Art World and Market News - September 2023

Art World and Market News - September 2023

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The Passing of Fernando Botero
The renowned Colombian sculptor, Fernando Botero, passed away on September 15th at the age of 91. Famous worldwide for his works characterized by voluminous figures, the artist was a deep admirer of Italian culture, particularly the Renaissance art of our country, with a preference for artists such as Piero della Francesca, Paolo Uccello, and Titian. As evidence of his strong connection to Italy, he expressed a desire to be buried in Pietrasanta (Lu), where he spent a significant part of the year, next to his wife, the Greek-born painter Sophia Vari, who passed away on May 5th of this year.

The Alleged Discovery of a Raphael Painting: Sgarbi Rejects Attribution
For some time now, there has been news of the alleged discovery of a work attributed to Raphael: it is a "Maddalena" from 1504, in which an attempt has been made to identify the face of Chiara Fancelli, the wife of Perugino, Raphael's master. This painting has been the subject of a study that will soon be published in the scientific journal "Open Science, Art and Science." The results were presented in advance during an international conference held in Pergola (Pesaro-Urbino) on September 16th. The findings were presented by the speakers: Mother Maria Cecilia Visentin, a pontifical lecturer, Annalisa Di Maria, an international expert on Leonardo da Vinci and Italian Renaissance, Andrea da Montefeltro, a molecular biologist, and Jean-Charles Pomerol, an emeritus professor at the Sorbonne. The news immediately generated a heated debate, and Vittorio Sgarbi was the first to reject the attribution, stating categorically that the painting cannot be the work of the Urbino master. According to the art critic, it is probably another version, in addition to the one already held at the Galleria Borghese, of a prototype by Perugino that is preserved at Palazzo Pitti.

Chanel: A Style Manifesto on Display at the V&A Museum in London
Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto is the title of the first exhibition in the UK dedicated to the work of the famous French couturière Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. Organized in collaboration with the Palais Galliera, the Fashion Museum of Paris, and with the support of Chanel, the exhibition will be on display at the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum in London until February 25, 2024. With over 200 sartorial creations brought together for the first time, the exhibition offers an in-depth exploration of Gabrielle Chanel's iconic design style, which continues to inspire women's fashion, ranging from her very first millinery boutique in Paris to the presentation of her last collection in 1971. The exhibition is divided into 10 thematic sections, each of which delves into Chanel's innovative approach to the use of fabrics, the creation of silhouettes, and the crafting of her garments. "Gabrielle Chanel courageously redefined the modern women's wardrobe," said Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Fashion CHANEL and President of CHANEL SAS. "We are honored and delighted that the V&A, a world-leading museum and a major institution, is hosting the first retrospective of her work in the UK, showcasing her contribution to the history of fashion and the incredible relevance and endurance of Chanel's style. This exhibition will highlight one of the greatest visionaries of our time." Tickets for Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto are currently sold out due to high demand. The V&A website specifies that only museum members can access the exhibition for free and without a reservation.

Emily Fisher Landau's Precious Collection at Auction: Sotheby’s Wins the Battle Against Christie’s
Emily Fisher Landau, who passed away last March at the age of 102, was one of the most influential figures among collectors and patrons in the second half of the 20th century. It all began with the theft of her precious jewelry. After receiving a generous insurance settlement, Emily Fisher Landau decided to invest in creating an art collection that eventually included 1,200 works. This exceptional collection was exhibited from 1991 to 2017 at her private museum, the Fisher Landau Center for Art, located in a converted factory on Long Island in Queens. In the past, the patron had already donated 350 works of art to the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, including 44 by Jasper Johns and 18 by Robert Rauschenberg, valued at an estimated $50 to $75 million. Now her prestigious collection of contemporary art, one of the most coveted in New York, will be auctioned by Sotheby's, which secured this exclusive collection by surpassing its historic rival, Christie's. The auction will take place on November 8th and 9th, 2023, at Sotheby's future location in New York, a building on Madison Avenue designed by Marcel Breuer, and it is estimated to exceed a total revenue of $400 million. The most significant piece in the collection is Pablo Picasso's "Femme à la montre" (Woman with a Watch) from 1932, a portrait of the artist's young lover, Marie-Therese Walter, which alone could reach $120 million. The valuable painting is not the only masterpiece to be featured at Sotheby's; the auction also boasts works by artists such as Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Ed Ruscha, and Andy Warhol.

Paris: Mayor Anne Hidalgo Announces the Recycling of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped for the 2024 Olympics
The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has announced that the city will recycle the materials used in Christo and Jeanne-Claude's installation "Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped." The environmental organization Parley for the Oceans will be responsible for managing the project, which involves recycling approximately 25,000 square meters of blue polypropylene fabric and just over three kilometers of red polypropylene ropes. These materials will be reused in shading structures, tents, or coverings for upcoming major events in Paris, especially the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The artwork "Wrapped," conceived for the Arc de Triomphe, was inaugurated in 2021, a year after Christo's passing. This installation represents the culmination of a vision that accompanied Christo and Jeanne-Claude for 60 years, starting in 1961 when the Bulgarian artist conceived the idea of wrapping the Arc de Triomphe with fabric. Christo and Jeanne-Claude's artworks have often been designed with the intention of reuse, as seen with the "Floating Piers" structure (2014-2016) created on Lake Iseo in Italy. This work was subsequently recycled by the German company Al-tex, which transformed the material into felt and rings for horse riding. Cyrill Gutsch, founder and CEO of Parley for the Oceans, believes that this type of project represents a symbol of "a new economy where harmful, toxic, and exploitative business practices are now a relic of the past."

Cover image: Coco Chanel in Los Angeles, 1931 via Wikimedia Commons

Written by Kooness