This talk by Christine is about discovering a Rembrandt; I asked for some background to Christine and the Rembrandt and have been given this and include it here as a taster before the talk.
Below a close up of the self portrait showing before and after cleaning:
About
Tina:
Christine
Sitwell is a leading academic in the field of picture conservation:
she received a MSc in Art Conservation from the University of
Delaware/Winterthur Museum and was awarded a Smithsonian fellowship
for an internship at the Tate Gallery, London. She is currently a Fellow of the
International Institute for Conservation and chairman of the Historic Interiors
Section of the Institute of Conservation.
Christine's
expertise is in paintings and frame conservation, as well as technical analysis
of paint and paintings. Her work at the National Trust includes training
staff in painting handling, care, conservation and hanging methods. She
also provides vital advice on paint analysis which helps inform the National
Trust's decisions on colour schemes for their historic houses.
About the
National Trust's national specialists:
Christine
is part of the National Trust's national specialist team. They are authorities
in their area of conservation expertise, offering deep knowledge of particular
subjects (for example paper conservation) or expertise across themes (such
as coast or countryside). Many of the national specialists - like Christine -
are of national or even international renown.
Below a photo of used swabs in front of the painting:
About the
National Trust’s paintings:
The
National Trust cares for over 13,000 paintings which span the
centuries. The paintings include not only works of art by great artists
such as Tintoretto, Titian, Gainsborough, Turner, Reynolds (and now Rembrandt)
but also paintings which record topographical views, interiors, seascapes,
portraits, religious and historical scenes and also unusual paintings of prized
cattle, sheep and pigs. Frames are also an important part of the collection and
reflect the wide range of styles and craftsmanship throughout the past four
hundred centuries. Paintings tell us a lot about our special places and the
people associated with them. Often they reflect the wealth and collecting
tastes of the owners, and even the way that paintings hang within the
historic context of the rooms show changes in taste in presentation.
Below a close up showing crazing on the painting:
About the
Rembrandt:
After
undergoing eight months of painstaking investigative work at the world famous
Hamilton Kerr Institute (HKI) in Cambridgeshire - and re-examination by the
world’s leading Rembrandt expert - this now famous self-portrait, the original
‘selfie’, was confirmed as the first Rembrandt in the National Trust’s
collection of more than 13,000 paintings.
The project
was a voyage of discovery, combining cutting-edge scientific analysis with
academic review, to uncover the true provenance of this grand
master's original 'selfie'.
Here's a detail of the embroidery after cleaning:
The
authenticity of the painting had been called into question for nearly 50 years,
with doubters believing certain areas of the painting were ‘not accomplished
enough to be by Rembrandt’. Following analysis and confirmation, the Rembrandt
self-portrait uncovered has an estimated nominal value of £30 million. Of
course, as the National Trust care for items for public benefit for ever, it
could never be sold.
The
world’s leading Rembrandt expert, Ernst van de Wetering, said: 'Although I was
pretty certain the painting was a Rembrandt when I saw it in 2013, I wanted to
further examine it after cleaning and see the results from the technical
analysis as this had never been done before. With all this additional
scientific evidence, I am satisfied it is by Rembrandt.' Jez McDermott,
property manager at Buckland Abbey, said of the Rembrandt ‘discovery’: 'this
has been a fascinating journey for all of us involved’.
Below, the poster used to advertise the talk which promises to be unmissable.
A quote from a former student of Christine's: 'As
someone who received training from her many moons ago, I have to say
she is fascinating! A mine of really interesting information, I'm sure
it will be a great talk.'
Cheers! You have really allured me; I have no words to explain my feelings about your post. gallery peterhart
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