16th April 2014

It’s been a while since I posted a blog – apologies.  I haven’t been holiday – there just haven’t been enough hours in the day!  I must say I admire those who manage to blog practically every day – where do they find the time?  So what news the good ship Seventh Art?  EXHIBITION ON SCREEN has been the biggest consumer of time, as you might imagine.  After our June screening (live in the UK only) of MATISSE LIVE FROM TATE MODERN we’ve been busy re-editing it and adding in footage from the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This (wonderful) exhibition is heading to New York next month and we have been fortunate enough to gain access to the preparations (and a real insight into MoMA’s relationship with Matisse over the years).  This is the first time MoMA (surely one of the world’s top museums) has co-operated on a film like this so for the cinema so we feel very privileged.  For those who saw the film in June, you’ll want to see it again as we’ve added about 15 minutes of fascinating material – and for those who haven’t seen it yet then MATISSE FROM TATE MODERN AND MOMA will be coming out on November 4^th in over 40 countries.    Meanwhile we’ve been busy working on 4 other films – yes, 4!   GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING AND OTHER TREASURES FROM THE MAURITSHUIS is almost done and looks spectacular.  If you’re interested in what is now perhaps the second most famous painting in the world, then this is the film for you.  Or if you’re just interested in a stunning ‘jewel box’ of an art gallery replete with masterpieces, then this is also the film for you.  Or if you just like art…..    REMBRANDT FROM THE NATIONAL GALLERY AND RIJKSMUSEUM has also starting shooting and is looking great. He really is one of the greats.    As for the other two, well we’re deep into the research for VAN GOGH and also THE IMPRESSIONISTS.  What a season!  Keep an eye on exhibitiononscreen.com  (sign up to the newsletter here so we’ll let you know when the films are coming to a screen near you – and also like our Facebook page).  

 Why not let us know what you think?  And we’re always open to ideas for Seasons 3 & 4….we have some of the exhibitions sorted but not all….Is your local gallery doing a major show? Let me know.  

 

Now, that’s not all folks….to all my Australian friends: IN SEARCH OF CHOPIN opens on Thursday.  The Sydney Morning Herald has called it a ‘masterpiece’….  Now famously we’re told to treat positive and negative reviews with the same disdain. Rubbish: the good reviews are written by the intelligent, articulate and erudite journalists out there. We all know that!!    The Australian newspaper gives it a big thumbs up too (read here)  – so surely that’s enough to get you down to your local cinema.  One thing is for sure: there’s nothing on TV worth watching…..  Or just go for the wine & cake.  Right, must dash: currently working on a re-release of our Leonardo film and have to work on the script.  Best wishes to you all, Phil. 

PS: I leave you with very sad news from the world’s number one arts blogger  

 

 See the original from Real Clear Arts here

Judith H. Dobrzynski:

This is just plain bad: Last week, a painting titled Madonna with the Saints John the Evangelist and Gregory Thaumaturgus (1639) was stolen from a church in Modena, Italy. Not only was the church alarm system in active, but also the Baroque masterpiece wasn't insured.

It's a big painting -- 10 ft. by 6 ft. -- and reports say it was stolen in its frame, with speculation that the theft was "ordered" by a private collector because a work of this size and renown would be hard ever to resell openly. Unless, speculated the Telegraph in London, it was "cut up into pieces in an attempt to sell it on."

The Telegraph's article, pegged the value of the work at "up to £5 million," or nearly $8.4 million.

It was stolen in the middle of the night from the church of San Vincenzo in the northern town of Modena earlier this week. Curators admitted that lack of funds meant the alarms protecting the painting were not working.

"There was an alarm in the church, but it was inactive," said Monsignor Giacomo Morandi, of the archdiocese of Modena.

It had been paid for by a donation from a local bank but once those funds dried up it had been switched off, he told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"It's very difficult to protect every single work of art," he added.

The work has hung in the Church of San Vincenzo ever since it was painted. According to The History Blog,

An allied bomb struck San Vincenzo on May 13th, 1944, destroying the presbytery and the choir and its late 17th century frescoes, but the Guercino survived. Let’s hope it can survive human greed.

The History Blog also provided these details:

San Vincenzo is not a parish church so it doesn’t stay open all week. The doors are opened every Sunday for mass and locked after the service is over. The thieves made their way inside, stole the painting and got out without leaving a trace. There is no sign of forced entry on the church door. The priest only realized something was wrong because the door was open.

Police believe at least three men were involved in the theft because the piece is so big and heavy, especially still inside the frame, that it one or two people wouldn’t be able to move it. They probably got in during mass on Sunday, August 10th, and hid until they could do their dirty deed under cover of night. They must have had transportation, most likely a van.

...The Carabinieri’s Tutela Patrimonio Culturale unit (a national police squad dedicated to investigating stolen art and antiquities) are in charge of the investigation. They’re looking through phone records and security camera footage from along the street. There are no cameras pointed at the church, but a van large enough to contain the painting should have been captured by other cameras. Looks as if we have seen the last of this work for some time. But maybe the police will get lucky.