Emanuela

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Procida Italian Capital of Culture 2022

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Procida Capital of Italian Culture almost seemed to be an oxymoron. An island, a territory albeit full of history, tradition, very small and on top of it,  in the middle of the sea. To apply, knowing that the beautiful postcards with Procida unrivalled landscapes,  that have been used by the most renowned brands for years, would not be enough, seemed a gamble. Also because the competition  did not require  to rattle off  own virtues and dowry only, but to go further: to propose a vision of culture that was more attentive to the evolution of human relationships and the environment. The project manager, Agostino Riitano (formerly at the helm of Matera’s candidacy as European Capital of Culture) expressed himself as follows immediately after the announcement: “It was an epochal victory because the commission understood that the Procida project incorporates a paradigm shift of culture in our country, not only large cities of art but also, and above all, the extraordinary cultural heritage spread in small towns. We are convinced that the concept of “minor” contains the  prophecy of a change in the country’s cultural policies. During the hearing held on 15 January, visible to all on the MIBACT youtube channel (in Italian), the proposal for the small island was described as “the largest project comes from the smallest place”. Things like these don’t happen by chance, it’s not enough just to have the best professional, but you need to have a long-term vision of the future of your territory, involving at least one generation. Perhaps it is for this reason that the budget that MIBACT makes available (1 million) is not sufficient to cover all the costs that are used to cover the entire project. The ability of the city to make everything sustainable, which is indispensable, is also evaluated.
Thus Franceschini, the Italian Minister of Culture: “The project is (…) capable of transmitting a poetic message, a vision of culture that extends from the small reality of the island as a wish for all of us, to the country in the months that await “.

Go Procida Go! The fun has just started

 

 

(Emanuela Massa)

modigliani

Modigliani for all

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Never have paintings raised more doubts on authenticity than those attributable to Amedeo Modigliani.

Even when they are signed, with flawless provenance, doubt lingers.

For years, a painting hwas accepted as authentic only if accompanied by the expertise of very few “connoisseurs”, very often without any scientific dossier or, if existing, only self-referential.

The opinions pronounced by these “names”, even with a faint voice, could, and did, decree the fortune or oblivion of a painting.

Modigliani’s paintings have for years been the subject of studies, sometimes even pseudo-mathematical, on the proportions of the faces or the precise distance of the eyes. But the parameters to establish an authentic Modigliani are still unclear or in any case considered the prerogative of very few. Creating a monopoly that is everything but transparent and scientific.

However,, perhaps also thanks to the many scandals, the situation is changing. Soon there will be a new database to study, new reference elements!

For the first time, the investigations on a substantial number of Modigliani will be presented in an exhibition, and they will be shared. 

Thanks to a powerful diagnostic campaign carried out by C2RMF on 27 paintings, including two copies, and three sculptures, all from public collections, the secrets of Modi’ will be disclosed.

We will be able to dive into diagnostics during the exhibition that will open next February (hopefully), and to listen carefully to what will be discussed during the Symposium on March 17-18.

Starting with Antonia (in the image a collage of the investigations).

 

 

 

(Emanuela Massa)

procida

Sustainability: anything to do with Culture?

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With a crescendo reminiscent of Zimmer’s musical pieces, in recent years we have increasingly heard, read and defined the word: sustainability.

In the beginning it seemed to be almost something elitarian but it turned out to be quite the opposite.

So what does sustainable mean for us? Is culture sustainable? Should it be?

Perhaps the time has come (although admittely talking about time in this period is actually a bit weird) to address this topic and try to understand how culture can be be part of a sustainable economy.

That is, an economy that safeguards the earth’s resources.

One of the Goals indicated by the UN 2030 Agenda is: “Providing quality, equitable and inclusive education, and learning opportunities for all.

We would like to briefly reflect on this.

In our opinion, when a society manages to make culture accessible to all, it creates a future of people capable of actively contributing to global sustainability.

Even more, only if this role for culture is recognized, it will be possible to have a virtuous circle that will see investments in this sector coming also from other parts of the economy, aware that it is the humus that feeds a sustainable future.

It will be the multiplier of every action aimed at the well-being of a community. If we think about it, this reflection is also the primitive thought that led to the creation of the European Cities of Culture.

The cultural programs presented in these occasions are the implementation of that virtuous circle we mentioned before. Culture is the beginning and ultimate end of living the community well, and therefore of contributing to the evolution of the world economy, which increasingly needs to continue in a sustainable way.

In recent years, for all Italian and European cities the sustainability of the projects presented was the keyword for the feasibility of it.

For all of them there was a new renaissance.

(Emanuela Massa)

pisasso

Picasso, it wasn’t you

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Art diagnostics is, among other things, an outpost for the protection of cultural heritage. The one case we are presenting here is one of the many we have treated. Not all of them become public, as they do not all end in court. Moreover, we have to respect the secrecy of the investigations and the necessary time before the conclusion of the trial.

