Mysterious 16th-Century Art Has Smile Erased In Restoration To Original Face
“Through painstaking restoration, experts at the charity now believe the work could be by Joachim Beuckelaer, the pre-eminent still life artist working in Antwerp before the Dutch Golden Age.” Image by © English Heritage, featured with permission
After a two-year conservation effort of a painting of a smiling woman called the The Vegetable Seller, charity English Heritage has revealed the final product with a drastic change.
She wasn’t originally painted to be smiling.
The unsigned painting, known only by its title, had been in storage at the Audley End House for over 60 years. CNN reports that conservation began in 2019, when a conservation survey revealed that it needed restoration. It was through this that the layers of overpainting were uncovered.
After realizing it was a later addition to the artwork, English Heritage made the decision to remove the top section of the painting alongside cleaning and restoring its state. This revealed the subject’s more sombre, stoic expression.
‘The Vegetable Seller’ before the restoration. Image by © English Heritage, featured with permission
‘The Vegetable Seller’ after the restoration. Image by © English Heritage, featured with permission
New conservation work, technical analysis and research has dated the painting to a period just before the Dutch Golden Age (1588–1672), much earlier than previously believed. This has also linked it with 16th-century Antwerp painter, Joachim Beuckelaer, who is believed to have some association with the painting. He might even have been the artist behind this mysterious work.
“We’re so pleased that visitors to Audley End will now be able to see such a wonderful painting restored to its former glory,” says Alive Tate-Hart, Collections Conservator at English Heritage, in the press release. “From the first cleaning test we had a glimpse of the beautiful colours beneath all the grime, which was incredibly exciting. The restoration also means that after years of The Vegetable Seller being something of a mystery, we are closer to possibly uncovering the identity of the art.”
The Vegetable Seller, in all her restored original glory, is currently on view at the Audley End House in Essex, England.
Image by © English Heritage, featured with permission
Image by © English Heritage, featured with permission
Image by © English Heritage, featured with permission
What a transformation! 🎨
— English Heritage (@EnglishHeritage) July 16, 2021
👨🎨 After 60 years in storage and two years of conservation, The Vegetable Seller is returning to @EHAudleyEnd.
She's looking lighter and brighter with the removal of a later addition to the original canvas, taking her back to how the artist intended. pic.twitter.com/JAn9Y71WDI
[via Artnet, images by © English Heritage, featured with permission]
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