FMC News Spring Summer Edition 2011 VRIENDE VAN DIE MICHAELIS-VERSAMELING / ZIHLOBO YA-MICHAELIS COLLECTION The Friends of the Michaelis Collection, was established in 1993. Its objective is to stimulate active interest in the Collection and the Iziko Old Town House, the Museum dedicated to it. Exciting Revelation in the Michaelis Collection The portrait of Theodorus Bas Jacobi, recently confirmed as being painted by Jacob Adriaensz Backer. T he painter Jacob Adriaensz Backer (1608-1651), one of Rembrandt’s more illustrious competitors in 17th-century Amsterdam, was a sought-after and highly fashionable artist in his own day. However, history was not kind to him. Eclipsed by the decline in interest in Dutch painting in the 18th century, and the stellar rise to fame of Rembrandt in the mid-19th century, Backer Drawing after Jacob Backer’s portrait of Theodorus Bas Jacobi by Jan Thopas, c. 1630s. Black chalk on vellum, Jan Six Fine Art, Amsterdam. has only very recently re-entered the limelight. This after nearly 400 years of obscurity. His re-emergence is the result of the first-ever major exhibition of his works. Entitled Jacob Backer: Rembrandt’s Opposite, the exhibition was mounted in 2008 - 2009 at Amsterdam’s Rembrandt House Museum and Aachen’s SuermondtLudwig-Museum. About 120 of Backer’s paintings are Banner proclaiming the Backer exhibition at Rembrandt House, (above, left); details of the face (above, right) and right hand holding gloves (below, left). Backer’s refined and elegant style is much in evidence. known to have survived. After centuries shrouded in mystery, a male portrait in the Michaelis Collection has now been identified as a genuine Backer. Our painting (left), identified for centuries as Portrait of Man by an “unknown artist”, was included in the impressive gift of Dutch and Flemish paintings presented to South Africa by Sir Max Michaelis in 1914. Originally oval in shape, the painting had been subjected to relining in the 19th century and reconfigured as a portrait-format rectangle. Until 2011 the painting’s authorship has been disputed and unresolved; some scholars attributing it to Johannes Verspronck and others only tentatively to Backer, although the latter opinion was at one time dismissed. It was also proposed, because of its refined and elegant style, that the painting was by a Flemish painter and not even Dutch at all. Peter van den Brink, one of the four curators behind the recent Backer exhibition, has now finally attributed the Michaelis Collection portrait to the artist. He has also identified its bearded sitter as Theodorus Bas Jacobi, a well-to-do resident of Amsterdam in the mid-to-late 1630s. These revelations have been made possible by the discovery of a copy of the portrait made in black chalk made by the artist Jan Thopas (right). This drawing surfaced on the Dutch art market in 1997, and is now owned by Jan Six Fine Art, a famous Old Master dealership in Amsterdam. Examinations of closeup photographs of the face and hand of our painting have now convinced Van den Brink, now expertlyacquainted with many of Backer’s best works, that our painting is indeed by the artist himself. From the little that we know about Backer from the archives, he seems to have been a stylish gentleman who contrasted in almost every respect with Rembrandt. He was respected by everyone; he never married, he never bought a house, and he never became embroiled in legal squabbles. The firm attribution of a very fine Old Master painting in the Michaelis Collection to him is truly something to celebrate. Jacob Backer is a new and exciting art historical discovery who was clearly one of the most accomplished painters of the Dutch Golden Age. by Hayden Proud, Curator of the Michaelis Collection. n Michaelis Collection Receives Eminent Visitor (From left) Dr Mariët Westermann, curator Hayden Proud and conservator Angela Zehnder. D r Mariët Westermann, former Director of the in the Seventeenth Century. Dr Westermann is the scholar of 17th-century Dutch art and present Vice- Dutch painting: A Worldly Art: The Dutch Republic, Institute of Fine Arts in New York, a renowned President of the Andrew Mellon Foundation, was welcomed at the Old Town House and the Iziko Michaelis Collection this past March. It was her first-ever visit to South Africa, and the Michaelis Collection was on the top of her list of places to visit in Cape Town. Her keen eye was especially taken by our fine painting by Jan Steen (1626-1679) which she already knew well from reproductions. Jan Steen’s work was the focus of her PhD at New York University, which culminated in