around 1825, in the collection of the eccentric millionaire William Beckford.

Beckford eventually gave the vase to a nephew, who seemed to have forgotten its illustrious pedigree.  It moved among various relatives until 1925, when Henry Walters bought it for just $4000.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Friday from the Walters Vault: The Fake that Wasn’t

Posted by gvikan on Friday, February 12th, 2010

Henry Walters

Henry Walters

In 1903 collector Henry Walters purchased the Vierge Ouvrante or Opening Madonna—an ivory statuette whose front half is hinged and can open(http://art.thewalters.org/viewwoa.aspx?id=36652).

Closed, the seated Madonna with Christ on her lap is visible, and when opened scenes from the Passion of Christ are displayed.

J.P. Morgan wanted it, but Henry Walters got it, and it was expensive.

In the 1980s  the Vierge Ouvrante was taken off view, and it stayed in storage  for almost 15 years.

Why?

Because this once “unique” piece had three near twins in France, and they had all been condemned as fakes because of clear mistakes in their iconography.

Closed case?  Not so.  Science came to the rescue!

J.P. Morgan

J.P. Morgan

In 1998, the Walters had the Opening Madonna carbon-14 dated for an exhibition. The test results showed that it dated to around the year 1200, confirming it was genuine.

So, why were there three similar reproductions of the Walters’ Opening Madonna?

During the French Revolution, the Walters Vierge Ouvrante was turned into a children’s toy fit with four small wheels and a pull cord.

Once the French got their religion back, it was sent to Paris to be fixed, by artisans who were very good at repairing works of ivory in the medieval style. They were so expert, in fact, that they decided to make three faked copies. Each was good, but not perfect, and each was sold to a major French collector.

Three collectors were taken, but Henry Walters got it right! And beat out J.P. Morgan.

Posted in Art, Baltimore, Forgeries, Henry Walters, The Walters, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Art + Science Wednesday: Come on down!

Posted by gvikan on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Photo: Tony Venne

The exhibition “Beauty and the Brain,” on the 4th level of the Walters’ Centre Street Building, is small (just one work of art!) but it has gotten a whole lot of attention, not only in the SUN, but also in:

But we need your help.  This is more of an experiment than an exhibition. You, our visitors, come down, put on 3D glasses (think AVATAR!), and pick your most and least favorite shapes from among each of 10 groupings.

Put your scorecard in the box, add your e-mail address, and we’ll keep you posted on the progress of the experiment.

We are exploring, with Ed Connor of the Mind/Brain Institute at JHU, the notion of “significant form.” Do some shapes appeal more than others to our visual brain?

And is this what artists are after?

And there are no wrong answers!

Posted in Aesthetics, Art, Baltimore, Neuroscience, The Walters, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »