Ghostly image of Mary Queen of Scots discovered hidden beneath artwork
27 Oct 2017 5:25 PM GMT
A previously unknown rare portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, as she would have looked as she languished in captivity in England some four and a half centuries ago, has been discovered underneath a later painting of a Scottish nobleman.
Only around four contemporary non-miniature portraits of Mary during her captivity still exist. This newly discovered example — revealed through x-ray imaging — is therefore of great historical importance.
The rarity of contemporary portraits of the deposed Scottish Queen is particularly remarkable, considering that she is arguably the most famous of all Scottish monarchs.
Scotland was in part split between Protestants and Catholics — and showing overt sympathy for Mary would have had heightened political implications during her English trial and execution.
The artist — almost certainly Dutchman Adrian Vanson — seems to have stopped painting the portrait abruptly. Mary's face, hat and neck had been substantially completed. Her torso and arms had only been sketched in outline and treated with undercoat paint. And her jewellery had not yet even been sketched. There is a hint of a veil – as if the artist had just begun to toy with the idea of including one.
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