her publication entitled The Amusements of Jan Steen: Comic Painting the author of one of the most widely-read books on 1585-1718, which has been published in many editions. Her distinctions as a curator include Art and Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt (Denver and Newark Art Museums) and she was also the co-curator with Alejandro Vergara of the successful exhibition Vermeer and the Dutch Interior at the Prado in Madrid. Dr Westermann was keen to learn more about the Dutch and Flemish works in the collection of the Iziko South African National Gallery and also visited our conservation studio to see work in progress being undertaken by Angela Zehnder. OLD MASTER MEETS YOUNG MASTER A heartwarming film entitled Anathi Tyawa: A Painter from Khayelitsha (2011), made by Lena Boda, can now be viewed free of charge in the Frans Hals Room at the Old Town House/Iziko Michaelis Collection. Anathi has been a student at the Frank Joubert Art Centre in Rondebosch and has also been nurtured in his studies via the Ibhabhathane (“Butterfly” in Xhosa) Project . Through them he was introduced to the complexities and unique possibilities of oil paint as a medium of painterly expression. The expense of imported oil colours has tended to render them out of reach for many aspirant artists from disadvantaged communities. The film shows how Anathi has related to the oil paintings in the Iziko Michaelis Collection, how he feels about the Collection, as well as the reactions of his own community to his dream of becoming an artist. The film can be viewed in the context of the original Portrait of a Woman by Frans Hals, dated 1644, which inspired Anathi’s own reworked version, which he has made into an affectionate portrait of his mother. Our special thanks to Colin Stevens of the Ibhabathane Project for presenting a copy of this film to the Iziko Michaelis Collection. The Friends of the Michaelis Collection warmly welcome the following new corporate members FURNITURE CONSERVATION PROJECT Much-needed conservation work on the furniture in the Michaelis Collection is about to be be undertaken, thanks to a generous injection of R10,000.00 to launch this process by the Friends. It is hoped that a small number of items can be treated each year. The Friends generously supported the restoration of a major item a 17th-century cupboard some years ago. Iziko Social History will also be treating certain items that the Michaelis Collection has on loan. Visiting Czech musician Edita Keglerova from Prague at the harpsichord. TWO “STARRY NIGHTS” AT THE IZIKO OLD TOWN HOUSE Two special evenings of chamber music concerts arranged by the Friends of the Michaelis Collection recently attracted capacity audiences at the Old Town House. For young and old alike, the venue is growing in popularity among music-lovers in Cape Town for the quality of the programmes and the calibre of the performers that are playing there, thanks to the initiatives of members of the Friends’ Council. Two visiting international stars were ably supported by several local musicians in programmes of the highlycomplex yet delightful counterpoint compositions from the very same period – the Baroque era of the 1600s - when the paintings in the Michaelis Collection were made. The Czech harpsichordist Edita Keglerova from Prague was the star of the first concert, which was sponsored by the Czech Embassy in South Africa. She played on an elaborate harpsichord which was a literal work of art in itself, built here in Cape Town by a Dutchborn craftsman. The second concert featured Antoinette Lohmann, the famous Dutch violinist from Amsterdam, whose visit was sponsored by the Van Ewijck Foundation. Lohmann played using an antique violin and a viola that have both survived from the very same period. AGM 2011 NOTICE OF 18th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TO BE HELD AT THE IZIKO OLD TOWN HOUSE ON SATURDAY 01 OCTOBER 2011 AT 14h30 (2:30 pm) AGENDA 1 2 Opening 3 Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on 01 September 2010. 4 Presentation of Accounts for the Financial Year ended 31 March 2011 5 Annual Report of the Chairperson for the year ended 31 March 2011 6 Ratification of Council Members * 7 Any other business 8 Closing Apologies 9 Illustrated lecture The 17th-century Dutch Interior : fact or fantasy? by Hayden Proud Curator : Michaelis Collection at the Iziko Old Town House. 