Studio of Holbein

This painting had been considered to be from the 18th Century as a copy of a painting by Holbein. This date was attributed to it primarily because of its oval shape, a shape not common in the 16th Century. It is the property of a private collector.

Prior to conservation X-Rays were taken.

These showed the painting was in fact a painted roundel in the same manner as another version shown below

Pigment analysis was also carried out. This showed that the highlights on the gold chain were painted in lead tin yellow, a pigment no longer in use in the 18th Century and the background consisted of genuine ultramarine, a valuable pigment unlikely to be used in a copy.

The image below shows samples of these pigments viewed under a polarising light microscope.

Restoration was undertaken to reveal as much of the painted roundel as was remaining however, as the painting had been cut into the oval shape in the 18th Century, it was decided in consultation with the client, to retain its present oval shape

Below we can see how complete the transformation is: