Label
2024, “Endangered Art: Reclaiming a Legacy”
Prior to treatment, this painting had become so dark and damaged that it was nearly impossible to make out the subject. Conservators treated it by heating it on a suction table and cooling it under pressure. They removed the darkened varnish, in-painted losses, and applied a new protective layer of varnish.
Conservation brightened the imagery, revealing its depiction of the biblical meeting of David and Abigail. Though the work was previously believed to have been created in the 18th century, its newly legible imagery suggests a possible earlier date. It bears a likeness to Baroque-era paintings of this subject, particularly those by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Likely, a late 17th-century artist familiar with Rubens’ work created this painting.