Mästerverk från 1600-talet återupptäckt | NTD NYHETER

A lost masterpiece has been rediscovered. This is Susanna N. de Elders by Artemisia Gentileschi. The painting entered the collection of Charles I, the English monarch who prefaced this female Italian 16th-century artist. It's recorded in a number of different inventories since that time, but during the 18th century, at some point, it lost its attribution to Artemisia Gentileschi. It was also heavily discoloured by historic conservation treatments and discoloured varnish. Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the most important artists of the 17th century and what made her so unusual is that she was a woman working in a very male-dominated artistic world. The interesting link here is perhaps with Artemisia's own experience. She was raped at the age of 17 by another artist working in her father's studio and she was also put in the witness box and tortured to prove that she was telling the truth, that she was actually raped. So it seems to have held a particular relevance to Artemisia. Conservators have spent the last five years trying to restore the painting to its original shine. The hundreds of years of dirt on the surface, old varnish and paint layers that were not original, were reduced. There were also injuries to repair. Some important discoveries were also made during the restoration. A backing canvas that had been applied to the back of the picture was removed as part of this conservation treatment and it revealed the CR brand, the Charles I brand, that marked it out as being in his collection. The painting is now hanging in the galleries at Windsor Castle.