Those of you who use Instagram may have seen some posts recently about the restoration of important works of art at Goodwood House. Well-known conservator Ying Yang has been working meticulously over the winter months to restore the vibrancy of paintings by artists from the 17th and 18th centuries.

As a guide at Goodwood I was thrilled to listen to a talk given by Ying Yang about how he goes about restoring pieces. His talk focused on a work dated 1684 by Godfrey Kneller of Louise de Keroualle, mistress of King Charles II and mother of the 1st Duke of Richmond. Over the years that I have worked at Goodwood the painting just got darker and more incomprehensible. During restoration Ying Yang found evidence that the picture is not as it would have originally looked at the end of the 17th century. Parts of the original painting have been obliterated, perhaps for political or royal relationship reasons. We will never really know…
Louise de Keroualle by Godfrey Kneller, 1684

Louise de Keroualle by Isaac Beckett after Godfrey Kneller Mezzotint c1684-1688