DIEGO RODRÍGUEZ DE SILVA Y VELÁZQUEZ | Portrait of Olimpia Maidalchini Pamphilj (1591–1657), half length, wearing black

The following condition report is provided by Henry Gentle who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velasquez Portrait of Olimpia Maidalchini Pamphilj Oil on canvas, 77.4 c 61 cm; 30.1/2" x 24", in a period faux marble and gilt frame in good condition. The original canvas is in a good preserved state, it has been strip lined with silk and strained over a Perspex support. There is a visible vertical sewn canvas join running down through the background and into the sitter's left shoulder and arm; this join has been reinforced to the reverse. It appears that there is the remains of an original tacking edge, or possibly painted canvas turned and utilised as a tacking edge, along the bottom of the canvas; minor evenly spaced restored loss is visible under UV light. The paint layer is stable and secure; there is one small raised fracture to the sitter's top lip. The painted surface is in a good preserved state. Under UV light two small repaired losses can be detected in the background upper left and one small loss just above the left finial of the chair. Restoration to mitigate minor loss down the sewn join and to blend it in to the paint layer is also visible, along with a scattering of restoration to reduce the slightly abraded background paint revealing an area of medium coarse canvas texture above the sitter's left shoulder. The speed of the application of the background paint, dark brown in nature and used sparingly, is apparent . Vigorous brushwork is evident, too, in the way the silvery grey tone of the highlights of the dress have been applied. It is not a highly finished life study but neither an unfinished portrait either, there is volume beneath the sketchy application of the paint of the dress and a naturally unresolved, but perfectly readable , state of her gloved hand. The artist has concentrated his efforts in to capturing the personality of the sitter; the head is painted with authority, a sensitive recording of what the artist saw, with a lightness of touch of pale paint over underlying bone structure. There is a natural sheen to the flesh and he has used the darker under paint as a mid tone and allowed it to come through to model the shadows, the highlights added as a top note at the end. The more subtle top glazes on the flesh tones have been slightly compromised. The naturally thinly applied paint has become thinner over the passage of time and as it has dried a myriad of pale shrinkage cracking has appeared which has had the effect of fragmenting the paint and the image, particularly to the dark shadows of the dress. In my opinion, it is this phenomenon rather than the abrasive nature of any previous injudicious cleaning that has given the impression of a painting not in pristine condition. There is a degraded and discoloured varnish in situ, visible under UV light; Its removal would improve the overall tonality and allow for a re-saturation of the paint which would bring about an improvement in the three dimensional quality of the image. The report was not carried out under laboratory conditions.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."