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Man or Woman?

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Gender fluid ante litteram

A painting by the genius Leonardo da Vinci unexpectedly provides us with an interesting reflection on the notion of “gender identity“, never as much debated as in recent times. What distinguishes and separates being a woman from being a man? Where is the borderline?

We premise that the panel with the Head of Christ now in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan is not unanimously accepted as by Leonardo’s hand, despite the undoubted quality of the painting, the presence of a textbook “sfumato” and the convincing comparison of scientific data (to which Art -Test contributed).

However, we are absolutely convinced of this attribution, enraptured by the power of this image and also a by what we are about to tell you.

We carried out the IR reflectography of this panel, to discover the preparatory drawing, and we realized with immense amazement that the preparatory drawing for this image of Christ, depicts a woman.

The face in reflectography has no beard; the hair is less thick, in line with what were the beauty canons of the time, even if in an official portrait a woman would probably have demanded her hair gathered. But Leonardo had already produced the Scapigliata.

The shoulders are small and round, like those considered desirable by the canons of beauty of the time.

But above all, the folds of her dress widen for the unmistakable presence of a female breast.

The multilayer images show how the artist had modified these characteristics with a few brush strokes to change the folds of the garment, and make them become vertical, to raise the shoulder line and to add beard and lengthen the hair.

A few touches, no changes to the very intense gaze, and a woman becomes a man. The symbols of the trinity are added and here is the head of a Christ. Who is born a woman, metaphorically.

A very strong message, a secret that had to remain so until the analyses literally brought it back to light.

Who if not Leonardo could dare so much?

PS. If you want to see more, reflectographic images have been published in Leonardo in France (SKIRA), and in “Leonardo Da Vinci and Gian Giacomo Caprotti Called Salai’ : The Enigma of a Painting”, by Maurizio Zecchini, ed. Marsilio

(Anna Pelagotti)
(Anna Pelagotti)
Caravaggesco_Empoli_vis del fotografo mano

An original without copies or Caravaggio’s zigzag

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Spunti diagnostici di riflessione sull'attribuzione

From how they all got on the bandwagon (“I discovered it!” “No, I discovered it first!“) there would seem to be no doubts that the painting at auction in Madrid is the real “Ecce Homo” made by Caravaggio as result of a competition between painters arranged by Monsignor Massimi, as documented in old biographies. About the painting that had been indicated so far as the Massimi’s painting, now in Genoa, many are quick to say that after all no one had ever believed in it, it is clearly not by “him”. Sic transeat gloria mundi.

As diagnosticians, it is of course super interesting for us to go and see why this attribution is so eagerly, and almost unanimously, supported. A fate that did not touch the many other “Caravaggio” that have been proclaimed (even by the same who are pronouncing now) and disowned over the years.

Much has been written about the difference between originals and copies by Caravaggio. As on the possibility that Caravaggio produced “doubles”.

And here we notice the first anomaly, perhaps only temporary. Of all the Caravaggio, or presumed such, that we have investigated, there were always copies. Generally very similar versions, on which to make comparisons on technique and materials used. Also of the “Ecce Homo” Genoese version. Actually we probably know only copies of some of Caravaggio’s inventions.

Mario Minniti – Malta

No other versions of this painting appear to have emerged. Although it is true that the canvas had been in Spain for almost four centuries, and it has the very same subject as a painting documented to have arrived in Madrid in 1659, it seems anomalous that no one has made copies. Among similar composition that come to mind, there is a painting in Malta, with a similar subject, by Mario Minniti.

There are several versions, one of which in Vienna, attributed to Minniti too, of another “Ecce Homo” with an analogous composition, considered by some to be Caravaggesque, but of which the three protagonists do not resemble those of the Madrid canvas.

We diagnosticians would have loved to have been able to make comparisons with a copy or a version.

But the most interesting contribution for us was the commentary by Rossella Vodret, who, together with others, edited two volumes full of observations on the Lombard painter’s technique for Silvana Editoriale.

We quote from an interview on the subject: “Then there are further observations relating to the executive technique, made visible thanks to an HD photo that was sent to me. I am referring to a series of specific executive features of Caravaggio, such as the full-bodied zig-zag white lead sketches that the artist uses mainly starting from 1605 and which are found in various works, such as the San Girolamo Borghese, the San Girolamo di Montserrat, the Flagellation of Capodimonte. They are very particular sketches through which the painter fixes the points in which to position the highlights on the dark preparation of the canvas. It is a feature that, up to now, I have not found in other painters. In the “Ecce Homo” there are zigzag sketches on the chest, shoulder and arm of Christ, all in full light. The incisions are also typical, although we now know that all the artists of the period made the incisions, but these are perfectly compatible with those found on Caravaggio’s autographed paintings “.

