A Vintage Photo Confirms that Van Gogh’s Last Painting Referenced a Real Location

A 1907 photograph was discovered as having the same features of the view, which famous painter Van Gogh featured in his last painting “Tree Roots (1890).” The vintage photograph gives a better perspective on how Vincent Van Gogh spent his last moments before he shot himself in July 29, 1890, two days after completing the painting.

The glass plate negative of the photo shows a man in a position almost hidden in the trees during the summer of 1907. The negative is one of the glass plate collections of a Brussels lawyer named Edouard Van Halteren, known to be a yachtsman who collected glass plates of his voyages in the River Oise. Other photographs included in Van Halteren’s collections showed Auvers-sur-Oise, a commune in Paris, France where Van Gogh temporarily lodged during the spring of 1890.

How the Photograph was Discovered

The research started when Louis van Tilborgh, a senior researcher at Van Gogh’s Museum, noted in 2012 that “Tree Roots” is Van Gogh’s last artwork as was cited by an 1893 newspaper article. While other art specialists claimed that the “Tree Roots” view was a figment of Van Gogh’s imagination, Van Tilborgh believed that the painting referenced a real grove of trees.

In 2020, Institut Van Gogh’s scientific director Wouter van der Veen came across a postcard titled “Auvers-sur-Oise – Rue Daubigny” circa 1910. The image used in the postcard shows a scenery that is identical to the view of Van Gogh’s “Tree Roots.” Further research revealed that the spot where Van Gogh had last painted was in Auvers-sur-Oise.

The photograph used in the postcard was possibly taken during the summer of 1907 by one of Van Halteren’s friend, relative, or by a professional photographer, who went along in one of the lawyer’s many cruises along River Oise. The postcard photo was later traced as having a glass-photo negative in Van Halreren’s collection.

While the glass plate negatives captured mostly images of tourist attractions, the Auvers tree roots photo was the only exception. It was also discovered that it was taken because the moustached man sitting in the tree roots spot was Van Halteren.

Institut Van Gogh’s Scientific Director Wouter van der Veen admitted that the postcard is not really conclusive. Yet the 1907 photograph helped confirm the certainty that Van Gogh’s “Tree Roots” depicted a view of a real location. Moreover, the painting and the vintage photograph have been determined as having the same viewpoint; albeit done a few meters away from each other.

To Hire Art Event Organizers Online or Do the Job alone?

In any art-making process, rest assure that art exhibitions will always be a part of it. There’s just something special with regards to seeing your piece framed or your sculpture displayed gloriously. The thing is, exhibitions could sometimes be an overwhelming process and thus, a tough event to organize. Particularly, they’re daunting if you have zero experience in event planning.

Hire Event Planners from Online Jobs Platform

This is why it’s a wise move to turn to online jobs platforms such as https://mytexasjobs.com to hire an event planner who can work on this massive feat. You can post the type of position that you need to fill in and see the number of qualified individuals who are dying to get the position.

On the other hand, there are some who are just relentless and prefer to take over the challenge on their own. If you are this type of people, then make sure that you do the following to have a smooth transition.

Pick a Theme

Art exhibition is further amplified when it has a theme. Besides, a theme connects everything to look as one. You have to pick a theme that is versatile and flexible to enable every artist express themselves. However, make it a point as well that it is structured to come up with cohesive artwork collection.

Check out other group shows before and assess the types of themes that they’ve used. See which themes succeeded and which don’t and find out why. After that, decide on a theme that will encompass your ideas.

Choose Pieces and Recruit Artists

Search for artists in your local area who you really admire. Invite them of your plan and ask if they can submit at least 1 to 3 pieces of their work. Pitching well-known and established artists can help draw an audience.

Additionally, you can send out a submission on mailing lists as well as websites followed by the artists in your community. Give artists at least two months to complete their work or to come up with a concept. If you get more responses and submissions than what you have for your gallery space, then you need to pick the best works to display on it. It is imperative to maintain top-quality work so make sure to raise the bar.

Research Leads to the Discovery and Return of a Statue Stolen from India

The Mackenzie Art Gallery in Canada returned a statue stolen from an 18th century century shrine in India after an artist unraveled its related circumstances. The statue originated from a shrine located in India over 100 years ago, which the museum acquired in 1936 as part of a collection bequeathed by a benefactor named Norman Mackenzie.

Canadian artist Divya Mehra, discovered the statue’s origins while doing a research of the MacKenzie collection in preparation for her exhibition captioned as “From India to Canada and Back to India.” Through her research she was able to identify the stone statue as the depiction of the Hindu goddess of food, Annapoorna.