10 Tea and refreshments will be served after the lecture n To assist with seating and catering, please RSVP by Wednesday 28 September 2011 [email protected]. Office Tel (09:00 - 14:00) Fax 021 683 1297, Cell/SMS 083 713 5498 * See proxy form on page 12 FRIENDS OF THE MICHAELIS COLLECTION CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 1 APRIL 2010 – 31 MARCH 2011 Introduction Educational programmes are always on-going, and were especially intensive during the Lie of the Land exhibition, when learners as well as teachers were targeted with the cooperation of the Ibhabhathane Project, the Joan St. Leger Lindbergh Trust, the National Arts Council and the West. Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport. The year 2010/11 has not in every respect been an entirely satisfactory one for the Friends of the Michaelis Collection. By the same token, five months later, your Committee can report signs both of renewed activity by the Committee itself and of interest and participation from the side of the public. Other supportive activities The slump in activity by and for the Friends last year undoubtedly Although the Friends always try to had to do with the fact that the keep a substantial financial nestPermanent Collection, the oldegg in order to be in a position to master paintings that form the support larger projects, they have raison-d’être of the museum in the been able to contribute to several Old Town House, were not on FMC Chairman Dr. Hans Fransen. meaningful causes related to the its walls at all for most of the year. museum and its activities and This was the result of the decision interests. They funded part of the cost of the catalogue by Iziko – since some ten years ago our over-arching of the exhibition The Lie of the Land by Prof. Michael mother institution – to use all its halls for two temporary Godby, thereby demonstrating that they do support exhibitions, The Lie of the Land (featuring landscape art special, temporary exhibitions. They also financed the and curated by Prof. Michael Godby) and Home and restoration of the bust of Sir Max Michaelis by Moses Away (art of a political nature, curated by Carol Brown). Kottler over the fountain in the courtyard. Both exhibitions were of undoubted interest. To the funding of the first-mentioned the Friends in fact made The Iziko Old Town House a substantial contribution, and for the other one they organized a walk-about by its curator. But the prolonged After quite a protracted period of renovations, the absence of the Permanent Collection caused much Old Town House is once again in prime condition. concern among our local support group – as well as Damp problems in the left lower anteroom were dismay from the side of many visitors from elsewhere. dealt with, disabled access was improved by the In subsequent discussions with the Iziko management, installation of a lift (no easy job in the heart of an old it was agreed that such special, temporary exhibitions building!), by removing the steps in the Burg Street should remain the exception, rather than the rule, and entrance to the Courtyard, and by a handrail on the that such exhibitions should not necessitate the removal steps in front. Lighting and ultra-violet protection of the entire Permanent Collection. were much improved upstairs. Regrettably, we were informed that fire regulations prevent the presence of Activities more than twenty-five persons upstairs at any given time. This rules out the use of the spendid panelled Despite this temporary set-back, activities continued Frans Hals Room, reputed to have the best chamberto be held in the Old Town House, altough a few had music accoustics in the City. Still to be satisfactorily to cancelled because of a lack of interest. Among those resolved is the problem with the stair-well dome, so that were successful were three walk-abouts of the that paintings can be hung there. The Friends have two special exhibitions, two most informative lectures also expressed their desire to see the Print Room re(on artist/architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser by installed where, until the incorporation of the Museum Truida Pekel, and on the Seasons in Medieval Miniature in the Iziko group, a permanent display could be seen, Painting by Tia Hugo), and a “Rehanging Party” to in specially designed cabinets, of thematic selections celebrate the return of the paintings of the Permanent from the superb holdings of works on paper, including Collection, as rehung most inventively by curator dozens of Rembrandt etchings. Hayden Proud under the title “Baroque meets Modern”. The main room upstairs in The Old Townhouse, with paintings and sculpture on display in the Frans Hals room during Michael Godby’s The Lie of the Land exhibition in 2010. Acknowledgements This report would be