We would like to give some news: we have not found them on many Caravaggio that we have investigated, but the famous zigzags traces can also be found in the “San Giovannino” in Empoli, which we studied (unfortunately the allocated budget did not allow a complete diagnostic campaign). We talked about it in the essay we wrote on the occasion of the presentation of the restoration intervention, and in the video that you can see (in Italian) on our YouTube channel.

We look forward to learning more. Hoping that it doesn’t disappear into thin air.

(Anna Pelagotti)
(Anna Pelagotti)
baccoana

Caravaggio, a star at the Uffizi (also thanks to Art-Test)

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Selfie in the caraffe

We were extremely honored to hear Dr. Maria Matilde Simari talk about the discovery of Art-Test on Caravaggio’s Bacchus during the popular Facebook online events produced by the Uffizi Galleries.

Bacco, Caravaggio Multispectral Reflectography by Art-Test, detail

A small but extraordinary self-portrait that literally came to light thanks to the multispectral investigations we conducted in 2009, when the painting was still covered with old deposits and aged varnish.
Now the restoration has brought it back into view and it has become an attraction within an attraction, for tourists from all over the world. “Especially for the Chinese”, says Dr. Simari, commenting: “who knows why”.
Here is the full video of the lesson, which explores many aspects of this famous painting: from its discovery in the Uffizi storage room to the relationship that binds it to Florence and the Medici.
We love to look at it and hear its history, proud of having contributed to shedding some light on the painting and on the artist.

Il Bacco di Caravaggio

In diretta dagli Uffizi, Maria Matilde Simari, storica dell’arte, ci illustrerà il Bacco di Caravaggio.

Pubblicato da Gallerie degli Uffizi su Martedì 19 gennaio 2021

 

(Anna Pelagotti)
(Anna Pelagotti)
90WZ42MYJ9

Did scientific evidence make all the difference?

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Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Roundel, by Sandro Botticelli, was last offered at auction at Christie’s London in December 1982 with the title Portrait of Giovanni de Pierfrancesco de’ Medici and it was sold to the New York real estate magnate Sheldon Solow for a then-record £810,0000 ($1.1 million in today’s currency).

Some eminent scholars at that time including the consultant in the Old Master department at Christie’s, held reservations about the attribution to Botticelli, and preferred to credit his less renowned colleague Francesco Botticini as actual painter.

As we read in The Art Newspaper Mr. Solow, the then buyer, to be reassured about the authorship of the painting asked an art historian go to the saleroom and report back to him. The scholar told Solow that he indeed did not know whether it was a Botticelli or a Botticini, but that it in his opinion it was the epitome of a great Renaissance portrait. Solow bought the picture the following day.

This time the painting had a thorough scientific examination dossier, including XRays, IR reflectography, XRFluorescence and more. The name Botticini never came back and Botticelli sold at at almost 9x price time compared to 1982.

May diagnostics take the credits for this?

(Anna Pelagotti)

 

durfort

Art at Dante’s times

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After 2020, the unfortunate year dedicated to Raphael on the 500th anniversary of his death,  we are ready to embrace 2021 which in Italy, and around the world, will be the year of Dante’s celebrations, seven hundred years after the death of the great poet. It will be a year full of exhibitions, theatrical productionsmeetings, readings and conferences to which it will be possible to participate online, if not live, to celebrate Dante and the art of his time.
Although the scholastic definition of the Middle Ages as a “dark period” is widespread, we can confidently assert that art in Florence at the time of Dante was anything but dark! It was dazzling in its colors and extraordinarily flourishing in its many variations: from painting on wood to sculpture, from wood carving to mosaic decoration, from miniature to goldsmithing. An art rich in secular and profane symbolism, where form and content became one to convey concepts through images.
Art–Test had the pleasure of participating in the study of the cenotaph of Guillaume Bertand de Durfort, French count of Artois, who came to Italy as a military tutor and advisor to Aymeric de Narbonne at the service of the King of Naples Charles II of Anjou. He fell during the famous battle in the Campaldino plain, to which Dante himself took part.
The Count’s remains were brought to Florence and buried in the Church of the Santissima Annunziata, given the spiritual link between the leader and the newborn Order of the Servants of Mary. The work, attributed to an artist of Byzantine culture, is characterized by a sober and fully absorbed classicism, by a broad definition of the expressive yet impassive face and by the elegance of the molded frames. And, speaking of art dazzling in colors, it is interesting to note that diagnostic investigations revealed that the work was originally polychrome!

