Getty Foundation announces grant to conserve iconic masterpieces by Caravaggio and Rubens
Michelangelo Merisi, gen. Caravaggio, David mit dem Haupt des Goliath, 1600/01. Photo: Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Getty Foundation in Los Angeles is awarding a grant of €300,000 (roughly $416,000 US) to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (KHM) for the conservation of two great masterpieces by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens. The KHM grant will be one of the last training grants of the Foundation’s successful Panel Paintings Initiative, through which the next generation of paintings conservators is being trained in the complexities of conserving works of art painted on wood panels.
“The conservation of these two spectacular paintings in Vienna provides a fascinating learning opportunity for all of the conservators involved in the project. When the last major training grants are completed in late 2016, the Panel Paintings Initiative will have succeeded in reaching its goals, ensuring that the next generation of conservators is in place to provide quality care for panel paintings in major European and North American collections,” said Deborah Marrow, Director of the Getty Foundation. “The Initiative’s success is the result of a joint effort by all of the expert conservators involved, who have been extremely generous in sharing their time and knowledge.”
Sabine Haag, General Director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, added "I am an advocate of publicizing scholarship, science and research in the context of the museum's ongoing international collaborations and interconnected projects, of informing the general public about these important aspects of museum work. Our collaboration with the Getty Foundation has allowed us to expand the Kunsthistorisches Museum as a center of competence and training for panel conservation. I am extremely happy that we will continue this successful collaboration and that this long-term cooperation ensures the optimum examination and conservation of two icons of art history."
The two KHM paintings – Caravaggio’s David with the Head of Goliath (ca. 1600) and Rubens’ Stormy Landscape (ca. 1625) – are both iconic masterpieces representing the height of Baroque painting.
Caravaggio’s David with the Head of Goliath is one of only two existing paintings by the artist on wood panel. A beautiful and emotionally evocative work, this panel is in critically fragile condition, the result of past conservation interventions that shaved the wood support to only a few millimeters in thickness, nearly as thin as paper. The project will require the removal of the existing rigid cradle - a latticed wooden structure attached to the back of the panel intended to prevent warping. Following the cradle’s removal, the panels must rest to resume their natural shape before the conservators can determine the next steps, which will include the construction of a new flexible support and the repair of multiple fractures that threaten the integrity of the paint layers.
Rubens’ Stormy Landscape is a powerful representation of the natural world, setting the course for the future development of landscape painting. The work is among the greatest dramatic landscapes by Rubens, who created it for his own personal collection. It is one of two large landscapes painted by the artist in this period that feature scenes from classical literature, in this case, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses . (Small figures on the right side of the painting indicate it is the story of Philemon and Baucis being rescued from the storm by the gods Jupiter and Mercury.) The painting is structurally complex and was cobbled together from ten different pieces of wood. Because each plank has aged differently, the panel presents some unique conservation challenges. The separations between the pieces are now visible to the naked eye.
Old master paintings on wooden supports, or panels, are among the most significant works of art in American and European museum collections. Years of practice are required for a panel paintings conservator to develop the surgical skills required for intervention, including a deep knowledge of painting conservation techniques and exceptional woodworking expertise. With only a handful of experts fully qualified to conserve these paintings, and nearly all of them set to retire within the next decade, the Getty Foundation, Getty Conservation Institute, and J. Paul Getty Museum together launched the Panel Paintings Initiative in 2009 to ensure that the next generation of conservators would be prepared to take their place. Since then, the Foundation has identified and supported a number of projects designed to achieve this goal.
The Initiative already has achieved a concentrated but significant impact on the field, so far providing more than 20 conservators intensive training and hands-on experience in panel paintings conservation. In addition, hundreds of other conservators and students have benefitted from the workshops that have been offered, university courses that have resulted, or translations of key works on panel painting conservation that have been disseminated.
