Video: What you’re seeing is a valuable painting being partially dissolved on purpose.
Image: Philip Mould
Fine art is often coated with varnish for the same reason furniture is: It provides a protective barrier to the elements. But varnish turns yellow over time, and an even less attractive colour after a few centuries – which is why art restoration experts need to strip old varnish off and reapply it when a painting becomes unsightly. In a Twitter video posted by Philip Mould today, the art dealer and Fake or Fortune? host showed just how dramatic this transformation can be:
A remarkable Jacobean re-emergence after 200 years of yellowing varnish 1/2 pic.twitter.com/yBGNGDcNd7
— Philip Mould (@philipmould) November 6, 2017
How a restorationist manages to scrub off the varnish without also erasing a priceless work of art is a mixture of skill and trade secrets. One method involves two pieces of cotton, one soaked in a solvent such as turpentine, the other in a neutralising liquid that stops the turpentine from eating straight through the canvas.
But whatever substance Mould applied to this Jacobean portrait is way too thick to be plain turpentine. We’ve reached out for more information on what set of chemicals made this miraculous restoration possible:
2/2 ….still a way to go, but what a transformation! pic.twitter.com/nyGx3qdhOZ
— Philip Mould (@philipmould) November 6, 2017