 

 

 

(Federica Fani)

Confronto tra i due ritratti con "medaglione"

A proposal for Botticelli (at auction)

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“In the past century, and at the beginning of this one, dealing with Botticelli would have seemed madness”, wrote Symonds, a great scholar, specialist of the Italian Renaissance, in 1877. And in 1895, Bernard Shaw followed, among others: “Today ten acres of Carracci, Giulio Romano, Guido, Domenichino and Pietro da Cortona, would not buy an ounce of Botticelli, Lippi or Giovanni Bellini”. And in fact it was only at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that there was an abundant traffic of Botticelli’s works, at gradually increasing prices – and of course also of fakes, including documented ones by Joni.

However, original, exceptional works were also sold. For example, the Bardi family, heirs of the commissioners, sold the Santo Spirito altarpiece (Pala Bardi), now in Berlin.

Pala Bardi, Botticelli

Primitives were very popular, and people came to Tuscany to admire them, study them and buy them (the Horne museum, after all, was born this way).

And today? Botticelli are very rare in the market. Are they still so desirable? Or has taste changed?

This is what we will see on January 28 at Sotheby’s, where a very intriguing painting is auctioned. “The portrait of a young man with a roundel” is in fact per se a puzzle. Who is he? Why is he holding this small portrait cut from a more than a  century older painting?

The closest Botticelli painting we know is the “Portrait of a Young Man with a Medal” from the Uffizi. This medallion is also a “foreign body” embedded in the artwork.

Portrait of a Young Man with Medallion, Botticelli

The investigations on the work at auction (rather complete, with a dossier very similar to the one that Art–Test offers to our customers) refers of an unusual adhesive that is located at the edges of the roundel, and therefore it cannot be said with certainty that the composition we see today was originally so. Maybe he too originally had a medal in his hand?

Is it one of the Botticelli brothers who were goldsmiths, portraying their products? Was they who created the medallions with Cosimo?

In fact, the “sitter” of the Portrait of the Uffizi is also unknown. And, given the similarity with Botticelli’s self-portrait of the Pala with the Adoration of the Magi, the hypothesis of a brother has been advanced.

If it is not his brother, we have an idea. He is an ancestor of John Travolta.

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)

ppippo

Will the show go on?

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We also love the virtual tours, the lessons, the interviews, the insights that museums and cultural institutions are publishing online.

But we would like to dispel a doubt. These videos are produced in an attempt to keep the cultural world visible.

Many videos are interesting, some illuminated, almost all enriching

With a digital platform it is possible to attract the attention of a considerable number of spectators.

However, this is does not mean it is the solution to keep this sector alive.

Art historians, conservators, and art diagnostic specialists went on stage during these months of closure in an attempt not to be forgotten, but they want to continue to do what they do best, ie. their profession, and they want this work to be appreciated and valued.

The art world is suffering, and we are not too sure competing with Netflix has any chance to succeed.

(Anna Pelagotti)
WhatsApp Image 2020-11-19 at 23.59.11

1630 plague bacteria still around

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The papers presented at Florence Heritech, a scientific conference on restoration and diagnostics of cultural heritage, have been published in the IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering journal.

A great opportunity for those who missed the event, to still browse through them.

Art-Test  contributed with a work that paves the way for the scientific testing not only of artworks, but also of the diagnostic images that are used in the attribution process (See publication, and  video).

Of the many contributions presented, we highlight the work of Pier Giorgio RIGHETTI – honorary professor of the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, of the Politecnico di Milano: “What Sherlock Sorely missed: The EVA Technology for Cultural Heritage Exploration“, which presents the results of a new investigative method. It is a functionalized film that can be used to capture all materials present on a surface without damaging it in any way.

With this new non invasive diagnostic method, iconic items were analised: Bulgakov’s manuscript of Master and Margarita, where traces of morphine have been found, and the shirt worn by Anton Chekhov at the time of his death, where tuberculosis bacteria were found.

But more spectacularly than that, the surviving documents of the plague of 1630, preserved in the historical archive of Milan, were also analyzed. And even centuries later, Yersinia pestis bacteria were still detected.

Another example presented is George Orwell‘s letter discovered in the Russian state archive, on which, although it was typewritten, the bacteria of the tuberculosis he contracted weeks before in Barcelona, were still present.

A fascinating studio that will surely lead to more exciting surprises!

(AP)

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