Lost masterpiece revealed when historian spotted the rear end of a cash cow
IT DID not look much like the work of an Old Master: a filthy panel broken clean in two, with much of its subject over-painted or obscured.
But the presence of some cows – specifically, their rear ends – was a clue to the painting’s illustrious history.
The work had languished for decades in a drawer at Birmingham Museum, when it was spotted by Dr Bendor Grosvenor, art historian and presenter of the BBC series Britain’s Lost Masterpieces.
Inspecting the painting close-up for the programme, he said: “I’m drawn to the cows, particularly the rear ends of them. Now, if there is one artist in particular who loved the back end of a cow, it is Bruegel the Elder.”
Dr Grosvenor set out to prove that the landscape was the work of the Flemish artist. Scientific analysis dated the wood on which it was painted to the end of the 16th century, and the real breakthrough came when Simon Gillespie, a restoration expert, set about stripping away the layers of paint.
He found that it was a detailed rural scene of villagers picking apples for cider-making. The figures are striking in their brilliance, and stood out from the rest of the canvas. “It looked pretty shoddy when it arrived, in two bags. You really couldn’t tell what was going on,” said Gillespie, who described it as one of the most rewarding jobs of his career. Much of it had been overpainted, probably by someone who thought they would paint over the crack between the two panels.
“That happens often, but it’s pretty audacious to think you could do a better job than Bruegel.”
The restored work was put before Andrew Fletcher, head of the Old Masters department at Sotheby’s. He concluded that Dr Grosvenor’s thesis about Bruegel the Elder was wrong – but not far off.
Fletcher said he believed the figures were from the studio of Bruegel the Elder but most likely the work of the artist’s son, Brueghel the Younger.
The painting will be publicly unveiled at Birmingham Museum today.
Dr Grosvenor added that “the ultimate test for Bruegel is the back end of a cow”, and said: “I must confess to being a little disappointed they are not by Bruegel the Elder [but] it’s come a long way from two planks in a drawer.”