Introduction
Over the past few years, there have been some incredible and noteworthy art discoveries made by art conservators and happenstance archaeologists alike. Whether they’ve been forgotten amidst family heirlooms in attics and discovered decades later, or carted onto the set of Antiques Roadshow, these unexpected finds are more valuable than their appraised price tags: they suggest a whole iceberg of arts and culture just waiting to be found beneath the surface.
The fruit of his loins
2010 was a remarkable year for art discoveries, including a work by Renaissance master Caravaggio. On the 400th anniversary of the painter’s death, the Vatican suggested that a previously unattributed painting, found among their archives and titled Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, may actually be a work by the revered artist.
The painting, property of the Jesuit Order, depicts the young Saint Lawrence, loincloth-clad, crying out in pain as he is roasted over a grate. While the Vatican did concede that more information was needed to confirm the attribution, there were some who remained unconvinced of the work’s merit.
According to an article by The Telegraph, Antonio Pinelli, an art historian from Florence, suggested that the work was more likely by one of Caravaggio’s followers, not by the master himself. He claimed that the texture of the skin and the execution of the loin cloth were poor, and that the “blue rag is really a very poor thing.”
Whether or not the piece can rightfully be attributed to Caravaggio is still up in the air, but the 400th anniversary seems a suspiciously convenient time for this discovery to surface.
The ultimate souvenir payoff
Antiques Roadshow is, more often than not, addled with less-than valuable tea sets and grandfather clocks, but for one woman in 2009, it proved to be worth the leap. The woman brought four ornately carved jade pieces to the show, including two dishes, a vase, and a sculpture. Lo and behold, the collection turned out to be a set of genuine antique Chinese pieces.
The woman’s father had been stationed in China in the 30s and 40s, acting as a liaison for the war. On the episode, she recounts tales told to her as a child from her father, who was just a “Kentucky farm boy.” According to her, he learned Chinese and met a Mr. Liang who lived at “number ten Jade Street.” She recalls her father telling her about how this Mr. Liang would call him over and say, “I have some pieces you might want to look at.”
Evidently, the friendship with Mr. Liang proved fruitful. After being appraised, it was discovered that the collection was worth over $1 million. The appraiser, James Callahan, an expert in Asian Arts, informed her that the pieces were all of very, very high quality.
One bowl’s design was based off of an Indian style, referred to as Mogul, and dates back to the 18th century. Another piece is set with a ruby, a carving of an animal-like creature called a bixie, which was thought to ward off evil. Another piece is inscribed with “by imperial order” on the bottom, indicating that it was made specifically for the emperor.
Callahan suggested they date back to the Qianlong period during the years 1736 to 1795, and probably belonged to Emperor Qianlong himself. Callahan called it the best thing he’d ever seen on Roadshow.
From birthday suit to black suit and tie
Ever wondered what a young, naked Sean Connery must have looked like? Wonder no longer!
An oil painting of the young 007 has been found in a Scottish artist’s home. The artist, Rab Webster, from the Scottish Borders, died in 2010 at the age of 83, and, when his family went about cleaning up his things, they discovered stacks upon stacks of old canvases.
Webster, who worked as an art teacher before his death, had a large collection of previously unseen works, among them the brushstroke-perfected tush of Mr. Connery.
Connery, before landing his breakthrough gig as Mr. Shaken-Not-Stirred, worked as an artist’s model at the Edinburgh College of Art. Nick Behel, a family member of Webster, noted in an article in The Telegraph that “[Webster] said Connery treated it just as a job and that he didn’t say very much.”
The Norwegian attic of dust and dollars
A new van Gogh painting has very recently been discovered, more than 120 years after the painter’s death. The stunning landscape painting — having spent most of its life hidden away under sheaths of dust in a Norwegian attic — was originally thought to be a fake.
This discovery is particularly astonishing because the work is from the same period as some of van Gogh’s greatest, such as The Yellow House and Sunflowers — a period when the artist was living in Arles in southern France.
Experts from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam have called the discovery “absolutely sensational,” “a once in a lifetime experience,” have said that and that “a discovery of this magnitude has never before occurred in the history of the Van Gogh Museum.” Indeed, the discovery of the painting — titled Sunset at Montmajour — is a tremendous addition to the oeuvre of the famous painter. Montmajour depicts the bright countryside of Arles, where van Gogh was working during the time, in shades of mustard and vivid green; a ruined abbey dots the hillside in the distance.
