Art restoration of one of our largest paintings: Cleaning Van Dyck's 'Charles I' | 1

[@voraciousreader3341]

Thank God there are so many great artisans who can look at a Van Dyke and be confident about what needs to happen and why, and that people have experimented and come up with materials which won’t yellow over time. I think if I was handed a cotton swab and told I could clean a section of this painting, I’d have to crawl into a corner for a bit and weep and pray....what an incredible privilege to be able to do this for your job!

[@elizabeth6154]

It is always a pleasure to learn from the conservation and scientific teams. Please provide another update when the retouching is complete.

[@nationalgallery]

Hi Elizabeth, the retouching is finished! You can watch our video on the process here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGjJmmSJlpiXibc

[@rembvanrijn]

Wonderful that such an exceptional work is receiving this well-deserved attention. Pity we won’t see the finished restoration for a while, but there you are!

[@dream_emulator]

This love of art is the Great part in Great Britain.

[@lorettabertoli3736]

totally! they do love and take care of art much more than us in Italy who are surrounded by art and sometimes almost don' care for it as much as we should...

[@toth-music]

nice, the last few seconds, to see the effect of the restauration! just a little glimpse... I adore this fine art of humour...

[@TheFiown]

The bluish mark on the saddle looked like the reflection of the saddle cloth in the armour that has faded out ?

[@vermillionhugh]

Magnificent painting and fascinating video 👍👋

[@Hinata.Sakaguchi]

one of my favorite paintings is charles I portrait,he looks alive when i look at his paitings it is like in 4k resolution

[@PeterPaul175]

Why is the horse’s head so incredibly small?

[@riosdellacueva6482]

IT WAS normal type of horses at that time

[@good2golden803]

Rios Dellacueva : I disagree. Yes, horses were smaller but the proportion of head to body hasn’t changed. The ‘charger’ type depicted would have a head size in keeping with the body and neck.

[@classicambo9781]

It is odd, refined sure that was selected for but not this small and with such a gross throatlatch. Poorly proportioned. Yet very clever technically. Horses are hard to do - mine wouldn't be anywhere near this good

[@2eleven48]

@@classicambo9781 ...well, excuse me, but who are you? 'Horses are hard to do'. And 'mine wouldn't be anywhere this good'. Seriously, what an inflated vulgar ego you have of yourself.

[@slightlyallthetime]

@@2eleven48 calm down

[@jorgeodelar974]

Wonderfull! And the other painting of Van Dyck's, is it at Highclere Castle? (The one in which Downton Abbey was shot).

[@mscott3918]

Yes it is, a studio copy I believe.

[@jorgeodelar974]

@@mscott3918 thank you!

[@riverafranzjethrod.5272]

@@mscott3918 i think it's the real deal that was used in the set

[@antoinebihr1792]

Regarding the unfinished thigh: maybe this has been mentioned before, but this just looks like the artist did finish the thigh, but painted the armour very shiny (so what we see would be a reflection in the armour, not the fabric itslef). Hence the very bright mark on the fabric, that comes from the reflection of the armour, and would just be a reflection of light coming from the armour. What do you think ?

[@TheGranti7a]

Among others would be, the canvas size considerations by the artist/atelier for where the painting might ultimately live on display. In a large palace/castle with possibly long/wide lines of viewing! That elongated shape of a blue "highlight", parallel to the rider's highlighted/armored leg, is a sketch of the thigh and knee, under the folds of pant garment. At least, a few of the questions there are, who painted it? Why and when?

[@MandyJMaddison]

TheGranti7a, That fold is covering part of the saddle behind the knee. The saddle is a different shape to a modern saddle and has a projection behind the back of the leg, which is apparent in other equestian portraits.

[@Divertedflight]

It's seemed to function as a mural, rather than a window type view which many of standard canvas paintings of the time seemed to work as. If the detail is out of close inspection, don't bother too much about it, general painted impressions are good enough.

[@Trixtah]

Well, we can see why Van Dyck only did two equestrian potraits, if that's how well he knew how to draw a horse. Literally the most poorly-proportioned beast I've ever seen

[@Lagerfanny-g7e]

The head is tiny 😂

[@driesketels]

Beautifully done. I wish they could fix my marriage like that.

[@vima8680]

SAD

[@PHlophe]

Meneer Drees, have you filed for divorce yet

[@valeria-militiamessalina5672]

Dries Ketels you are funny. Take heart, things get broken FOR a reason. They sure do

[@ilksenteksoy4008]

🇹🇷😍🤗💖💖💖💖💖Çok güzel...

[@artbich.-8086]

Try to restore spoliarum by Juan Luna here in the Philippines.

[@gerryarty8342]

Great info., and video, but the music could be kept to a minium..

[@Divertedflight]

Not an expert of horse saddles of the time, but that looks like what that blue line is part of mentioned at the end of the video.

[@michaelwhite8031]

Dobson was just as good, he should get much better recognition.

[@princepavlosofgreece]

Van Dyck had paint more than one portrait of Charles I - and the most beautiful today is hanging in Louvre, not in London. I just wonder, why? Because collection was sold after abolition of monarchy by Cromwel and French King had buy it?

[@dmmw125]

Pretty much the puritans didn't see any need for art driven as they were by fundamentalist belief. It's only because they saw value in the sale that it wasn't destroyed.

[@Sadimal]

Nobody really knows what happened to that particular painting between 1638 and 1738. It was not among King Charles I personal art collection at the time of his death. The painting resurfaced in 1738 when Comtesse du Barry acquired it and then sold it to King Louis XVI.

[@jemaltedoradze098]

Yes restoration is wery dificult , because old masters made colors - hand made .And today 's colors are enother .

[@lidiasc8936]

❤️

[@demistoclesps5465]

Composion treids main ,bit from add ,subasta,hearths main colleccion

[@MicaRayan]

I can stand vertigo! And I can try painting it! It wasn't meant to be painted that way...I supposed. For me, that's trippy as an artist (!)

[@georget5874]

why don't they touch up that fold mark in the middle, i know it's authentic fold mark but still it really distracts you when you look at the painting.. that's all you focus on

[@nationalgallery]

Hi George, this video focuses on cleaning the painting, retouching the painting takes place later on in the process when the fold mark will be touched up.

[@petermatten3315]

Most perculier horse , barrel chested , with tiny head.

[@Frankowillo]

It's a war horse, bred for power.

[@marthas8108]

I heard somewhere that was done on purpose, to make the King more imposing by comparison. No idea if that's true... but I have noticed the same thing in some of Velazquez' portraits of royalty on horseback.

[@BikerBob1300]

i love when people use around 300 words per phrase .

[@Lymund]

Dude kinda looks like old kyle mclachlan

[@vima8680]

Strange that the conservationists are British and not American. I wish I could have seen some of the process like at Baumgartner.

[@lazygardens]

The gallery is here: Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN So not at all surprising

[@MJ-cc4uf]

@@lazygardens - All the National Galleries can get confusing.

[@semiramisbonaparte1627]

I SAID THE SAME EXACT THING! WEIRD...

[@58Kym]

Strange remark......

[@semiramisbonaparte1627]

SKETCHY AF