Jan Hendrik Geschke

Investigative Art Historian

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

Large pile indeed!

[ArtWatch UK @ArtWatchUK]

The Times today reports on the latest inane development at the National Gallery which seems to have more money than sense, and where all sit - lips shut tight - on a growing pile of misattributed and, sometimes, falsely reported – paintings:

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

Fontanazi alarm - just in: The Fondazione launches a 90 min. cinema documentary - featuring the "Victory Goddesses" made by Lucio for the SHRINE OF THE FASCIST MARTYRS in Milano.

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

https://t.co/bfUxSOP68N

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

Ever heard of a Renaissance painting on Yew wood? Guess what, there are two. Raphaels! And they‘ve been pals since ca. 1815…

[ArtWatch UK @ArtWatchUK]

COMING SOON:
"The question 'Who painted it?' largely displaced the equally important question: 'What does it depict?' The sections that follow begin with clues: a column, a fortress, a room, a landscape, and a growing body of records suggesting that several early copies preserve information later versions progressively lost. Only afterwards will the question of attribution re-enter the discussion, with newfound vigour..."

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

Mass murder, plain and simple.

[Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof]

The Biden administration's failures on Gaza remain an albatross on Biden's record. I thought of Biden as a good man who had worked with me and others to end the Darfur genocide, but he ended up complicit in the slaughter that unfolded in Gaza.

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

@ArtWatchUK Yes, that one. The leading not-Raphael on the planet, followed by a sibling in the Prado. Let‘s go visit those!

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

@ArtWatchUK from the first moment I saw this abomination on…

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

@ArtWatchUK Ask my friend Lenny Ibizarre, DJ extraordinnaire - if you cap below 100 Hz you’d better stay home.

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

The so-called microphonics of cables - hifi connectors moving in space caused by sound waves, thereby altering their physical and electrical properties - have beeen proven for decades now.
As an art historian who also works as a physicist I‘d recommend not to test the microphonics of large canvasses or wooden supports in situ.
Cause, kaputt!

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

One curious question remains. If museums rightly worry about a fluctuation of a few lux, a few percent humidity or a few degrees Celsius, why should repeated low-frequency mechanical excitation suddenly be regarded as harmless? Paintings are not rigid objects but lightly tensioned composite structures, each with its own resonant behaviour. Conservation practice has spent generations trying to reduce movement; concerts do precisely the opposite. The burden of proof therefore lies not with those expressing concern, but with those claiming that huge loudspeaker cones moving thousands of times per minute present no measurable risk to works that have survived for five centuries.

[ArtWatch UK @ArtWatchUK]

The risks are said to be as follows:
"Key Vibration Risks Resonance: Every canvas has its own "eigenfrequency" (a natural frequency where it vibrates vigorously). Subwoofers or heavy bass lines that match these frequencies—usually between 10 to 50 Hz—trigger extreme, drum-like oscillations that stress the paint. Paint Delamination: Old paintings often have a brittle ground layer. Repeated sound-induced flexing causes the paint to lose its adhesive and cohesive bonds, leading to micro-cracking and eventual flaking. Mechanical Shock: When vibration travels through the floor and into heavy structures, unrestrained frames or easels can 'walk' on their mounts, risking physical collisions or falling. Cumulative Fatigue: While a single loud event may not cause catastrophic damage immediately, continuous exposure over time accelerates natural aging and fatigue. Best Practice Mitigations Acoustic Barriers: To reduce airborne transmission, place acoustic baffling, heavy curtains, or temporary walls between the sound system and the artwork. Low-End Filtering: Do not rely merely on overall decibel limits. High-pass filtering on mixing boards to block frequencies under 100-200 Hz eliminates the most destructive bass vibrations while preserving the music's clarity. Rigid Framing and Glazing: Conservators use lightweight honeycomb* core panels and rigid acrylic glazing on the front of frames, which significantly dampens canvas excursion. Vibration Isolation: Display cases can be fitted with shock-absorbing visco-elastic polymers (like Sorbothane) to decouple frames from floor-borne vibration. If you are currently managing an art display or planning an event, tell me: Are the speakers in the same room or a separate space? Are the paintings displayed on walls, on easels, or in glass cases? What is the frequency of the loud events (e.g., a one-time concert or weekly bass-heavy music)?
* Such backings were used by the National Gallery on its major large paintings by Seurat, Titian and Sebastiano but the practice was abandoned when it was discovered that these works flexed dangerously when moved. It is not known if or how frequently the National Gallery plans to hold such events.

