Johann Christian Neuber at the Saxon Court

Today marks the start of the exhibition of goldsmith Johann Christian Neuber at the Frick Collection in New York. The exhibit entitled: Gold, Jasper, and Carnelian: Johann Christian Neuber at the Saxon Court will run from May 30th to August 19th.

Box office by mineralogy, Johann Christian Neuber © Fr Cochennec and C. Rabourdin / Musée Cognac-Jay / Roger-Viollet

Johann Christian Neuber (1736–1808) was one of the greatest masters of the gold objet – gold boxes, watch cases, chatelaines, etc. – which he in particular decorated to splendid effect with semiprecious stones – agate, jasper, carnelian and a host of others. In 1769 he became director of the Grünes Gewölbe, the magnificent State Treasury in Dresden, and in 1775 court jeweler to the court of Saxony. Neuber’s work features enchanting landscapes, intricate floral designs and complex geometric patterns made out of tiny cut stones, incorporating also Meissen porcelain plaques, cameos and miniatures.

Breteuil Table, Dresden, 1779–80, collection of the Marquis de Breteuil, Chäteau de Breteuil (Choisel/Chevreuse); photo: Michael Bodycomb

This collection brings together Neuber’s pieces from various galleries, private collections and museums such as Grünes Gewölbe, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum. In a NYAB article, Ian Wardropper, The Frick Collection director stated,

“These unique and inventive objects were treasured in the eighteenth century, but remarkably, have never before been shown together…We are delighted to introduce our visitors the oeuvre of this ingenious artisan through the upcoming exhibition, which will offer [a] sense of the important contributions made by those at work for the Saxon court at Dresden.”

Paul Holberton Publishing has released an accompanying volume to this exhibit also entitled Gold, Jasper and Carnelian: Johann Christian Neuber at the Saxon Court.

In addition to more than 500 color illustrations, this books also investigates the context and history of mineralogy and it’s celebration in Neuber’s art.

Available from www.casemateathena.com.

Antico at the Frick Collection

Starting today through July 29th, The Frick Collection in New York will be exhibiting the works of sculptor Pier Jacopo Alari de Bonacolsi, also known as Antico (the antique one).

“Antico was proficient in all manner of antique art, which he studied, restored, and re-created with unparalleled skill. His gilded and silver statuettes, made for the Gonzaga rulers at the court of Mantua, pioneered the genre of bronzes made in multiples, a type in Western art for which for which the sculptor developed groundbreaking technology” – Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes

So far, the exhibit has received several positive reviews. Dan Bischoff from the Star Ledger writes,

There could not be a better venue for “Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes” than Henry Frick’s Fifth Avenue mansion…The 39 sculptures here by Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, better known by his nickname, Antico, are not the very first small bronzes of the Renaissance, but they are foundational pieces nonetheless and exhibit all the finest characteristics of their genre.”

If you are unable to see the collection, or have seen it and want to take it home with you, Paul Holberton Publishing has released an accompanying book entitled Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes.  Aside from containing 163 illustrations of Antico’s work, this volume

“provides an overview of Antico’s career and addresses topics ranging from  the chronology of his works to his understanding of the antique, his relationship with Mantuan humanism, his portraiture, aspects of his technique, and his artistic significance.”

Happy Birthday Shakespeare!

Today is the 448th birthday of the bard, William Shakespeare.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm’d; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

That actual birthday of William Shakespeare is unknown, but experts have deemed that April 23 (three days before Shakespeare’s baptism) is the official birthday of the most influential writer in the history of the English language.

The author of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and several poems, Shakespeare is considered by many as the greatest writer of all time.  While Shakespeare was a respected writer during his life, his popularity really took off 300 years after his death (which happened to be on April 23 as well).

In honor of this great and talented man’s birthday, here are some great books on his life:

Athena Spring 2012 Catalog

Click on the image above to view the catalog

To request a free copy of the Athena Spring 2012 Catalog, please send your name and address to athena@casemateathena.com

Macaron Day 2012

In 2005, Pierre Hermé organized the first Jour du Macaron in Paris. On this day, the public were allowed to try out complementary Macarons from various shops around the area.  Six years later, this tradition is still a loved event in the Parisian area.

The popularity of the Jour du Macaron spread to the United States when Francois Payard organized the US’ first Macaron Day in 2010 in New York.  Similarly to Paris, participants in Macaron Day can venture to participating locations to receive free Macarons.

However, if you aren’t in Paris or New York, you can attempt to make these delicious pastries with Pierre Hermé’s beautiful cookbook, Macarons.

Be sure to try out the Milena recipe featured on our blog a couple of weeks ago!

St. Patrick’s Day

May the luck of the Irish be with you!

St. Patrick’s Day originated as a religious holiday to commemorate St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. However, since its beginnings in AD 387-461, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved and spread throughout the world as a celebration of Irish culture.