In France legislation imposes to distroy fake paintings. Perhaps too extreme. But the damages that a fake painting can do to the buyer, to the understading of the esthetic of a painter and to the market, is vast.

Who wants to have a fake Picasso circulating the market?

Years ago we received a painting presented to us as by Picasso. During the first Scientific Condition Report we highlighted inconsistencies, despite the painting having deceived the members of the commission of the Export Office of the Superintendence of Turin. Thus we were asked to deepen the analysis with a complete diagnostic campaign, both with non-invasive and micro-destructive investigations: multispectral analysis, infrared reflectography, radiography, color analysis with XRF, and with chemical analysis on micro-samples. All the elements of the painting were evaluated, even the frame on which it was anchored and the labels affixed. All of course in concertation with the study of the Picasso’s technique and way of working.

After having realized that something is wrong, it is in fact necessary to recognize what are the irrefutable evidences that the artifact is an intentional forgery. In our world the word “false” has multiple declensions, nuances and not always totally negative, i.e. a work is not to be attributed to a given author but may still be of the same period, produced at the same time. In other cases paintings are sometimes incorrectly indicated as false when they are “academy exercises”, in this case they are in fact better defined as “copies”.

This time, however, we were confronted with an “intentional forgery”, that is, an artifact created and placed on the market with the sole purpose of defrauding a possible buyer.

The painting we are talking about is El Pintor, signed “Picasso”. Following the diligent work of the Carabinieri Protection Unit, on 2 August 2019, the investigation conducted was disclosed. Investigation and process that led to identify those responsible.

Of course, the advice is always to proceed with the analyzes before purchasing. And also this time our motto (originally by Leonardo)  falls perfectly: “it is better a small certainty than a big lie”.

(Emanuela Massa)

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Museums and theatres closed for Christmas? What next?!

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Galleries, concert halls, exhibitions have been mostly off-limits since March, with some rare exceptions.

And what will they do now, in this holiday period that usually sees them as protagonists?

Over the past few months they have shown admirable resilience. Conferences, guided tours, presentations, vernissage, exhibitions, much has been online, available for free from home, comfortably sitting on an armchair.

However, very little has been done for Christmas.

Some exhibitions can be visited online, such as the Tiepolo exhibition at Gallerie di Italia in Milan, which attempts a new format, specific for this type of use. Most of the largest museums have an online tour available

And then there are the scheduled conferences, for example those of the Uffizi, which continue in remote mode, but no one seems to have dedicated real events to this period.

Perhaps not everyone has the skills or the budget to continue to produce attractive online material. Apparently after an initial boomh, the visualisations have gone down significantly over time.

Maybe they expected to be able to get back to normal for the festive season. Perhaps it is an economically unsustainable model in the long run.

But will be so the remote visits like “Christmas at Home with Monet” that Linea D’Ombra is organizing for a fee?

Or the Gala’s organised but the San Carlo theatre in Naples? Or the

Handel and Haydn Society: Monteverdi Vespers of 1610, at the Met in New York.

The art world is rethinking itself, and it is not only a necessary, but also an interesting exercise.

But undoubtedly we lack the physicality of visiting the Museum or Exhibitions.

It will be a less beautiful Christmas.

(Emanuela Massa)

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Tale of two copies and one thief (a Cardinal)

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When in 1507 the Raphael‘s Baglioni Altarpiece was placed on the altar of San Matteo in the Church of San Francesco al Prato, in Perugia, no one would ever have imagined that about 100 years later Cardinal Scipione Borghese would have craved its possession so much to commission its theft. Robbery that, following the riot of the Perugians, in a few days became a “voluntary donation” by the friars, immediately ratified by Scipione’s uncle, Pope Paul V.

At the time of the crime, in 1608 Raphael’s art, the Baglioni Altarpiece and the subject of the central altarpiece, “The Transport of Christ“, still enjoyed great fortune. Therefore, many copies had been made over the years.

Two of these are now preserved in the National Gallery of Umbria.

Although of the same size (184 × 176 cm), and equal to the original one, which is now in the collection of the Galleria Borghese in Rome, the Perugian copies were made at different times and on different media.

A copy on wood was made in 1554, when the original was still in its initial location, by Domenico Alfani, a friend of Raphael, in collaboration with his son Orazio. The panel was destined to the church of Sant’Agostino, also in Perugia.

The other copy, instead, on canvas, is attributed to Cavalier d’Arpino, and dated 1609, considering that it was commissioned by the cardinal to compensate the city for the deprivation of the original.

On both of these two copies, Art-Test Firenze performed with the Vis-IR scanner Infrared Reflectography on the entire surface. Thanks to the particular flexibility of the instrumentation, and to excellent coordination with the restorers and art historians of the National Gallery of Umbria, we were able to complete the works in just two consecutive days.

