KING JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND 1567 - 1625
KING JAMES I
OF ENGLAND & IRELAND 1603 - 1625
Portrait attributed to the Flemish
artist Paulus van Somer,
c.1577 - 1621
Research and photographs © by George W. Randall.
This magnificent oil on canvas bearing the attribution
Paul van Somer is part of the
Sir George Bullough, Bt. Memorial
gifted to the British nation by his widow on
28 February 1957 and located in the Great Hall,
Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rum, Scotland.
The 26,400 acre island, (with its still fully furnished former
late Victorian hunting lodge), was purchased by the Conservative Government of the day to be used as an outdoor research laboratory for the conservation and enhancement of Scotland’s natural heritage.
Originally placed in the care of the Nature Conservancy, from 1992 Scottish Natural Heritage, the agency, funded by taxation, is responsible to the Scottish Parliament
in Edinburgh, with a budget of £46.5 million in 2018/19.
(Down from £53 million in 2015.)
(Down from £53 million in 2015.)
Regrettably in 1957 or the intervening sixty-three years no specific care body or funding has ever been allocated or sought for the protection and conservation of these magnificent
publicly owned treasures. WHY?
publicly owned treasures. WHY?
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The full-length
portrait of King James VI of Scotland and King James I of England and Ireland
displayed in the Great Hall, Kinloch
Castle, Isle of Rum, Scotland.
*
The painting is
one of three out of twenty-five
professionally surveyed by an art conservator
in 1996 and
deemed:
“in poor condition (and) in urgent
need of
studio treatment for major structural conservation and restoration.”
The Flemish
artist Paul van Somer was born circa. 1577 and moved to England
during the reign
of James as King James I of England and Ireland where
he became a
leading painter at the royal court.
James, only
child of Mary, Queen of Scots and her second husband, Lord Darnley,
became King James VI of Scotland on 24 July 1567
following the forced abdication of his mother.
Following the union of the Scottish and English crowns he also became
King
James I of England and Ireland on 24 March 1603 until his death on 27 March 1625 .
*
The painting was
recorded in the 1978, 1992 and 1996 Inventories of Kinloch Castle Contents,
by
Phillips of Scotland, as being “a full oil on canvas portrait of King James VI
in the manner of
van Somer, in white dress and red velvet cloak, plumed hat on table.”
79 x 92 inches /
132 x 200 centimetres.
The 1996 professional art conservator’s appraisal
concluded:
“ Local consolidation and treatment of the flaking
paint will never prove effective.
Studio treatment over a period of many months” is necessary to
restore and conserve this painting, which is “in very poor
condition
(and) must be treated as a priority.”
“Losses of paint layer are widespread and continuing
….”
(Quote from the 1996 Professional
Appraisal)
*
The painting was
examined off the wall but not removed from its frame. A cloth backing cover
was
tacked to the back and part of this was lifted to examine the stretcher.
The Report
continues: the paint layer was considered “inherently unstable as it (was)
delaminating
over a wide area of the ground, that is the priming layer beneath.
This shows
through … as deep pink in most areas and chalky grey in others.”
Loss and flaking
was recorded as “widespread, notably in a prominent area around
the sitter’s
feet, right across the chain and sitter’s chest and shoulders, as well as …
the concave dent in the
upper quadrant.”
The fine weave
canvas was intact with no tears or holes, but the lining had failed as there
was
widespread flaking and instability across the pain and ground layers.
Tension was “a little slack.”
Tacking edges appeared secure. There
was, however, “a slight concave dent, approximately
3 x 9 centimetres, situated 25cms. from
the top edge and 42cms. from the right.”
The Stretcher/Strainer was found not to
be the original.
A varied network
of fine cracks, craquelure,
due to shrinkage of both paint and ground
was noted,
particularly around the face. The varnish layer was considered
“poor,
discoloured and uneven, with considerably yellowed with discoloured residues
from earlier
layers trapped beneath.
The amount of
surface dirt gave the painting a poor appearance.”
The gilded frame
was found to be “structurally sound and in fair condition.”
*
King James VI of
Scotland from 1567 to 1625 and
King James I of
England and Ireland from 1603 to 1625 by Daniel Mytens.
*
Crowned King as
a child of just over one year old, the country was run by a series of
Protestant Regents until James reached his majority.
The tapestry
behind the King bears the Tudor Rose emblem and the motto “Beati Pacifici”
“Blessed are the
Peace Makers.”
*
In August 2007
Messrs Bonhams conducted an inventory for insurance purposes
of Kinloch Castle contents.
With reference
to the King James portrait they recorded:
“Manner of
Daniel Mytens. Portrait of King James I of England, VI of Scotland,
shown full length and seated in court robes. After a portrait by Mytens in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Oil on canvas. 200 x 132cm.”
*
The bleak future for this painting is
summed up in the Conservator’s concluding remarks
written twenty years ago in 1996:
“Local
consolidation and treatment of the flaking paint will never
prove effective, the painting must be de-lined and re-lined and the extensive flaking paint secured with impregnation of the paint and ground layers from the reverse.
The process of
removing the existing lining canvas,
the thick
residues of animal glue on the reverse of the original
canvas and impregnation of wax/resin (or similar) adhesive from the back, together with a subsequent relining, is a time-consuming treatment.”
*
It is not the
purpose of my posts to quote valuations or
estimated costs of restoration,
all of which are
now many years out of date.
Suffice to say
regards this painting
the 1996 restoration costs exceeded the 2007 valuation.
So, what happens next - restore it or lose it?
Don’t let Britain’s heritage slip away through
indifference -
Express your concern by contacting:
The First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon,
St. Andrew's House, Regent Street,
Edinburgh, EH1 3DG, Scotland
Telephone: 0141 424 1174
THE ISLAND OF RUM INCLUDING A FULLY FURNISHED
LATE VICTORIAN /EDWARDIAN KINLOCH CASTLE WAS PURCHASED WITH TAX PAYER’S MONEY IN 1957.
*
UPDATED 20 MARCH 2020
to raise public awareness of the present condition
and uncertain future of these publicly owned art treasures. |
Photographs and research © George W. Randall.
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