Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu

The painting has suffered considerable damage and most of the left panel member is missing and has been replaced with a modern addition to integrate with the rest of the painting. The paint surface has many restored ground/paint losses, especially along the panel joins, along the bottom edge of the painting and in the fur. Many areas have suffered considerable abrasion, especially in the dark brown costume and the fur, where the paint surface is uneven and thin, exposing the ground in some parts.

With the microscope it can be seen that there are residues of old restoration in many areas. Many of the grey sleeve decorations near the cuff on the right are not original but were applied by the last restorer. The face, the hand on the right, the collar and right cuff and the gold decorative details on the costume and on the Garter chain are in comparatively good condition. The lettering at the top right has been removed almost entirely with a sharp tool which has gouged small pits into the ground, leaving the shapes of some letters cut into the paint and exposing the white ground. It is possible to see that the upper line of letters read: 'AETATIS XL'. But the only legible letters on the lower line are the last at the right end: 'XIX'. Some very small residues of the lead-tin yellow paint remain. There is much restoration. The modern synthetic varnish has a matt waxy surface. It does not appear to have discoloured.

Number of boards: 3

Panel Orientation: Vertical

Number of boards: 3

Last date of tree ring: 1553

Observations

The boards were labelled A to C from the left (from the front) for analysis. There were sufficient rings for analysis on boards B and C. The ring sequences and the appearance of boards A and C indicated that they were derived from the same tree. The last tree ring from all three boards identified was from 1553. No sapwood is present at the outer edges of the boards and therefore a terminus post quem date can be applied to the panel. Adding the minimum expected number of sapwood rings suggested that the board came from a tree felled after 1561.

The broad brushstrokes of the white chalk ground can be seen. Details containing lead white are clearly visible, such as the collar, cuffs and Garter collar and medallion. The balsa blocks on the back of the panel are clearly evident (see x-ray mosaic 01).

Underdrawing
Thick black lines of underdrawing are visible in the paint surface as well as with infrared reflectography. It can be seen in the face, outlining the features and spaced hatching along the edges of the beard and moustache (see IRR mosaic 01). It is also visible in the hand on the right (see IRR mosaic 02). It is mechanical and simple, and has the appearance of tracing. The hatching along the edges of the beard and moustache is more widely spaced than the hatching on the portrait of Nicholas Heath (NPG 1388).

Change to the composition/pentimenti
Infrared reflectography shows that the top outline of the eye on the right was raised a little at the painting stage.

Paint samples were taken to analyse the pigments and layer structure of the painting in November 2007.

Ground and preparation layers
The panel was prepared with a thick white chalk ground. No obvious priming layer could be seen in the samples but the broad brushstrokes of the priming can be seen in x-ray.

Paint
Flesh and cuffs
Cross-sections show that the structure of both the flesh and the cuff are similar. Possibly the white of the cuff lay under the hand, a change of composition/pentiment, in the area where the sample was taken. The samples (3 and 4) both contain a thick layer of lead white with tiny amounts of black. The sample from the hand also has a fine layer of pink over this grey. An unusual looking white could be seen on the white cuffs. The painter has used two pigments, lead white and chalk. Chalk seems to have been mixed in oil to produce slightly different white effects, a more translucent white than with lead white. Libby Sheldon suggests that the painter could create the appearance of a diaphanous material more readily with chalk.

Jewels
Vermilion forms the scarlet of the oval jewels on the chain. The dark parts around the ovals are painted with lamp black and earth pigments.

Sword Hilt
The sword hilt is painted in quite an elaborate mixture of pigments to achieve the illusion of gold. The sides are painted with lead-tin yellow, with touches of red lead as well as orange and yellow earth pigments.

Background
The background (see sample 7) has two layers. The lower paint layer consists of a dense, mixed grey, made with red (probably red earth), black, a greyish white and occasional yellow ochre. The upper layer is much browner, with a high proportion of red and white and less black.

Painting style and method

Preparation layers
The panel was prepared with a chalk ground. The broad brushstrokes of the lead based priming layer can be seen in x-ray.
A warm reddish brown can be seen, with the microscope, in the tiny paint losses in the dark costume. It is most likely to be residues of old varnishes caught at the bottom of the tiny losses (see micro 16).

The underdrawing is mechanical and simple, and has the appearance of studio work. The painting style has some of the manner of the portrait of Lady Dacre and Gregory Fiennes (NPG 6855) and a similar order, but the method is systematic and lacks any of the subtleties of the Lady Dacre and Gregory Fiennes portrait.

Paint layer structure
Flesh
The flesh paint was applied at an early stage. It is blended in the manner of Eworth, often wet-in-wet, such as on the finger tips and the nose (see micro 14 and micro 03).

There are fine even parallel lines in the paint 'combed' over the surface on the ends of a finger tip on the hand on the right and at the top of the ear where the hair comes over it (see micro 15 and micro 04). This technique was used on the portrait of Lady Dacre and Gregory Fiennes (NPG 6855), and on Mary I (NPG 4861), and was evidently carried out with the same type of small brush/tool with evenly parallel stiff bristles/comb teeth.

With the final blending of the paint surface in the flesh, the right edge of the face was altered a little over the grey background paint. The final brushstrokes for the hair are rather mechanical.

Costume
The white cuffs and collar were painted at an early stage. The blackwork embroidery on the cuffs and collar (see micro 12), and the black hat were painted at a late stage. The details, painted with lead-tin yellow, of the gold stitching, buttons, aglets, sword, and Garter collar, were applied last. Much of this detail appears rather mechanically executed (see micro 07, micro 11, micro 08 and micro 13). But the St George on the Garter chain is more finely painted (see micro 09 and micro 19).

Garter chain
The blue background to the lettering has discoloured, this appears to be smalt. The highlights are painted with lead-tin yellow and there is a darker yellow beneath which is probably yellow ochre as with the yellow details in the portrait of Mary I (NPG 4861) (see micro 06).

Background
The background was painted in two stages, as with the other portraits by Eworth, such as Nicholas Heath (NPG 1388) and Lady Dacre and Gregory Fiennes (NPG 6855). The light brown first layer was laid in at an early stage. The later darker paint was added at the end of the painting process. This can be seen at the right edge.

Order of construction
- White chalk ground
- There is a thin lead based priming layer
- Underdrawing
- Flesh and white cuffs
- Background
- Costume
- Hair and beard
- Part of the sword hilt is painted over the hand on the right
- Slight changes in the shirt cuff and hand
- Details on costume: jewels, buttons, Garter chain and St George
- Black embroidery on collar and cuffs, black hat
- Final edges of the flesh paint and details of hair
- Dark right side of background, applied last

Pigments
Lead white, lamp black, lead-tin yellow , vermilion (made by the dry-process), smalt, red lead, orange and yellow ochre, green in the Dragon: probably verdigris mixed with lead-tin yellow

Changes in composition/pentimenti
The upper outline of the eye on the right was raised at the painting stage. The right edge of the face was made slightly wider during the painting process and the edge of the final flesh paint layers were painted over the background colour. The edge of the cuff and the hand on the right were changed slightly (see Paint sampling).

Ultra violet shows the painted reconstruction of the left side (see UV 01). Restoration can be seen in the losses down the panel joins and in the costume at the lower right. There are numerous small areas of restoration scattered over the costume and the face. The aglets (tags) on the sleeve on the right appear to have been strengthened with restoration.

Frame date: Late 19th century.