The story behind the discovery is a common thread: the original owner of the painting had his doubts about its legitimacy, and so — rather than face embarrassment by his peers for being in possession of a phony — he thrust the painting up into the attic, where it would sit for years, untouched.
The owner, Christian Nicolai Mustad, a Norwegian industrialist, bought the painting in 1908 upon the suggestion of art historian Jens Thiis, the director of the National Museum in Oslo at the time. A French ambassador later visited Mustad, wryly insinuating the painting was either a fake or wrongly attributed. With the number of forgeries floating around during the time, Mustad became wary and rather than research the painting, he hid it away, to be kept from art admirers and collectors until this year.
Mustad passed away in 1970, and the painting has been rejected as a fake several times since, but after extensive research into the style and technique, experts are finally comfortable calling it an official work by van Gogh. As of September 24, the painting has been put up on display as part of a “Van Gogh at Work” exhibit at the museum.
The woman in the pink dress
The story goes that a woman left her apartment for the south of France before World War II, but she continued to diligently pay her rent for decades after. When she died at the age of 91, her apartment was finally opened up, after 70 years of being closed off. Those who were left to disassemble her dusty belongings were astonished to find a large painting of a woman in a rose-coloured dress.
As it turns out, the painting was discovered to be by the renowned Italian artist Boldini, and — get this — the subject of the painting was actually the grandmother of the woman who previously inhabited the apartment.
Tucked into a book amidst Boldini’s preserved belongings was a love note written by Boldini himself, as well as a reference to the date of the painting, 1898, proving its authenticity. The painting had, evidently, never been listed or exhibited. It sold at an auction for nearly $3 million.
Fragments of another world
There are virtually no paintings remaining from the Hellenistic period (321 BC–31 BC), save for a few fragments hinting at the composition and colours used by the decadent ancient Greek and Mediterranean cultures. Recently though, a work has been discovered and restored at the world heritage site at Petra, Jordan, one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites.
The location, most famous for its mix of ancient eastern traditions and Hellenistic architecture, can now also claim 2,000 year-old — circa the first century Anno Domini, if not older — Hellenistic-style wall paintings.
The paintings were found by British conservation specialists who, at the urging of the Petra National Trust, recovered the works over three years, removing thousands of years’ worth of soot, grease and graffiti. Experts have called the discovery “exceptional,” and have even claimed that the uncovered paintings are superior to some Roman works at Herculaneum, the ancient Roman town that was destroyed by volcanic activity in 79 AD.
The realistic depictions of life in the paintings are so vivid that specific species of flowers, birds and insects have been identified. The images include three different vines of grape, ivy and bindweed, the latter of which is associated with the Greek god of wine, Dionysus.
There are also depictions of a demoiselle crane and a Palestinian sunbird, all done in vivid colours. The paintings are thought to be done by the Nabataeans, a group of people who traded with the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian empires, and whose land stretched from Damascus to the Red Sea, and Sinai to the Arabian desert.
The electric blue period
In 2010, 271 new works by Picasso were discovered in Paris. Pierre Le Guennec, a 71-year old retired electrician, was arrested by French police officers when it was found that the unlikely art collector was in possession of hundreds of never-before-seen works by the cubist master.
The works, dated between 1900 and 1932, include portraits of Picasso’s first wife, Olga, nine cubist collages valued at 40 million euros, a watercolour from his “blue” period, as well as around 30 lithographs and 200-odd drawings.
The works were at first thought to be fakes, but art experts have suggested that there’s no way that a counterfeiter could have copied the wide range of styles found in the collection. Le Guennec claimed that the works were gifts from Picasso in return for odd jobs performed around his Côte d’Azur home and studio, but the Picasso family said that the story seems unlikely, as none of the pieces were dated, something Picasso never omitted when gifting his work.
According to an article published by The Telegraph, Picasso’s son Claude said: “To give such a large quantity (away) frankly doesn’t stand up. It was part of his life . . . he always dated, signed and wrote dedications in his gifts, knowing that some people would go on to sell them to meet their needs.”
Le Guennec later changed his story, suggesting that the works were a gift from Picasso’s second wife, Jacqueline Roque, who committed suicide in 1986. The fate of the works hang in the balance, as it was last reported that the rightful possession of the drawings and paintings would be determined in a legal battle.
