So it is now nearly two weeks since I trundled off to the Louvre of an evening to see the “Venice Show”, here officially entitled “Titien—Tintoret—Véronese: Rivalités à Venise [Paris, the Louvre, 17 September 2009 until 4 January 2010]. It had not been all that easy to get convenient tickets.

As the feature of an exhibition,16th century religious altarpieces by Paolo Veronese can make for arcane subject matter. This is all well and good for the Old Masters connoisseur. But how does one reach the interests of the masses, whose knowledge of art history is scant at best?
Such an exhibition is currently ongoing at the [...]

In the final post from this weeks wrapup of everything OM in 2009 so far, OMNP takes a look at some of the interesting developments over the past several months.
Outside of market news, the UK National Gallery’s purchase of Titian’s “Diana and Acteon” has been most noteworthy. The allegorical masterpiece had been a part of [...]

The US has gotten its share of Renaissance preeminence, as Michelangelo and Leonardo, and the Venetian trinity have both made rare appearances stateside over the past twelve months.
Following the debut of  rare Leonardo drawings at the Birmingham Museum of Art last winter, the rare and controversial discovery of what many believe to be Michelangelo’s first [...]

Tintoretto, “Susannah and the Elders”

Less than a month remains to visit the Boston Museum of Fine Arts exhibition Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice, one of the finest collections of Venetian painting ever assembled in this country. Rivals next stop is the Louvre. As a contemporary painter accustomed to stripped-down art, [...]

Titian’s “Diana and Acteon,” was recently retained by England, after the 50m GBP was raised to purchase it from the Duke of Sutherland.

A look back at some of the atmosphere surrounding the bidding room floor during Old Masters week, this past January

Works discussed included those by titian, chardin, watteau, lorenzo monaco, turner, de la tour, procaccini, pieter brueghel the younger, and bergognone.

OMNP previews Sotheby’s New York sale of Old Master Paintings, from January 29-30

OMNP details the recent year that was Old Masters news, sales, and exhibitions.
News Highlights
Christie’s and Sotheby’s Old Master auctions are successes in spite of the art market’s recent struggles
England attempts to save its own “Mona Lisa,” Titian’s “Diana and Acteon,” from being sold on the open market, by raising the funds to meet [...]

“Art and Love in Renaissance Italy,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, through February 16th  [Metropolitan Museum of Art] [Art Daily]

A sales export license for a landscape view by J.M.W Turner (left)”The Pope’s Villa at Twickenham,” has been temporarily denied a sales export license until June 9th by the UK Culture Ministry.

Love is in the air..
“Art and Love in Renaissance Italy,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, through February 16th  [Metropolitan Museum of Art] [Art Daily]
Further reading:
‘Art and Love in Renaissance Italy’- Eternal Objects of Desire [Roberta Smith, NY Times]
“Eros” at the  Richard Feigen Gallery, NYC through January 9th [ART INFO] [RLFeigen.com]
Love seems to [...]

Mystery portrait is Lucrezia Borgia, claims gallery [Ellen Connolly, Guardian UK]
A rather scandalous story lies behind this portrait, claimed to be of the illegitimate child of Cardinal Borgia, by the Northern Renaissance master Dosso Dossi
Missing Van Dyck Portrait to go on show at Tate Britain [Art Daily] [Tate Museum]
Lost painting by Italian master fails to [...]

With a little over a month one month to go, the deadline for Britain for preempting the sale of this prized Titian is beginning to loom larger. Even with a recent donation of $15 million from the National Heritage Memorial Fund , less than half of the required funds has been raised to meet the [...]

Following up on the previews of Old Master exhibitions in Europe earlier last month, OMNP follows up with comprehensive coverage of some of the major shows, along with a rundown of those recently announced, both in the US and abroad.

Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian, now on view until January 18, at the UK National [...]

49m GBP to go..
Perhaps awash in patriotism after the recent save of one of its national treasures , the Art Fund announced last week that it will be donating £1 million GBP towards reclaiming the famous “Diana and Acteon” by Titian, which was recently announced as threatened to being put on the open market. Despite [...]

Yes, it’s a copy, but it’s a great work nevertheless.
The steady flood of October auctions continues, as OMNP previews Dorotheum’s sale of a quality group of Old Master paintings on Tuesday the 14th. Most of these paintings listed  run at a premium, priced at around €50,000 EUR or higher, however there are some bargains to [...]

OMNP lists a few more exhibitions hitting up the big museums in the US and Europe in the upcoming months. Links are below. Newslinks have been updated on the right, as well.
US
Exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook and other priceless Renaissance artifacts from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in “Medieval and Renaissance [...]

In the age of the blockbuster exhibition, museums pack the crowds with exhibitions that present popular, headlining-grabbing artists. Two recent Old Masters shows demonstrate how this curatorial approach can sometimes produce stimulating results and at other times, head-scratching ones.
Turner to be compared to Masters [BBC]
“Turner and the Masters” [Tate Britian official website]
On the heels [...]