Nostell Priory Begins Public Study Of Holbein Copy

(MENAFN- USA Art News) At the U.K.'s Nostell Priory, art enthusiasts can now observe experts from the Fitzwilliam Museum's Hamilton Kerr Institute as they examine an enigmatic copy of German artist Hans Holbein the Younger's painting, Portrait of Sir Thomas More and His Family (circa 1527). This public viewing of a conservation study is a first for the country.

Holbein's original artwork, believed to have been commissioned for Lord Chancellor Thomas More's 50th birthday, depicted three generations of the More family. This symbolic painting“was regarded as one of the most innovative of Holbein's English period and was arguably the first group portrait of a British family at home,” according to the U.K.'s National Trust. However, the original work was destroyed in a fire in 1752. Currently, one Holbein study and five copies survive, including one at the National Portrait Gallery in London and a miniature at the nearby V&A Museum. Two additional versions, located at East Hendred Hall and Chelsea Old Town Hall, appear to have been copied from the Nostell iteration, which is widely considered the most accurate.

The eight by eleven-foot masterpiece at Nostell, which spent much of the 18th century in storage due to its size, is currently undergoing analysis. Macro x-ray fluorescent scanners began an eight-day process of surveying the portrait today, mapping its pigments. Following this, crews will use infrared reflectography to uncover its underdrawings. The team hopes to find clues about the work's age, any alterations, and its true author, suspecting that the inscription attributing the work to British painter Rowland Lockey, who painted the National Portrait Gallery's rendition, was added at a later date. This project is a collaboration between the National Trust and the University of Dallas's Center for Thomas More Studies.

We previously reported:

The Musée Bonnat-Helleu in France, reopened last fall after 14 years of renovations, presents an exhibition challenging conservative trends in the art world.

Brussels's Horta Museum, the former home of architect Victor Horta, is undergoing a €800,000 restoration to preserve its Art Nouveau architecture.

Source: Artnet News

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