One of the key goals of the initiative was to increase knowledge among conservators in Central and Eastern Europe. The project in Vienna will support training for five conservators in from Crakow, Dresden, Prague, and Vienna. Two of these individuals hold teaching positions at conservation schools in their respective countries, which will extend the reach of training activities as they incorporate their newly acquired knowledge into their courses.
Experts at KHM will oversee the project, and structural treatment will be undertaken by two of the world’s foremost panel paintings conservators, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s George Bisacca and the Museo Nacional del Prado’s José de la Fuente. Also consulting on the project will be two leading experts and active trainers on the Panel Paintings Initiative: retired Opificio delle Pietre Dure conservator Ciro Castelli and Ebury Street conservator Ray Marchant. The project was developed in consultation with the initiative’s lead trainers and with members of the Panel Paintings Initiative advisory committee, which includes experts from Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, and the United States.
Although this is one of the last major training grants of the initiative, a number of the current projects remain active and will continue to yield interesting results over the next two to three years.
Peter Paul Rubens, Stormy Landscape, c.1625. Photo: Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna.
A multigem and gold bangle by Lydia Courteille
Lydia Courteille. Large bracelet poissons. Photo Tajan.
Il est en forme de bracelet rigide ouvert portant au centre une grande plaque de jade jadéite sculptée de deux carpes. Le corps du bracelet représente des poissons pavés de diamants champagne dans des vagues stylisées pavées de saphirs en camaïeu de bleu. Monture en or gris 18K patiné. Poids brut : 163,8 gr. Dimensions du plateau : 6 x 4,5 cm environ. Poids des saphirs : 34 carats environ. Poids des diamants : 5 carats environ. Estimation : 26 500 € / 28 000 €
A multigem and gold bangle by Lydia Courteille
TAJAN. Importants Bijoux. le 30 Juillet 2014 à 15h. CAFÉ DE PARIS - SALON BELLEVUE - MONTE CARLO. Contact: Romain Monteaux-Sarmiento au +33 (0)1 53 30 30 30.
An art deco rock crystal, diamond and platinum brooch
Broche anneau cristal de roche, Époque Art Déco. Photo Tajan.
L'anneau de cristal de roche porte deux palmettes pavées de diamants taille brillant. Les deux motifs sont amovibles pour former une paire de clips de revers. Monture en platine. Travail français numéroté. Poids brut : 25,6 gr. Dimensions : 6,8 x 4 cm. Estimation : 27 500 € / 30 000 €
An art deco rock crystal, diamond and platinum brooch.
TAJAN. Importants Bijoux. le 30 Juillet 2014 à 15h. CAFÉ DE PARIS - SALON BELLEVUE - MONTE CARLO. Contact: Romain Monteaux-Sarmiento au +33 (0)1 53 30 30 30.
A rock crystal and gold necklace circa 1970 by Ettore SOTTSASS
Ettore SOTTSSAS, Années 1970. Rare collier cristal de roche. Photo Tajan.
Au centre un important pendentif de forme carrée composé de quatres disques de cristal de roche à inclusions. Ils sont réunis par des barrettes d'or jaune 18K à un disque d'onyx. Tour de cou rigide également en or jaune 18K. Signé Ettore SOTTSASS et numéroté épreuve d'artiste II/II. Poids brut : 108,7 cm. Dimensions du pendentif : 11 x 7,7 (bélière comprise). Estimation : 30 000 € / 50 000 €
Le collier est accompagné de son écrin d'origine de GEM MONTEBELLO.
A rock crystal and gold necklace circa 1970 by Ettore SOTTSASS
TAJAN. Importants Bijoux. le 30 Juillet 2014 à 15h. CAFÉ DE PARIS - SALON BELLEVUE - MONTE CARLO. Contact: Romain Monteaux-Sarmiento au +33 (0)1 53 30 30 30.
Multicolor sapphire diamond and gold necklace
Important collier saphirs multicolores. Photo Tajan.
