AN ART DISCOVERY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1685, 27 February 1913, Page 5

AN ART DISCOVERY.

IS IT A MURILIiO? j ' 'i - ; EXPERT RESTORER'S VIEWS,-. .METHODS OF OLD MASTERS. ! ■An interesting visitor to Wellington' at the present time is. Mr. J?. W. Colley, . of Hull, England, an,artist and ail e*r- .j. pert' restorer "of old paintings.' Tha re- ~ storation Of a picture by js. man of Mr.' ' Colley's standing does -not mean one who . • I !.wili:''touch up a picture by the skilled - f ■ use of pigments. It is a much more, deli-. cato process in which the use. of cheliiicab figures largely, and wotk which con- , sists, wholly ; and sMcly of bringing out the, originiiL beauties of a work which., may liavo been" obiiiiited by: Hie dust'and y , dirt of ages j-wort which requires great ' skill , and experience, To quote Mr. -Col- i. " ley, tho only case .in,wjtjcl).,a. restorer is h justified in using pigments; is-when' tho - j painting has been lorn or; pierccd, ond [ it, becomes • nooessai'y to draw tho can-;. J, vas together, and liido tho effects of the mend. ' ', :| . . V j • ' During his stdy ill Wellington, Mr. Col- > ley has been 6o'm missioned' by- Mr." A., Hamilton, curator, of tho Dominion ' -j.", MuSeum, to restore some pictures at th« f ; ! museum, and whilst engaged in' that. !. work;.he has. made, ii - diijcovery which l may be of somu "nrlistio:' importance,-, Amongst the , 'canvases' .submitted, to him • •;• for . restoration was one'which has been ; lying round, in the inuscuni'for nearly, a ', quarter of a century-a dim old paint- - ing of the head of.Christ, the dimensions ;' 'of. which ai'e: Sftr bv 2Jft;' ' Under liis, skilled I .hands tho pichno has been de- !. yelopod .into Eomething : approaching' its x ' | original. appearance,, and -,tp the surprise , ; i -.bf : MK' Collej', it has beenj reeOgnisod as ; a painting either by Murillo --'or . one which lias .bean executed ' during the , Murillo . period, . after, tho style «'/•. n.ncy'_ in' the : manper of the great' > t ' Spanish artist, who died a 8 long ago ji* : ICS;.;: Mr. Colley.i (itatcs.'.tliat.ithe'.work,,■: whoever 1 it is by, ii?,nn .henuH- A fill one—a very ilnelyrpaittcd liead and .■ shouldei's of Cnrlst, good : in expressioiii ' ■ adtnirablv paintwl; nnd;-what is most'im-t.» portaiit, haying a,colour.usfed in the robe wliiclr lias-lonj-si:ace_ beeri lost" to the . ! ' world.: Asked the tolour, Mr. ! Colley, said that the to • • it was the preseiit-day 'rich cnntstin ' but it was not crimson lake. It is i ' what is known -in;association with the,.: old:.master's as dragon- red., a very . rich. ; luminous red, the, 'Secret ,i$ not, ' . known to modern'- [artists.:j,iutthorm6re ( <f ' ' the painting is oh'hand-mhde canvas "of" I* great ago, nnd it Is well that in tile ■ i ssvenfceenth.. ..oentuly.'.the^p«at.'paijoten...L, made their own cniivas, aild prepared it most-..carefully, before anything in the '. . naturo'of' pigments was^'. ipppliodb : Tb* ■' painting is almost a square; whiqh has' ak. j '.., somo,ix:nibte:',:datio 'been'cat from a larger Iv " picture; This is assumed, from tho fact/;! , .that although, tlio full .ieft ,hand;is-pre- ' ' served, part" of' tlio 1 right ha'nd ha's' boen j cut off. • • ■'.•,> : , .