The reflectographic campaign, returning the image of the preparatory drawing, will be used by scholars to study the theme of “copies”, evaluating the methods of execution, through similarities and differences between them and with the original, that was also recently investigated and restored. All of this was to be on display at the exhibition, currently canceled for the closing period due to COVID19, entitled “The fortune of Raphael’s Pala Baglioni through its copies”. 

We hope it will be rescheduled soon!

(Emanuela Massa)

Rape of the Sabines: a 4,10 m tall bozzetto!

Rape of the Sabines: a 4,10 m tall bozzetto!

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It is not, and it was not, a common practice to make full size models for statues. But apparently Giambologna (Jean de Boulogne), at the time of this commission for Piazza della Signoria in Florence, was best known for “small” things, and he wanted to immediately silence who did not trust his abilities to work with bigger dimensions.

So he proved himself in large statuary already at the time of presenting a model, et voilat: a giant sculpture 4 meters tall was produced. But how did he do? What techniques and what materials did he use?

In 2013 Art-Test Florence, along with other research organizations and companies specialized  in diagnostic applied to cultural heritage, was involved in the campaign designed to provide the complex analyses of the model of the Rape of the Sabine Women, now at the Galleria dell’ Accademia in Florence, with the objective to answer such questions. The model is in terra cruda, i.e. raw clay, having indeed the same size of the marble work, you can admire the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria in Florence. However the model is not identical. Do you want to know more? It is now possible to access all the results of diagnostic tests performed and the history of its restoration. They are now all published by Syllables in the book “It ratto delle Sabine e il suo restauro “. Inside it there are notes on the history of the artwork and on the restoration performed. It is not easy to synthesize the amount of information contained in the volume so we invite you to read it and find out how a simple “bozzetto” is actually a work of refined technical inventiveness. Jean de Boulogne really knew his business.

http://www.sillabe.it/it/saggistica/627-il-ratto-delle-sabine-e-il-suo-restauro.html

http://www.accademia.org/it/esplora-il-museo/le-sale/sala-del-colosso/

copertina giambologna

Art-Test moved!

Art-Test moved!

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We have chosen a new, more prestigious location. The new building ,Palazzo Frescobaldi, is way more central,with just a 5 min walk from Ponte Vecchio, but more importantly it offers an increased security level for our customers, thanks to a 24/7 guard at the entrance .

We will throw a party in spring to celebrate, as currently too many activities keep up busy and around the world… for your service!

The new address is:

Art-Test, Via Santo Spirito 11-13, 50125 Firenze.

Our telephone number will remain the same: 0039 055 2286478

Looking forward to welcoming you here!

aiar_21

CARAVAGGIO OR NOT CARAVAGGIO?

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Aiar 2016

For Art-Test, the Aiar appointment is double. If you have missed the interesting workshop on Caravaggio last April in Empoli, you can take the opportunity to see the work of Art-Test in conjunction with S.T. Art-Test entitled “Caravaggio or not Caravaggio? Preliminary scientific evidence for the attribution of the St. John the Baptist of Empoli (Tuscany)”. How many of sensational discoveries news are given when it comes to names such as Caravaggio, however, without the support of an adequate system of preliminary studies? The infrared analysis on Empoli version of San Giovanni Battista discloses important factual discoveries; the debate is open: the scientific data can really make a difference and rewrite the entire history of a painting!
For the complete program of the congress AIAr:
http://www.associazioneaiar.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ProgrammaAIAr_web.pdf

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Chinaware

MADE IN CHINA: GENUINE OR FAKE?

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Chinese porcelain is one of the great protagonists of the art market in recent years; but how do you prove that such pieces are worthy a relevant investment and are not fake?
Experience has taught that for great quality imitations, the traditional authentication methods based on the study of style, decoration, materials and trademarks, often proved to be inadequate. Even for porcelain artefacts scientific diagnostic is fundamental. For these artefacts chemical microsamples analyses are traditionally used, although in recent decades, advanced non-invasive techniques have developed that can limit (micro-) destructive sampling.
In this regard, we are pleased to remind you that on next 10 March, during “A bridge between art and science: past, present and future”, the 2016 National Congress of AIAr (Italian Association of Archaeometry of which Art-Test is a member), we will be guests of the University of Cosenza along with many scholars and professionals, teachers and researchers from universities and public research bodies, archaeologists and restorers to discuss diagnostic, restoration, preventive conservation and protection.
During the session “Characterization and Diagnostics” will present together with colleagues from S.T. Art-Test and one of the greatest experts of these artefacts, Riccardo Montanari, the intervention “A non-invasive approach for the authentication of oriental porcelain“. Our proposal is based on the integration of non-invasive fluorescence X-rays and computed tomography X-ray… more details on Thursday 10th!!
Our attention to the Chinese market does not stop there. It is an increasingly attractive market, especially now that the attention of Chinese collectors is turning also towards European paintings, as proven by the recent purchase at auction of a Modigliani by a Chinese tycoon for 170 million dollars. Art-Test is approaching this reality, following different paths… news on that will be coming soon!

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