incomplete without acknowledging the assistance of a number of people. Since its inception seventeen years ago, the Friends have been blessed with a sterling Committee. Without its indefatigable Secretary, Colin Stevens, the Friends would simply not have been able to function at all. Tony Fagrew has kept a close rein on our finances. And Helen Binckes, Shirley Kellner and Barnaba Golek helped in many different ways, as ‘”front-of-the-house”, refreshment manager or barkeeper. During the year Liesl Hartman, Principal of the Frank Joubert Art Centre accepted our invitation to join the committee. From the side of Iziko, we have maintained an excellent working relationship with the Curator of Historical Art, Hayden Proud, in whose concerns the Michaelis Collection occupies a very special place and whose attendance at our Committee meetings is much appreciated. We also value the interest by Iziko’s new Chief Executive Officer, Rooksana Omar, and its Director of Art Collections, Riason Naidoo. To the security staff of the Old Town House, especially Barbara Hendricks, we owe a vote of thanks for their willing assistance after-hours during our special events. Last but not least I must commend Beulah Lombard, owner/manager of the Scotch Coffee Shop garden restaurant, for the good cheer and excellent service she provides, and for the loving care she lavishes on the flower and herb beds in the courtyard. Thank you all for contributing to making the Michaelis Collection in the Old Town House not just an interesting museum, but also a very pleasant place to visit. Future After a fairly quiet period late last year the Friends, during the months following the year covered by this report, are showing signs not only of renewed activity, but also of unprecedented support by the public. The concerts presented since then have been over-subscribed, and several educational activities are being planned. The Friends, in cooperation with Iziko, are also planning the publication of a new brochure/catalogue to replace the 1995 book that has long been out of print. To achieve all this, however, the Committee needs to expand its private and corporate membership – as well as strengthen its own ranks. Thank you. Dr. Hans Fransen Chairman NEWS & ACTIVITIES FOR FRIENDS & THEIR FRIENDS Please note dates and events scheduled for Friends of the Michaelis Collection and their friends too. Please notice that some events have limited numbers. It is therefore absolutely necessary that you respond and say you will be attending, so that we know when to close the bookings. You may book your place by telephone, fax, email or SMS. Please make sure that you mention your name, & best telephone number. n SATURDAY 01 OCTOBER 2011 n FRIDAY 28 OCTOBER 2011 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MUSIC FROM THE GOLDEN Saturday @ 14:30 AGE III Admission : No charge – RSVP appreciated. See page 6 for agenda and lecture details. n WEDNESDAY 19 OCTOBER 2011 VISIT TO RUTH PROWSE SCHOOL OF ART, Woodstock Wednesday @ 10h30. Admission : R30.00 Booking essential only 20 places available. Our members are invited to a visit to the well-known art centre started some forty years ago as a result of the munificence of the painter Ruth Prowse (one-time Curator of the Michaelis Collection!). She bequeathed her picturesque thatched and gabled cottage in Woodstock – once the old farm Roodebloem – for the purpose of establishing an art centre. For over twenty years it was run by our former committee member Erik Laubscher. The principal, Eunice Geustyn, will accompany us through the various studios, and Dr Hans Fransen will tell us about the highly interesting architecture of the old farmhouse. The complex can be reached from Main Road, Woodstock, on the mountain side right opposite oblique Salt River Road, up short Birkdale Road straight into its main gate. n As visitors’ numbers are limited to 20, booking is essential. Tea and coffee will be served at 10h30. Parking should be available in the grounds or the streets nearby. Friday @ 17h30 at The Iziko Old Town House, Greenmarket Square Admission : R75.00 (friends); R90 non-members; R45 students. Booking essential only 60 seats available. Andrew Cruickshank (harpsichord) and Hans Huyssen (cello), together with Charles Ainslie (bass-baritone) and Nick de Jager (tenor) in works by Storace, Frescobaldi, Bach, Couperin, and Royer. The third in our series of concerts of chamber music from the Golden Age – the Baroque Age of the paintings of our collection and of The Iziko Old Town House itself. This time we are happy to present two of the splendid musicians whom we