Detail from the painting showing Juno talking to Jupiter

'Juno seeking from Jupiter the gift of Io transformed', transformed

Cleaning leads to a definitive attribution

Cleaning

      The overpaint was removed carefully under the microscope and these pictures show the strongly coloured limbs almost completely revealed. 

      Detail of painting showing Juno's leg
      The dull brown overpainted leg of Juno can just be seen at the right side of the picture.
      Juno's blue dress had also been altered. Here, the ultramarine blue of the original can be seen above Jupiter's leg while the darker blue overpaint still remains below his foot.
      Final stage of cleaningCopyright: Royal Collection Enterprises Limited

      The picture below shows the final stage of cleaning as the brown leg now sits, disjointed, beside the figure.

      The original colours and composition are revealed with the many and subtle shades of red giving a very warm tone to the whole composition, balanced by the equally strong blues and greens.

      It is difficult to understand why the painting was altered, but it is possible that the odd positioning of Jupiter's leg and the rooted posture of Juno were considered awkward or inelegant.

      The balance of the colours has changed as the thin paint of the background has become more transparent and that too may have been considered unsatisfactory. In the past, restorers did make 'improvements' to paintings if they thought it necessary, although this is no longer the case.

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