Lost portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
Painting by Peter Paul Rubens / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The "lost portrait" of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham is a portrait of English courtier George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. It was painted around 1625 by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens.
Portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham | |
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Artist | Peter Paul Rubens |
Year | c. 1625 |
Medium | Oil paint on panel |
Dimensions | 60.9 cm (24.0 in) × 47.3 cm (18.6 in) |
Location | Pollok House, Glasgow, Scotland |
Identifiers | Art UK artwork ID: george-villiers-15921628-1st-duke-of-buckingham-84681 |
In 2017, the oil painting was examined by art historian Bendor Grosvenor at Pollok House, the former ancestral home of the Stirling-Maxwell family at Pollok Country Park in Glasgow, Scotland.[1] Prior to this examination, the portrait was thought to be a mere copy of a Rubens painting that had been lost.[2]
Once layers of old varnish and overpainting were removed over a period of two months by art conservator Simon Rollo Gillespie, the portrait was revealed to be the original work by Rubens himself.[1][3] Ben van Beneden, the director of Antwerp's Rubenshuis, confirmed the authenticity of the attribution.[1]
The portrait's examination, background research and restoration process were documented by the BBC Four television series Britain's Lost Masterpieces (series 2, episode 1), which aired in September 2017.