Il est orné de motifs ovales sertis de 27 saphirs bleus, roses, verts et pourpres. Au centre un saphir coussin plus important en pampille. Monture en or gris 18K. Poids brut : 86,5 gr.Poids total des saphirs : 50,55 carats environ. Poids total des diamants : 16 carats environ.Longueur : 43 cm. Estimation : 38 000 € / 45 000 €
Chacun des saphirs est accompagné d'un rapport du laboratoire GRS énonçant selon son opinion : couleur naturelle, origine Madagascar, sans trace de traitement de thermique.
Multicolor sapphire diamond and gold necklace.
TAJAN. Importants Bijoux. le 30 Juillet 2014 à 15h. CAFÉ DE PARIS - SALON BELLEVUE - MONTE CARLO. Contact: Romain Monteaux-Sarmiento au +33 (0)1 53 30 30 30.
A 47,71 carats sapphire, diamond and platinum ring
Importante bague saphir. Photo Tajan.
Elle est ornée d'un saphir ovale en chaton à quatre double griffes encadré de rouleaux sertis de diamants baguettes. Monture en platine. Travail français. Poids brut : 21,4 gr. Poids du saphir : 47,71 carats. TDD : 56. Estimation : 40 000 € / 60 000 €
Le saphir est accompagné d'un rapport du laboratoire LFG énonçant selon son opinion : origine Ceylan, sans trace de traitement thermique.
A 47,71 carats sapphire, diamond and platinum ring.
TAJAN. Importants Bijoux. le 30 Juillet 2014 à 15h. CAFÉ DE PARIS - SALON BELLEVUE - MONTE CARLO. Contact: Romain Monteaux-Sarmiento au +33 (0)1 53 30 30 30.
Chinese porcelain vase, Zhengde mark but from the Wanli (1573-1619) period, Ming dynasty
Chinese porcelain vase, Zhengde mark but from the Wanli (1573-1619) period, Ming dynasty. Photo courtesy Alberto Varela Santos
Chinese porcelain hexagonal vase decorated with two five clawed dragons in under glaze cobalt blue, base with the Zhengde (1506-21) four character mark in under glaze cobalt blue but from the Wanli (1573/1619) reign, Ming dynasty. h. 14 cm, 5 1/2 in.
Alberto Varela Santos. www.santoslondon.com · santos@santoslondon.com · albertovsantos@aol.com
Chinese porcelain bowl, Qianlong (1723-1795) zhuanshu mark and of the period
Chinese porcelain bowl, Qianlong (1723-1795) zhuanshu mark and of the period. Photo courtesy Alberto Varela Santos
Chinese export porcelain bowl decorated in under glaze cobalt blue. Base with the mark of Qianlong (1736/1795) in zhuanshu and of the period. ø 14 cm, 5 1/2 in. - ON HOLD
Alberto Varela Santos. www.santoslondon.com · santos@santoslondon.com · albertovsantos@aol.com
Chinese porcelain deep plate, Kangxi (1622-1722) mark and period, Qing dynasty
Chinese porcelain deep plate, Kangxi (1622-1722) mark and period, Qing dynasty. Photo courtesy Alberto Varela Santos
Chinese porcelain deep plate decorated in under glaze cobalt blue with men riding horses at full gallop. Base with the six character mark of Kangxi (1662/1722) and of the period. ø 25 cm, 9 3/4 in.- ON HOLD
Alberto Varela Santos. www.santoslondon.com · santos@santoslondon.com · albertovsantos@aol.com
Chinese porcelain deep plate, Kangxi (1622-1722) mark and period, Qing dynasty
Chinese porcelain deep plate, Kangxi (1622-1722) mark and period, Qing dynasty. Photo courtesy Alberto Varela Santos
Chinese porcelain deep plate decorated in under glaze cobalt blue with ladies in a garden. Base with the six character mark of Kangxi (1662/1722) and of the period. ø 25 cm, 9 3/4 in. - ON HOLD
Alberto Varela Santos. www.santoslondon.com · santos@santoslondon.com · albertovsantos@aol.com
