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| Restored Gainsborough painting on show at National Portrait Gallery | Restored Gainsborough painting on show at National Portrait Gallery |
| (12 days later) | |
| A Thomas Gainsborough portrait of his nephew has had more than a century’s worth of yellowing varnish removed revealing just why one friend of the artist described it as “more like the work of God than man”. | A Thomas Gainsborough portrait of his nephew has had more than a century’s worth of yellowing varnish removed revealing just why one friend of the artist described it as “more like the work of God than man”. |
| A conservator at the National Portrait Gallery has cleaned the 1773 portrait of Gainsborough Dupont, and the result has been a revelation. Dupont, the gallery said, looks less the son of a humble Suffolk carpenter and more a gilded youth who could have stepped straight from the court of Charles I. | A conservator at the National Portrait Gallery has cleaned the 1773 portrait of Gainsborough Dupont, and the result has been a revelation. Dupont, the gallery said, looks less the son of a humble Suffolk carpenter and more a gilded youth who could have stepped straight from the court of Charles I. |
| The results were revealed on Monday ahead of the oval portrait’s display as part of the gallery’s exhibition, Gainsborough’s Family Album, opening to the public on Thursday. | The results were revealed on Monday ahead of the oval portrait’s display as part of the gallery’s exhibition, Gainsborough’s Family Album, opening to the public on Thursday. |
| Murder set Thomas Gainsborough on path to success, say experts | |
| Polly Saltmarsh, a conservator at the gallery, said it was a joy to work so closely with paintings. “Having the opportunity to study the techniques Gainsborough has employed in this beautiful portrait has been a highlight of the preparation for the forthcoming exhibition. | Polly Saltmarsh, a conservator at the gallery, said it was a joy to work so closely with paintings. “Having the opportunity to study the techniques Gainsborough has employed in this beautiful portrait has been a highlight of the preparation for the forthcoming exhibition. |
| “Removing the old varnish and revealing elements which were previously obscured is very satisfying, and witnessing the reaction of curators and visitors seeing the painting after treatment is a real pleasure.” | “Removing the old varnish and revealing elements which were previously obscured is very satisfying, and witnessing the reaction of curators and visitors seeing the painting after treatment is a real pleasure.” |
| The portrait was identified as Dupont, Gainsborough’s nephew and apprentice, in 2003 by the art historian Susan Sloman. | The portrait was identified as Dupont, Gainsborough’s nephew and apprentice, in 2003 by the art historian Susan Sloman. |
| Philip Thicknesse, a close friend of Gainsborough, had eulogised the work calling it “the finest head he ever painted” and “more like the work of God than man”. | Philip Thicknesse, a close friend of Gainsborough, had eulogised the work calling it “the finest head he ever painted” and “more like the work of God than man”. |
| Gainsborough gave the painting away and soon afterwards it entered the collection of Lord Bateman, an aristocrat with connections at court, and it hung at his Park Lane residence. | Gainsborough gave the painting away and soon afterwards it entered the collection of Lord Bateman, an aristocrat with connections at court, and it hung at his Park Lane residence. |
| For the past 100 years it has hung at Waddesdon Manor, the grand Rothschild house near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, which is run by the National Trust. | For the past 100 years it has hung at Waddesdon Manor, the grand Rothschild house near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, which is run by the National Trust. |
| Conservators discovered that the painting had undergone previous conservation work, probably in the 19th century. The canvas and paint layers were in a stable condition but it was compromised by an old degraded varnish which had yellowed with age. | Conservators discovered that the painting had undergone previous conservation work, probably in the 19th century. The canvas and paint layers were in a stable condition but it was compromised by an old degraded varnish which had yellowed with age. |
| Removing it revealed how Gainsborough included touches of blue in the sitter’s hair and around his eyes, reflecting the gorgeous blue of his jacket. | Removing it revealed how Gainsborough included touches of blue in the sitter’s hair and around his eyes, reflecting the gorgeous blue of his jacket. |
| • Gainsborough’s Family Album is at the National Portrait Gallery in London from 22 November to 3 February | • Gainsborough’s Family Album is at the National Portrait Gallery in London from 22 November to 3 February |
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