heard in the previous concert – this time accompanying two welcome guest artists. n Telephone Liz Ellenbogen on 021 683 2720 between 09h00 and 14h00 Monday to Friday, excepting school holidays. Email [email protected]; [email protected]; SMS 083 713 5498; or write to PO Box 15 194, Vlaeberg 8018, Fax 021 683 1297. Photo : Russell Scott, 2011. Chanesse with blue dressing gown (1999) by Clare Menck, and Gallant Conversation (c 1654) Gerard ter Borch, Louvre, Paris. CLARE MENCK: INVITED ARTIST AT IZIKO OLD TOWN HOUSE An artist’s residency programme is about to be inaugurated at the Michaelis Collection. Over the month of November the painter Clare Menck will be setting up studio at the Iziko Old Town House. Menck’s devotion to the Dutch masters is evident in much of her work, and she has sought out the work of Gerard ter Borch, Johannes Vermeer, Carel Fabritius and Pieter de Hooch in her sojourns of study abroad. During her residency, Menck will initiate further “painterly” conversations with the Old Masters in the Michaelis Collection and with the wonderful building that contains it. Members of the Friends are encouraged to pay the artist a visit while she is at work. Parallel to Menck’s residency will be a major mid-career retrospective of her work entitled Hidden Life / Verborge Lewe at the Sanlam Art Gallery in Bellville. The exhibition is accompanied by a substantial catalogue. The Friends will be arranging events around her residency at the Iziko Old Town House and a special tour of her exhibition in Bellville. Dates of residency: Monday 31 October – Saturday 5 November 2011 Monday 14 November – Saturday 19 November 2011 n Dates and booking details of events and a special guided tour of Hidden Life / Verborge Lewe at the Sanlam Art Gallery will be announced in due course. THE ESSENTIAL VERMEER NEWSLETTER Jonathan Janson is a man who has been obsessed with the work of Johannes Vermeer to such an extent that he has created a special website dedicated to the study of the artist’s work and painting in the Dutch Golden Age. Give yourself a treat and explore his unique website on http://www. essentialvermeer.com/interviews_newsletter/newsletter_30. html. It is packed with all kinds of enlightening information and wonderful images. You can register for regular email updates which will be sent to you as Janson follows the trail of exhibitions and relates findings and new research on one of the world’s most admired painters. The Girl with a Pearl Earring (c1665) by Johannes Vermeer, Mauritshuis, The Hague. CELEBRATING PETER CLARKE The Friends extend warmest congratulations to former FMC Council member Peter Clarke on the occasion of his major retrospective at the Iziko South African National Gallery from October 20. The exhibition, entitled Listening to Distant Thunder: The Art of Peter Clarke, is curated by Elizabeth Rankin and Philippa Hobbs. Is is the result of seven years of research on the artist and is accompanied by a lavish and beautiful book. It will run until mid-February 2012 and promises to be the exhibition highlight of the summer season. Clare Menck: Hidden Life Twenty years of painting (1990 - 2010) Sanlam Art Gallery 26 October 2011 - 9 December 2011 Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday: 09:00 - 16:30 Sanlam, 2 Strand Road, Bellville Inquiries: 021 947 3359 BROUGHT TO YOU BY AGM & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS Thank you to loyal committee members who have given up a lot of time and gone to a lot of trouble to promote our society and the wonderful Gallery and Collection. Now is the time to introduce new committee members – younger and with wider and more contemporary interests. Please mention this to lively, young people that you know. Present committee: Dr Hans Fransen (Chairman), Colin Stevens (Secretary), Tony Fagrew (Treasurer), Helen Binckes, Barnaba Golek, Liesl Hartman, Shirley Kellner. HOUSE NOTES: n There is wheelchair access to the garden, building & lift via Burg Street. n A handrail has been provided for people using the front entrance steps. n The Iziko Old Town House Museum is open from 10:00 – 17:00, Monday – Saturday. n Entrance to the Iziko Old Town House Museum is free for people of 18 years and younger, R10 for people over the age of 18 years. There is no charge for Friends of the Michaelis Collection. n Iziko Museums: Telephone 021 481 3933 n Beulah’s Scotch Coffee House in the Garden: Telephone 021 423 0322 FORM OF PROXY: (Please email, fax, post or deliver to reach the secretary before the meeting.) I, …………………………………………….. a paid up member of the Friends of the Michaelis