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Hugo van der Goes, the definitive retrospective

From 31 March to 16 July 2023, the Gemäldegalerie presents “Hugo van der Goes. Between Pain and Bliss”, the most important exhibition ever devoted to Hugo van der Goes (c. 1440-1482/83)

Source: Gemäldegalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin · Image: Hugo van der Goes, “The Monforte Altarpiece” (c. 1470/75), Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

Hugo van der Goes (c. 1440-1482/83) was the most important Dutch artist of the second half of the 15th century. His works impress with their monumentality and intense colourfulness as well as with their astonishing closeness to life and emotional expressiveness. Now, 540 years after the artist’s death, the Berlin Gemäldegalerie celebrates a premiere: for the first time, almost all of the artist’s surviving paintings and drawings will be presented in one exhibition.

Although Hugo van der Goes must be mentioned in the same breath as pioneering masters such as Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, no monographic exhibition has ever been devoted to his complete works. This is probably due to both the rarity of his works and their often large format. Two of his monumental works, the “Monforte Altarpiece” (c. 1470/75) and the “Birth of Christ” (c. 1480), are in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. For this reason, the collection lends itself to a special exhibition like no other. Both Berlin panel paintings have been lavishly restored over the past twelve years and now appear with a freshness previously undreamed of. Van der Goes’ late masterpiece, the “Death of the Virgin” from the Groeningemuseum in Bruges, which has never before left Flanders, has also recently undergone extensive restoration and will be a highlight of the Berlin show.

The biography of Hugo van der Goes is as fascinating today as his paintings. The painter, who worked as an independent master in Ghent from 1467 onwards, abandoned his successful secular career in the mid-1470s for unknown reasons and entered a monastery near Brussels as a lay brother. Most of his preserved works were created there. After a few years in the monastery, however, Hugo was suddenly struck by a mysterious mental illness, which a confrere later reported: the painter believed himself damned and tried to take his own life. In the late 19th century, van der Goes was therefore regarded as the prototype of the “mad genius” with whom even Vincent van Gogh identified.

With the help of some 60 top-class exhibits, including loans from 38 international collections, the Berlin exhibition will bring the art of Hugo van der Goes to life in a way never seen before. The focus will be on twelve of the 14 paintings now attributed to van der Goes as well as the two drawings considered to be his own work. In addition, compositions by the master that were once known but lost in the original will be presented in contemporary repetitions and redrawings. Finally, the exhibition is dedicated to the painter’s immediate successor with a selection of outstanding works clearly influenced by Hugo van der Goes’ style, such as the spectacular “Hippolytus Triptych” from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the famous “Adoration of Christ” by the French painter Jean Hey from the Musée Rolin in Autun.

From Picasso to Nara: Sotheby’s 50th anniversary in Hong Kong

April 2, 2023. Texts by Muhammad Dzamar Reza, Asian market analyst student. – Image: Pablo Picasso, “Femme Dans Au Fertuil” (1948) © Succession Picasso / Yoshimoto Nara’s “In the Milky Lake” (2012) © Yoshimoto Nara

Sotheby’s, one of the first Western auction houses to start trading in Asia, held its first auction in 1973 in Hong Kong. At that time, the category of works of art was limited only to Chinese ceramics. But with the passage of time, 50 years later, thanks to the unprecedented economic growth of China, as well as the rest of Asia, the categories that Sotheby’s includes go far beyond Chinese ceramics, ranging from Chinese paintings, wine and jewellery to Western art. In this way, Hong Kong has become an important art centre in Asia, as well as an important part of Sotheby’s auction hub alongside New York and London.

The grand 50th anniversary auction will take place on 5 April 2023. The first highlight of the sale is Zhang Daqian‘s “Pink Lotuses on Gold Screen“, which makes its debut at the auction as the painting was acquired from the artist himself by the art collector C.S. Loh. The painting was a symbol of the Loh family and Zhang Daqian and the family had never sold the work until now. The painting is expected to fetch HKD 200 million.

Other highlights of the auction include Pablo Picasso‘s “Femme Dans Au Fertuil“, which depicts Françouise Gilot, one of Picasso’s muses, and has an estimate of HKD100 million. The painting was painted in 1948 and completed on Christmas Day of the same year. In the contemporary auction, Yoshimoto Nara‘s “In the Milky Lake” is expected to lead the sale with an estimate of HKD 80 million to 120 million. This work, as well as others by Nara, was partially inspired by the cover image of folk singer John Hiatt’s album “Overcoats” (1975). After the 2011 tsunami, Nara turned his work around and engaged with local communities to reflect on his work and himself. A year later this painting was finished.

In a different auction, but comparable in terms of value, an imperial “falangcai” bowl is offered. This beautiful piece was sold for HK$151 million – or US$19.3 million- in 2006. It is now being offered again for HK$200 million, which means that despite the rise of billionaires in mainland China and Asia-Pacific, its pre-sale estimate has not risen much.

Dulwich Picture Gallery pays tribute to Berthe Morisot, the grand dame of Impressionism

From 31 March to 10 September 2023, the Dulwich Picture Gallery presents “Berthe Morisot: Impressionism and the 18th Century”, the first major UK exhibition of the renowned Impressionist since 1950.

Source: Dulwich Picture Gallery · Image: Berthe Morisot, “Eugène Manet on the Isle of Wigh”, 1875

In partnership with the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris, it brings together 40 of Morisot’s most important works from international collections, many never seen before in the UK, to reveal the artist as a trailblazer of the movement as well as uncovering a previously untold connection between her work and 18th century culture, with around 20 works for comparison.

A founding member of the Impressionist group, Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was known for her swiftly painted glimpses of contemporary life and intimate domestic scenes. She featured prominently in the Impressionist exhibitions and defied social norms to become one of the movement’s most influential figures. Now, in a bold new retelling of Morisot’s story, Dulwich Picture Gallery draws on new research and previously unpublished archival material from the Musée Marmottan Monet to trace the roots of her inspiration, revealing the ways in which Morisot engaged with 18th century art and culture, while also highlighting the originality of her artistic vision, which ultimately set her apart from her predecessors.

Highlights include “Eugène Manet on the Isle of Wight” (1875), painted while Morisot was on honeymoon in England, and her striking “Self-Portrait” (1885), which will appear alongside Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s “Young Woman” (c.1769) from Dulwich Picture Gallery’s collection. “Apollo revealing his divinity to the shepherdess Issé, after François Boucher” (1892), “In the Apple Tree” (1890) and “Julie Manet with her Greyhound Laerte” (1893), are among nine paintings on loan from the Musée Marmottan Monet, many receiving their first ever showing in the UK.

Jennifer Scott, Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery, said: “Morisot was an innovator and a leader of the Impressionist movement. We are excited to be working in partnership with Musée Marmottan Monet to bring a remarkable body of Morisot’s work to UK audiences, and to present ground-breaking comparisons to reveal the inspiration behind Impressionism itself.”

Beginning with an Apprentice-style dating show, a flurry of television shows will follow the lives of affluent dealers as they navigate the choppy waters of the art world