Queen Mary I

The panel appears to be in a stable condition. The paint surface has suffered flaking and paint loss in the past, particularly in the background at the lower-right corner. There is extensive restoration over much of the paint surface, especially in the black dress, the background and the face. The restoration is adequately matched but appears rather milky in the costume. The varnish is reasonably even and semi-glossy.

Number of boards: 3

Panel Orientation: Vertical

Number of boards: 3

Last date of tree ring: 1577

Observations

For analysis the boards were labelled A, B and C from the left (from the front). No sapwood was present. The boards A and C were not dated. The last ring on board B was dated to 1577. Adding the minimum and maximum expected number of sapwood rings suggests that it derives from a tree felled after 1585. Board B is 204 mm, which is below normal for an eastern Baltic oak board and suggests that it could have been significantly trimmed.

The wood grain and panel joins can be seen in x-ray and it is clear that the joins have not been broken and reglued (see x-ray mosaic 01). The two holes in the forehead are probably nail holes for an old hanging method. The painting technique is clear and crisp. There is soft blending in the face and the blackwork embroidery was applied when the white collar paint was still tacky.

There appears to be minimal underdrawing on this panel. Marks around the sitter's features that were thought to be underdrawing are actually painted lines above other paint layers (see DIRR 01 and Surface examination). Under the microscope thick sparkly material can be seen; this is likely to be underdrawing in the white collar but is obscured by upper paint layers (see micro 05). Marks below the pearl on the pendant may indicate that it was originally planned to hang lower down.

Paint samples were taken for analysis in April 2011.

The panel is prepared with a chalk ground and a white priming.

Paint
Blue sleeve of dress
Sample 1: Cross-section shows the chalk ground and white priming. The paint layer over the priming is a layer of dark blue paint containing indigo, lead white, red (ochre or vermilion) and carbon black. The red may have been added to improve the quality of the blue, giving it a more purplish hue to imitate more pure blues such as ultramarine.

Red background
Sample 2: Cross-section shows the chalk ground. The sample was taken at the edge and there is no priming present, which indicates that the priming was not applied right to the edge, as with other paintings in this set. There is a pinkish red paint layer over the ground that contains warm earth pigments, including large particles of red ochre, and also lead white and carbon black. A second paint layer shows traces of a scarlet red lake glaze.

Painting style and method
The paint is handled in a more refined, smoother manner than that seen in other works in this set. Final details, such as the eyelashes and some contours of the features, have been applied at a late stage with very fine, dry lines of paint. The use of blue pigment in some of the shadows is also seen on Henry VII (NPG 4980(13)).

Preparation layers
The panel was prepared with a chalk ground and a white priming. The thick sparkly underdrawing is visible in some elements of the costume.

Paint
Flesh
The flesh paint is very damaged and worn with extensive areas of retouching. The original paint layers in the flesh are thinly applied and finely blended with very little brush texture visible. There appears to be an underlayer, which is pale brown in colour, visible in the hairline and at the edges of the face. The modelling layers of the flesh have been applied over the underlayer and the paint mixture contains vermilion, red lake, white and black pigments. Around the nose and nostrils a medium-rich brown paint has been applied for the shadows, which contains a small amount of blue pigment; this is also seen in the portrait of Henry VII (NPG 4980(13)) from the same set. The lips have been painted with same pigment mixture as the flesh but with a higher proportion of red lake and vermilion. The upper and lower lips have been painted separately with a gap in the middle. A line of medium-rich paint with black pigment particles has then been painted between the lips to emphasise this line (see micro 03). In infrared it was thought that this could be underdrawing (see Infrared reflectography) but through the microscope it can clearly be seen to be lying over the paint layers. Around the nose and mouth there is a high concentration of black pigment particles that lie on top of the paint layer but are also incorporated into it.

Eyes
The irises have been painted in a pale grey blended with white. The pupil has been painted in black on top of the iris and the line of black has been used to outline the right side of the iris. After the lower paint layers had dried, two strokes of lead white were applied over the iris and pupil for small highlights. The corners of the eyes have been emphasised with a stroke of light pink paint containing red lake and white (see micro 01 and micro 02). A thin grey paint layer has been applied in the areas left for the whites of the eyes, and a thicker layer containing lead white has been used for lighter areas over this layer. The upper eyelid has been defined with a stroke of red/brown paint. Over this the eyelashes have been painted in with very fine, thin stokes of paint. A thin line of red has been painted along the lower lid, it is medium rich and contains red lake pigment.

Hair and eyebrows
The hair has been blocked in at an early stage with broad brushstrokes and a medium-rich warm brown paint. Final details have been worked up after the flesh and costume were completed. Darker opaque paint layers have been applied as well as small brushstrokes for highlights. Final strands of hair around the face were applied at a later stage using a fine brush.

Headdress
The black areas of the headdress have been applied at an early stage and contain a small amount of red pigment mixed in with the black. A reserve has been left for the white of the headdress and the jewels. Care has been taken to create the effect of shadow on the white fabric. Beneath the jewels there is a warm orange paint layer; this appears to have been applied after the areas of black but before some of the red background, which is painted up and around the outline of the jewels (see micro 06). The metalwork of the jewels is painted with methodical care using lead-tin yellow. The black of the diamonds has been painted over the orange layer with lead white highlights blended wet-in-wet. The pearls have been painted in different shades of grey with the direction of the brushstrokes creating the rounded form of the jewels. Some pearls have strokes of white to indicate reflected light and others a stroke of dark grey for shadow. All the pearls have a final highlight of lead white.

Dress, collar, necklace and pendant
A reserve has been left for the white collar. It has been painted in with a lead white based paint mixture with a higher proportion of black in the shadows. The blackwork has been applied over this layer in thin strokes of black paint with systematic daubs marking the stitching around the edges (see micro 05). The dress has a green appearance that is likely to be due to extensive retouching. The dress is actually painted with a paint mixture containing indigo mixed with lead white, carbon black and a small amount of red ochre for warmth (see micro 08). A pentiment is now visible along the shoulder line of the dress: the blue paint layer was originally painted higher up but has been altered, with the final layer of background paint applied over the top (see micro 07). Reserves have been left in the paint layer of the dress and flesh paint for the pendant and necklace. The jewels have been applied over an initial layer of warm orange paint.

Background and inscription
The background appears to have been applied in two layers. The initial layer contains earth pigments, lead white and carbon black and was applied at a very early stage of the painting process. Traces of a second layer are visible, which is likely to have been a red lake glaze that was applied after the sitter was completed. The inscription is painted with lead-tin yellow mixed with white and a little black (see micro 04).

Order of construction
- Ground
- Priming
- Underdrawing
- Background underlayer
- Blocking in layer of hair
- Black of headdress
- Flesh
- Hair
- Blue dress
- White collar
- Jewels
- Final background layer
- Inscription

Pigments
White lead, carbon black, vermilion, red lake, lead-tin yellow, red ochre, earth pigments, indigo

Changes in composition/Pentimenti
The line of the shoulders and right side arm have been altered during the painting stage.