Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Figure 1. The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, after cleanirlg a/1d before restoration.
mer student, the use of similar "boxes" to study the fall of light upon small
draped nlOdels was not uncommon (15). It is fair comment that the scene
depicted takes place uncomfortably close to the picture plane within a stagelike
space.
The 1834 Salon catalogue states that the painting was owned by Prince Anatole
Demidoff, who paid 8,000 francs for it. It remained in private ownership
until it was bequeathed to the National Gallery by the second Lord Cheylesmore
in 1902 (16). In 1928 it suffered flood damage while at the Tate
Gallery and was later described as destroyed (17). In 1973 it returned to the
National Gallery, where examination showed that the condition of the painting
was not as bad as had been feared, consisting principally of tears in the
canvas (the largest tear through the executioner's feet) and associated paint
losses. Figure 1 shows the picture before restoration after it had been repaired,
double lined with wax resin, and cleaned (1974-1975). Evidently its construction
must have been relatively sound, and this was confirmed by its recent
technical examination (18).
Method and materials of painting
The highly fmished Salon painting or Academic picture was the result of a
well-established procedure; the artist would make preliminary studies, an esquisse
(a sketch of the intended composition), and detailed drawings before
transferring the design to canvas and beginning to paint (19, 20, 21,22). These
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