Conserving the Man in Red

This painting is one of the most enigmatic sixteenth century portraits in the Royal Collection.

It is a visually arresting image: painted full-length, nearly two metres tall, the man is silhouetted against an apparently imaginary landscape with the suggestion of buildings and ruins on the left and curious rock formations on the right.

In the two years in the lead up to its display in the exhibition In Fine Style, the painting underwent conservation treatment at the Hamilton Kerr Institute in Cambridge.

Treatment involved stabilising and rejoining a crack in the panel as well as removing later layers of overpaint and heavily discoloured varnish. Technical analysis has enabled us to learn more about when and where the painting was made.  Read on to find out more