Collection, do hereby appoint the Chairman or ………………………………………………. who is a paid up member of the FMC, as proxy to vote and speak on my behalf at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 01 October 2011 Signed at: ……………………………………on …………………. Signature ………………............... THE WAY WE WERE This fascinating postcard image of the Iziko Old Town House was taken by the well-known American photgrapher Arthur Elliot, now famous for his images of life at the Cape in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is stamped “Union of South Africa” which possibly suggests that the image dates from 1910 or immediately thereafter. Judging from the configuration of the central archway on the portico, it is certainly an image of our building taken just before the massive renovations and alterations carried out between 1913 and 1916 to transform it into Cape Town’s equivalent of the Mauritshuis in The Hague. The building as we know, was formally handed over to the Union Government by the City of Cape Town in 1913 to be transformed into a suitable home for the Michaelis Collection. Of further interest to note is the colour of the building, which is slightly darker than the others adjoining it. Official reports written by the Public Works Department on the condition of the building at this time, which are to be found in the Cape Archives, remind us that the building had a wooden roof and wooden floors throughout, and that all of these fixtures were either rotting or in a poor state of repair. The building was in fact a tinderbox that was a major fire-risk and entirely unsuitable as a repository for a major collection of valuable Old Masters. The conversion of the building thus involved some major engineering; the roof and first floor being replaced with fire-resistant concrete, while the ground floor was covered with marble. Huge logs of teak were also imported to be used to build a new stairwell and line the former Council chamber upstairs - what was to become known as the Frans Hals Room. The Iziko Old Town House as we know it today was last subjected to a major restoration in 2003, and hopes are that a renovation of stairwell - a work of art in itself - will soon be underway. We hope to publish further images of the Iziko Old Town House in future. If you know of any other early photographs of the building, we would be pleased to hear from you. Visit Beulah’s Scotch Coffee House at the Iziko Old Town House Breakfast, lunches, tea coffee and confectionery Open during Museum hours Entrance from Burg Street. Telephone Beulah on 021 423 0322 INVITATION : 2011 REGISTER YOUR FRIENDSHIP Dear New Friends and All Friends who pay annual subscriptions. Please renew your annual membership of the Friends of the Michaelis Collection. You are also welcome to update your subscription to that of LIFE MEMBER! Life Members are invited to fill in a form so that we can be sure to have the correct contact details. MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR 2011 • Annual Single.....................R 75.00 • Annual Double.................R 100.00 • Life......................................R 500.00 • Corporate.........................R 2000.00 Special donations towards our Bursary and Education programmes are always appreciated. MEMBERSHIP DETAILS & PAYMENT OF SUBSCRIPTIONS PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW SO THAT WE CAN RECORD YOUR CORRECT CONTACT DETAILS: Present Membership Category: Single / Double / Life / Corporate (Please indicate) New Membership Category: Single / Double / Life / Corporate (Please indicate) Membership fee paid via: n *Bank deposit n Cheque in post / other …………………............................... Date of payment ..................................... Dr / Mr / Mrs / Ms Surname ………………………………… First Name …..……………………………. Corporate ……………………………………………………………………………………… Postal Address ………………………………………………………. Code:…………… Email ……………………………………………………… Cell Phone ……………………………………… Fax …………………………… Telephone……………………………… Please email / post / fax your completed membership form to the addresses given below. Cheques can be posted to the post office box number. Direct deposit into our bank account is encouraged – *please be sure to fill in your surname as a reference on the bank deposit slip. BANK DETAILS Bank: Standard Bank a/c no: 07 002 9946 Branch: 020009 a/c Name: The Friends of the Michaelis Collection Postal Address: The Secretary, The Friends of the Michaelis Collection PO Box 15194, VLAEBERG 8018 Friends email address: [email protected] Office Tel: 021 683 2720 Cell: 083 713 5498
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