■ -,- ■" t■■ ■'' - Though' Mr.' ColNy/ d6es 'c'o'niniit ,i 1 himself to'a statciiiont that the painting (•' \ is; a'Murillo,! ho is pretty siiro .that it was -i ' painted aliout tho Murillo ifperiod, as the j , ipro'c'ess-of .restoration .has:! revealed -.that f. peculiar glazb which gives!an inimitable'. glow and depth To the paiptings of tho ; old, masters,- and it is characterised by :i the';tliree/; primary colours i which'they used frith' sofeh'; wonderful j ■ cfloct—red, ycllow„iaud- blue,.;, and ,thcir„l gi'adatious.'. Mr.'Cjollcy'a.; one regret'' i« .;: ■ that 1 at : some tim 6 'or'other someone has •:». • atteiuptod to- restore ; , tho. picture, mlh somewhat unfortunate results. Nevertlio-, ■ less, an. exoellcn.t' idea .can . now be obtain- -■ ed of tho • original;.' colours 'used." . the : 'danger of anyoicl-'touching r , an'"."old ' luastcr" who had not a perlect acquaint-'j'. diioo with the work, was. the removal ■ bv-i 1 ■ strong [chemicals of the. protective glaze !. which is such a' 'distinctive feature of 6uch j' • .works,. even as, it;lis ini tpo caso .'of' old : ; violins'and 'cellos.; This : jvas formed, it 'i is thought, by tin) laboured preparation : of. the canvas bcfoTe-tho painting was ,i 'comniciioc'd. . It.wiis-'the hdbit of thc old.;' painters tS'.'submit .their canvases t« a l ' very: thorough treatment of fats and oils-! in-which .they, were saturated for a time, i in order, to., create: a foundation, and it i was certain of thojelements arising' from ; !- .that fouiidation, and ooming through tho pigments whioh forniod the glaze, which i preserves the amazingly beautiful colours, j Inany of which cannot now, bo obtained. I Remove this:slaze, ;and tlie powder of the r dried paint leadily I rubs,oif, , ' ■' 'i . • ,Mr. Colley 'demurred 'frcim ' the' siigges-1' I tion of jilacing a probabhj value on th» ;.-.-. painting. In the fiM instalice,:to identify it as a Murillo,_ tho J>ainti!ng would have. '~' ,to go to Christie'«i, in LoMon, where- it would be submitted to ,thf closest,scrut-).. iny by experts, and if it iverc proved- to he one, tho price ii; would bring would de- V. pend entirely, upoii a variety of circumstances. If there happened to bo a buyer l looking out for Miirillos,'" a feenuini one might realise a very large sum, running j into four figuros, or if the fashion ,turntd-b to Murillo—for ttiero werp: fashions -in "old masters," if not in art—a good sum ■ might ,be. realise,di,, It all "depended on "-. : who was at the and wliat they were ' after. But. extraotdinary-tilings hanpen- « ,ed even at •Christie's. He had known" ' good; "old. masters'", to go- at ' ridiculous figures, and rubbish to', rctjliss big prices, ' and a. picture might lje sol-i one year at - certain iigaro; and realise iten" times thot ' ; ' amount when submitted iigaln the next- ' year." : ■'j , . , ; l : -.' ! During ■ his "stty! i'n;-AVbllington, Mr.l '. Colley has al6o Hstored the full length portrait of . Dr. Featlierston and two or i three other portraits, in '.'tho Museum. ! .There is also a c.liniico ol' his king en-'i • gaged to "restore", tlio portrait of Edward . Jerninghum Wake Geld (pi'csented to the city by tho late Mr.'" Jili'n. Pli'mmir)," which hangs in the Ctfuiicil Chamber; and which Mr. Colley states is in a prettv ' ' bad state. .'ln the. south he liris done a i good ded of % ros + oration ; work, including:' seyeral "old masters", in'the posfcssion of ii Mr. Keece, of Christchurch. and sotW ■ paintings.owned by, Mr Vnn A ch, of Sumner.' "'I •