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

@ArtWatchUK Pledging to ruin only ONE painting a year, a noble gesture by my preferred cashmere suppliers. The importance of the Borghese in late 18th century for an upcoming investigation cannot be overstated enough, though.

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

@ArtWatchUK Dark times indeed.

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

The Blacklist (Season 46, Episode 3)

[ArtWatch UK @ArtWatchUK]

The National Gallery’s (supposed) Rubens Samson and Delilah - bought for £2.53 million on 1980 - is not the only picture in the collection where evidence on the back of its panel went missing. In February 2004 the gallery bought the (supposed) Raphael 'Madonna of the Pinks' for £22 million when vital evidence on the back of its panel had gone missing in the 19th century when someone first polished its panel and then covered it with a dark substance. A key difference, of course, is that the National Gallery bought its Samson and Delilah as an intact, labels-bearing, cradled panel in "excellent condition" but afterwards removed and replaced the panel with blockboard while falsely claiming in its 1983 Technical Bulletin that it had bought it in that condition at Christie’s – which claim neither Christie’s nor the Gallery can corroborate.
We shall shortly be carrying a re-examination of the supposed Raphael picture's credentials.

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

“He’s a DICTATOR.“

Listen to the press secretary.

https://t.co/10m50GxeeA

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

Also die ukranischen Postfaschisten sprengen die Versorgungsleitung für‘s Land und der postsozialdemokratische Vereidigungsminister bahnt da hin und fabuliert von fröhlicher gemeinsamer Mordwaffenentwicklung? Und die angebl. Rechtsradikalen hinter der Brandmauer sind die letzten Friedenswilligen? What on earth is happening here? Help.

[Jan Fleischhauer @janfleischhauer]

Darf man so etwas eigentlich reposten? Beim Rückgriff auf die Geschichte bin ich ja ein gebranntes Kind. Ich habe mich für mein kurzes Lachen auch sofort geschämt.

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

@Alice_Weidel @bopanc Keinen cent mehr für die Staatsterroristen. qui bono?

[Jan Hendrik Geschke @jangeschke]

To realize THE POPE of all people is the last sane person on the news is kinda strange.

[derek guy @dieworkwear]

never seen someone get excommunicated by a community note

[Julian Reichelt @jreichelt]

Ein Liter Benzin kostet in Deutschland 96 Cent.
Ein Liter Diesel kostet in Deutschland 1,32 Euro.
Der Rest ist der gierige Staat. Die Regierung SORGT sich nicht um die hohen Spritpreise. Die Regierung MACHT die hohen Spritpreise. Der größte Skandal ist die Klimaideologie-Zwangsabgabe namens CO2-Abgabe. Wie werden gezwungen, eine Phantasiesteuer auf die Luft zu bezahlen, die rein gar nichts bringt, schon gar nicht fürs Klima. Stattdessen werden davon grüne Ideologieprojekte wie zum Beispiel Komposthaufen in Togo (kein Witz) finanziert.

[Marta Havryshko @HavryshkoMarta]

To my 'Progressive' Western Friends:

Every donation to UAF feeds the machinery of Violence, Coercion, and Torture.
It kills not only the Russians you hate, but the Ukrainians you claim to support.
You venerate Death in the name of Life.
You breed War in the name of Peace.

It's not an anti-imperialist struggle. It's a service to another "civilized" Empire.