Today, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by Irish and non-Irish people around the world. As the beam outside of Guinness’ Storehouse states:

However, if you happen to be Irish on every day of the year, your heritage and lineage may be of great interest to yourself and your family.  In order to discover more about your Irish ancestors, we recommend two guides for the dedicated and curious family historian.

The Sutainable Rose Garden

The Spring Season is just around the corner, which means only one thing – flowers. However, when it comes to flowers, the most sought after garden is one filled with roses.

Rose have been considered “The Queen of Flowers” and people around the world are still captivated by their beauty. In a poem entitled A Rose, Emily Dickinson writes:

A Sepal, petal, and a thorn
Upon a common summer’s morn,
A flash of dew, a bee or two,
A breeze
A caper in the trees,–
And I’m a rose!

In order to produce the perfect rose garden that everyone dreams about, we recommend The Sustainable Rose Garden: A Reader in Rose Culture, a one of a kind book about creating a beautiful garden in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.

Mondrian || Nicholson: In Parallel

From today until May 20th, The Courtauld Gallery will be hosting and exhibition entitled Mondrian || Nicholson: In Parallel. This exhibition explores the relationship, similarities, and differences between the two artists and their work.

Ben Nicholson, June 1937,Tate, London, © Angela Verren Taunt

Piet Mondrian, Composition in White, Red, and Blue, Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, © 2012 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust

In a preview from Royal Academy of Arts Magazine, the author writes,

“Mondrian || Nicholson: In Parallel invites a comparison of Mondrian’s achievement with Nicholoson’s. Piet Mondrian was on of two artists who, in the years about 1915-20, took painting into the realm of pure geometric abstraction, in which there was no longer any apparent reference to observable reality.”

Piet Mondrian, Picture No.111, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Basel, © 2012 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust

Ben Nicholson, Still-Life- Greek Landscape, The British Council, © Angela Verren Taunt

If you’re unable to attend the exhibition, or if you see it and want to take it home, Paul Holberton Publishing has produced an accompanying book, similarly titled Mondrian || Nicholson: In Parrallel.

“This book accompanies an exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery, London, that will be the first to offer a comprehensive account of the parallel artistic paths charted by Mondrian and Nicholson during this remarkable decade. It will bring together an extraordinary group of paintings and reliefs to show how each artist was driven by a profound belief in the potential of abstract art to attain the highest aesthetic and spiritual power.”

♥ Happy Valentine’s Day ♥

In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are a few suggested reads:

1. Chocolate: The Definitive Guide (only 5 copies left!)

The secret of the uniquely, irresistibly seductive quality of chocolate, according to Sara Jayne-Stanes, is that it is the only substance to melt at blood temperature.

Another view of its attraction is indicated by the scientific name accorded it by Linnaeus: Theobroma, food of the gods. Chocolate is a loving homage to this extraordinary substance by one of Britain’s finest professional chocolate makers.

2. The Maud Allan Affair

Maud Allan, the famous exotic dancer was destroyed by the infamous libel trial brought by charismatic British Member of Parliament, and pilot, Noel Pemberton-Billing.In this wonderfully written book, Russell James charts her rise and fall from the days when she saved the 1908 London Olympics from failure to the outrageous miscarriage of justice of her trial which knocked the dark days of the First World War off the front pages of the national newspapers.

3. The Six Wives of Henry VIII

The story of Henry VIII and his six wives has passed from history into legend – taught in the cradle as a cautionary tale and remembered in adulthood as an object lesson in the dangers of marrying into royalty. The true story behind the legend, however, remains obscure to most people, whose knowledge of the affair begins and ends with the aide memoir ‘Divorced, executed, died, divorce, executed, survived’.

 

 

4.  Anne Boleyn

Although Anne Boleyn is perhaps the most engaging of Henry VIII’s Queens, but biographies usually concentrate on the period after she became a lady in waiting at Henry VIII’s court. This is the only book to tell the forgotten side of Anne early life and loves, written by the author of the best-selling Mary Boleyn: Henry VIII’s Favorite Mistress. For her he would divorce his wife of some twenty years standing, he would take on the might of the Roman Church and the Holy Roman Empire; he would even alienate his own people in order to win her favor and, eventually, her hand.

 

COMING SOON:

Accession Day Recipe

Today marks the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne after her father’s death in 1952.

In honor of Accession Day, here is traditional British recipe from The Constance Spry Cookery Book. Its new edition is expected to be released before the end of this month.

Beefsteak and Kidney Pie

675g-900g/1½  – 2lb beefsteak cut in a thick piece
salt, pepper
1 Tb chopped mixed herbs, parsley predominating
225g/8 0z Ox kidney
2 shallots, finely chopped
seasoned flour
water
flaky pastry
a little good stock