An art dealer’s incredible restoration of an oil painting covered in varnish for 200 years has left viewers mesmerised.
Philip Mould, who presents BBC art show Fake or Fortune?, shared footage with his Twitter followers showing the careful removal of a yellowish brown protective varnish from the painting.
“A remarkable Jacobean re-emergence after 200 years of yellowing varnish … what a transformation!” he captioned the clip.
It wasn’t until recently that the true colors of the artwork were unearthed
“We started restoration of the painting <…> after extensive testing of the varnish on an oil surface on oak panel”
“A mixture of gel and solvent was created, specifically just to remove the varnish and not to damage the underlying paint”
“It’s different from normal restoration, with the gel suspending the solvent and working in a more controllable way”
Most details of the “Woman in Red” are lost, and all that we know is that she was 36 years old at the time
But some criticized the art historian for his “dangerous and irresponsible” approach