Based on the title, it seems that Ms. Mehra already had an inkling that it was the same statue that went missing after a Canadian lawyer named Norman MacKenzie was reported to have looted an active temple during his trip to Varanasi in 1913. However, the lawyer had mistakenly identified the statue as the god Vishnu and not Annapoorna.

According to Mehra, the adventure of Indiana Jones were based on the stories told by Edgar James Banks, who turned out to be a close friend of the lawyer-art collector Norman MacKenzie.

In 1936 MacKenzie died leaving a last will and testament, which included bequeathing his art collection to the University of Regina. The university in turn built the MacKenzie Art Gallery to house the collection, among them the stolen stone statue mislabeled as an image of Vishnu. .

The Statue’s Repatriation to India

In light of Ms. Mehra’s discovery, the art museum through the University of Regina will be returning the statue of Annaporna back to India at an unspecified future date in light of the still ongoing global pandemic. Still, a virtual repatriation ceremony was held last November 19, 2020 as the university underscored the importance of doing what is right to correct historical wrongs in order to take part in undoing the harmful consequences of colonialism.

To show her appreciation of the university’s cooperation in returning the stolen statue to India, Ms. Mehra offered the Mckenzie Art Gallery one of her sculptures as replacement for the returned statue The donated piece is among the sculptures in exhibit at the MacKenzie Art Gallery museum received a sculpture by Mehra that is included in her exhibition as a replacement, where her concept made use of a scene from an Raiders of the Lost Ark; the part where Indiana Jones stole a golden idol by replacing its weight with a bag of sand.

In a statement of John Hampton, the museum’s acting chief executive said that in light of Ms. Mehra’s discovery, they have started to conduct a research on all the other art works included in MacKenzie’s collection. So far a few of those examined are also due for repatriation. Mr. Hampton gave a promise that the museum will do everything in its power to return art works that have been acquired through improper means.

Museum Photography : Dealing with the Challenges Posed by Delicate Environments

Museums are usually strict on visitor photography; yet relationships between museums and professional photographers exist if in terms of museum photography. Museum photography is different because shots will be taken in a delicate environment Not unless it involves producing photographs for museum exhibition purposes.

When used as a method for documenting museum collections as well as promotions, museum photography facilitates archiving of historical, archaeological, anthropological or scientific objects, to be stored as supporting documents of artefacts, events and stories of museum exhibits.

In both cases, museum photographers share some tips on what to consider when taking photographs. The quality of the images rely not only on using the best photography cameras but also on the approaches used in taking shots of rare and delicate articles or special editions placed in dimly lit environments; whilst restricted from using flash and other photography equipment. Some museum artefacts tend to deteriorate overtime; rapidly at that if they are constantly exposed to bright lights.

Important Pointers for Museum Photography

Museums are confident that a professional photographer will use methodological approaches that conform to the limitations of the environment. Thankfully, advancements in digital technologies have enabled photographers to develop ways of working on modern and historical materials.

Dealing with Low Light

Use a camera with a large aperture, i.e. (f/2.8 – f/4), a fast shutter speed and push the ISO by up to 400 at the least. Doing so will allow an adequate amount of light in. Some artefacts displayed inside glass encasements have even dimmer lights as a way of minimizing reflective light. In such cases, set the ISO to 1600 to improve the lighting.

However, even if your camera offers a higher ISO, setting it too high can make the captured image look grainier.

Avoiding Glass Reflections

Rare artefacts and valuable paintings are often enclosed behind glass, which automatically eliminates the use of flash as a way to avoid glass reflection. One effective approach is to carefully push the lens right next to the glass without any gap in-between but do this only if permitted. If not, use a polarizing filter to reduce reflections.

Be Meticulous with the Details

If there is one thing that makes museum photographers stand out, it is their attention to details but without losing the drama of the story behind the object. If getting close to the artefact or precious object is allowed, use a macro lens as this can pick out details with precision. Still, when shooting from a distance use a zoom lens, especially on facial features, because you need to emphasize life behind the model who posed for the image.

If use of flash is not allowed, set the shutter speed to 1/60th of a second or even slower; but make sure to use a large aperture (f/1.8 – f/4).

Lastly, don’t forget to take shots of the museum’s indoor and outdoor architecture since they can help set the mood of the museum photography, especially if for promotional purposes. Most museums have incredibly ornate designs, they are art works by themselves.

Although museums do not prohibit visitor photography, they impose certain restrictions on who to allow, where and what can be photographed. After all, photographs taken by visitors also serve as promotions, knowing that selfie takers inside museums are likely to circulate their photos online across different social media sites.