Luke Syson
Luke Syson is an English
Education and early career
Syson received a
National Gallery
He joined the National Gallery in 2003,[2] where he was the head of research and curator of Italian Paintings before 1500.[4] At the National Gallery, Syson led a successful effort in obtaining Raphael's Madonna of the Pinks.[5] Syson was the curator of the Renaissance Siena: Art for a City exhibition in 2007.[4]
In 2011, Syson was the head curator for the National Gallery's controversial Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan exhibition, which was a major success.[6][7][8] The exhibition centered around works from Leonardo's first Milanese period (c. 1482–1499),[7] featuring an unprecedented amount of major works by Leonardo in one location, including the Portrait of a Musician, the Lady with an Ermine, La Belle Ferronnière, Madonna Litta, Saint Jerome in the Wilderness, Salvator Mundi and both the Louvre and London versions of the Virgin of the Rocks.[8][9]
Through the Leonardo exhibition and efforts prior, Syson was pivotal in the full authentication of Salvator Mundi to Leonardo da Vinci (i.e. an "autograph work"), having five Leonardo experts[a] inspect the painting at the museum. Author Ben Lewis later suggested in The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World's Most Expensive Painting that Syson had overstated the degree of agreement among the experts, with Carmen C. Bambach expressing skepticism after the museum announced the attribution.[11] In the 2021 documentary The Lost Leonardo, one of the other experts invited by Syson, Maria Teresa Fiorio, denied that she had ever authenticated the painting, saying: "Nobody asked me a formal opinion about this painting".[1]
In 2019,
Later career
He became the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Chairman of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in 2012.[4][5] The same year he curated Plain or Fancy? Restraint and Exuberance in the Decorative Arts.[4] While at the MET he led the $22 million renovation of the museum's British Galleries.[5] In 2015, Syson was a candidate for the director of the National Gallery; the position later went to Gabriele Finaldi.[6]
Syson became the director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in 2019, replacing Tim Knox.[6][15]
Exhibitions
- Pisanello: Painter to the Renaissance Court at the National Gallery, London (2001)[2]
- Renaissance Siena: Art for a City at the National Gallery, London (2007)[16]
- Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan at the National Gallery, London (2011)[9]
- Like Life: Sculpture, Color, and the Body at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2018)[17]
Selected publications
- Syson, Luke; Gorden, Dillian (2001). Pisanello: Painter to the Renaissance Court. London: OCLC 884633075.
- ——; Thornton, Dora (2001). Objects of Virtue: Art in Renaissance Italy. London: ISBN 978-0-7141-2805-4.
- ——; Chapman, Hugo (2007). Siena nel Rinascimento: Arte per una città (in Italian). Milan: Silvana.
- ——; Keith, Larry; Galansino, Arturo; Mazzotta, Antoni; Nethersole, Scott; Rumberg, Per (2011). Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan. London:
- ——; Wagstaff, Sheena; Bowyer, Emerson; Kumar, Brinda (2018). Like Life: Sculpture, Color, and the Body. New York: OCLC 1002666590.
See also
- The Lost Leonardo, a 2021 film that features Luke Syson
Notes
- ^ The five experts invited by Luke Syson were: Carmen C. Bambach (Curator of Spanish and Italian Drawings, Metropolitan Museum of Art New York), David Allan Brown (Curator of Italian Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.), Maria Teresa Fiorio (Professor of Art History at the University of Milan, and Vice President of the Raccolta Vinciana, Milan), Martin Kemp (University of Oxford), Pietro C. Marani (Professor of Art History at the Politecnico di Milano).[10]
- ^ a b Syson was the lead author
References
- ^ a b Cascoin, Sarah (27 August 2021). "7 Unbelievable and Contentious Takeaways From a New Documentary About 'Salvator Mundi,' the $450 Million 'Lost Leonardo'". Artnet. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Luke Syson". World Science Festival. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ a b Staff (16 October 2018). "Fitzwilliam Museum announces appointment of new Director". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d "The Met 150: Ted X Met". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ a b c "Luke Syson". National Museum Directors' Council. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ a b c Bailey, Martin (17 October 2018). "The Met's Luke Syson to head Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ a b Vogel, Carol (4 December 2011). "'Leonardo da Vinci' Blockbuster at National Gallery in London". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ^ a b Searle, Adrian (7 November 2011). "Leonardo da Vinci at the National Gallery – the greatest show of the year?". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ^ The National Gallery. 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ "Salvator Mundi — The rediscovery of a masterpiece: Chronology, conservation, and authentication". Christie's. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- ^ Smee, Sebastian (15 October 2019). "The Louvre wants this $450 million 'Leonardo' in its big show. But its mystery owner appears to be balking". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ Bailey, Martin (15 April 2019). "London's National Gallery defends inclusion of Salvator Mundi in Leonardo show after criticism in new book". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ Bailey, Martin (11 November 2021). "Prado museum downgrades Leonardo's $450m Salvator Mundi in exhibition catalogue". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- Times of Israel. 14 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- ^ Sanderson, David (19 October 2018). "Western art finds a champion at the Fitzwilliam Museum". The Times. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- The National Gallery. 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ "Like Life: Sculpture, Color, and the Body". Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
Further reading
- Spencer, Alex (14 October 2019). "Luke Syson: new director of the Fitzwilliam on 'jaw-dropping' museum revamp". Cambridge Independent. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- Syson's (January 16, 2014)