Wednesday 27 December 2006

US Art Experts Clots

Diego Velázquez - Infanta Margarita: 1656, 1653, 1656ArtDaily reports that Yankee art experts are alleging that a Velázquez portrait of the Infanta Margarita (1653) on loan to Atlanta's High Museum of Art isn't by Velázquez. Cobblers, ripostes the Louvre in Paris; the portrait was painted by Velázquez in 1653 on the orders of Felipe IV; it arrived in France in 1654 and spent more than 100 years on the Queen of France’s wall. I've put together three of Velázquez's portraits of young Margarita, so you can see for yourselves. The disputed work is in the middle (1653). The undisputed works on the outside (both from 1656) are of a slightly older, more poised girl, less chubby in the face. This is exactly what one would expect from the dates. The girl's head is at the same angle in all three portraits, presumably because the artist wanted to show her to best effect. Coxsoft Art detects more psychological depth, more introspection, in the disputed portrait and therefore recognizes it as the work of a master. So, unless it has "Made in Hong Kong" printed on the back, the Yankee "experts" are talking through their derrières. If you're in Atlanta, visit Kings as Collectors until 2 September 2007. Don't bother with its website; Flash Player 8 nonsense on every page!

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