Alison Clarke on Wilhelm Bode and the Art Market: Connoisseurship, Networking and Control of the Marketplace, edited byJoanna Smalcerz, Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2022

Mein Leben and beyond: WilhelmBode, commerce and art

Alison Clarke (Research Associate, Insights North East/Newcastle University) 29/AC1

Review of: Wilhelm Bode and the Art Market: Connoisseurship, Networking and Control of the Marketplace, edited byJoanna Smalcerz, Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2022, 292pp., 60 col. illus., €135.00, ISBN: 9789004521902 (hdbk), ISBN: 9789004532458 (e-book).

Abstract: Wilhelm Bode and the Art Market: Connoisseurship, Networking and Control of the Marketplace brings together an introduction and nine essays on the life, activities and impact of German art historian and museum curator Wilhelm [von] Bode (1845-1929). Building on the discussions held at a 2018 conference, these papers broaden the analysis of Bode’s work beyond the usual geographical and artistic foci, contributing to a deeper understanding of his relationships with a wide network of dealers, museum professionals, collectors and intermediaries.

Key words: Wilhelm Bode, art market, connoisseurship, art collecting, art dealing, national museums, art galleries, Gilded Age

Maartje Stols-Witlox, Review of Matthew Hayes, The Renaissance Restored. Paintings Conservation and the Birth of Modern Art History in nineteenth-century Europe

Changing images: reciprocity between nineteenth-century paintings conservation and art history

Maartje Stols-Witlox (University of Amsterdam) 27/MSW1

Review of:

Matthew Hayes, The Renaissance Restored. Paintings Conservation and the Birth of Modern Art History in nineteenth-century Europe, Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute, 2021, 208 pp., USD 65,00, ISBN 9781606066966 (paperback).

Abstract: Matthew Hayes’ volume examines the influence of nineteenth-century scholarship on the activities of contemporary paintings restorers, and, vice-versa, investigates how the visual effects of conservation treatments impacted contemporary scholarship. This reciprocal relationship is explored in four case studies, two situated in Italy (Giottesque frescoes and paintings by Titian), on in the United Kingdom (National Gallery London) and one in Germany (the Berlin museums). Hayes focuses on the treatment of paintings from the Renaissance, a period that knew strong interest from nineteenth-century scholars. He weaves together historical archival material (personal notes, correspondence, restoration records, historical photographs, etc.) and period texts (a.o. by Jacob Burckhardt, G.B. Cavalcaselle, Joseph Crowe), into a rich and accessible account, interspersed with examples of historical restoration treatments of well-known paintings and with restorer biographies. The resulting volume provides an entertaining and very accessible entry into the topic, whether the reader comes from (art) history or has a background in conservation.

Key words: conservation history, Italian Renaissance, art historiography, nineteenth century, Giotto, Titian, Charles Eastlake, Wilhelm Bode, Aloïs Hauser Jr., Jacob Burckhardt, G.B. Cavalcaselle, Joseph Crowe

Preview the book’s illustrations here.