3/4 Britain's Lost Treasures Returned

[Music] significance here's the self portrayed by yakob yans there he is on the left with his family his father his mother brother and sisters I suppose a wonderful collection of characters one of warp's earliest acquisition 1722 making the point when you got this he was going to put together a collection of the highest standard this is a a major work it was displayed in the great room of d stre so the whole world who came to the prime minister's office and house would see this a real proclamation of intent building up on the world's great collections a wonderful piece one of walpole's greatest treasures is easy to miss hanging above a doorway oh well one of my favorite paintings and I suppose is most people's favorite paintings loveely isn't it Paris Bon shows flora and Venus emblematic figures love of course Peace plenty fertility together there is absolutely delightful young women shouldering Mars out of the way Mars is war there's Mars on the right and above the the two girls flows Cupids love reinforced a wonderful painting for a um a prosperous prime minister to have in his private apartment symbolizing of course Commerce peace the banishment of [Music] strife I'm also here to meet art historian tiar Morel the goet was broke with the agreement between the Hermitage and Howton Hall there's one painting in particular that tierry was determined to see return to Norfolk so tell me about the painting and why this one so this painting was very important uh to walpool in fact you had two salvator Rosa this one is the largest and biggest and and also at the time a very valuable painting was he paid £500 for it it was a huge amount of it's one of the most expensive that one could have built a large assumptious townhouse in Mayfair in in in the 1740s I suppose the story of the prodal son of redemption forgiveness I mean you know he's here shown repentance he's been given his inheritance and wested it away yes and this painting of course in a way become emblematic of the collection doesn't it I mean this is what people remember and when the grandson George is you undertaking the sale which outrages many people this image of the of of the prodical is used for cartoons I mean do you remember the cartoon I mean it's yes yes position so the cartoon shows George kneeling stripped of his Grandeur and well almost asking for forgiveness for this great crime of selling a collection abroad so this is the um Immaculate Conception Muro it was hanging in a saloon we know that and we know exactly where it was it was the left hand side of the fireplace left hand side so you see that this is actually the picture as it was in at hton yeah with the original K frame and so here we have Vin Le great so convivial so it's all part of a room of entertainment was the most famous Spanish artist at the time you see and this picture that Sir Robert was very keen to obtain and so he sent emeries to Spain and said I want the best version of that picture so this is again for him coniss sship this is purely a brilliant painting by a brilliant painter he wants it but he wanted the best the best right but I mean did he have Many religious paintings you had largely religious paintings and that again is the taste of the time rather than no he's his taste I think he really he really had a taste for religious pendings this is a Catholic image it's fascinating really to hang in the home of the Prime Minister who's a great defender of of of proest or weak values I just just trying to well you see the thing is that's that's that's OD for you I me he was he was schem to collect the best pieces of War po taste was not confined to images of the Virgin incredibly his collection even included pictures of the Pope and in fact there were two popes in the collection two popes yes one by marata and the other one by Velasquez yes I love God the r direct there oh it's a fabulous portrait he was done sort of towards the end of his life he was he was almost dying we see sort of this penetrating sort of gaze I mean you you you almost feel that he's next to you and of course this is an artist that warpole absolutely L yes Horus wrote and said this is my father's favorite artist yeah cuz I have to bear in mind that for warpole marata was more or less a contemporary you know artist it was Modern Art well yes I mean marata died in 1715 yes War could have known it's amazing this portrait of a man of power a great patron of the Arts a great collector it's almost a portrait of wple himself isn't it [Music] the fact that the warpole collections remained largely together is a miracle given Russia's turbulent history it survived Revolution Civil War Siege and bombardment during the second world war and years of Soviet upheaval and most of the war Poole paintings that aren't here are still in Russia adorning the Interiors of former Royal Palace and museums around the [Music] country even so Gathering these paintings together is quite an undertaking it's not always as simple as taking them off a wall this extravagant Brock building was once a summer residence of the Russian Zars like the acquisition of the wpo collection it reflects an appetite for the taste of Western Europe rather than traditional Russia this Rich elevation was created in the mid 18th century by an Italian architect bomeo Arelli for the emperor Elizabeth I I love this whole Southern Italian this most ostentatious Brock set in the snowy landscape of uh northern Europe it's so surprising and so utterly wonderful tremendous colors but today this Grand Palace is the sight of the most tricky operation of the whole project moving Old Masters is always risky but this one poses extra problems fixing the ceiling high above the main staircase is a stupendous canvas by the Italian artist Carlo marata the Judgment of Paris gosh well there it is so high up um I mean I've been here before I didn't really notice it before there's so much to see on the staircase the Roco plaster the wonderful Oriental PS and then at the top crowning place a color out painting my God this looks risky to me these chaps are up there even now they taking out the screws and the whole thing's going to come down the canvas was installed in the ceiling after World War II when the badly damaged Palace was restored today is the first time it's come down since then when negotiations started for it to return to Halton the palace authorities were so nervous about damaging the picture they refused tier's request twice before finally relenting even now nobody's quite sure if it's going to work tell you there quite an atmosphere of tension and worry of course it takes down such a wonderful piece that was put up maybe not very well whatever it is 50 years ago I'm quite sure I it was put there I suppose few screws quite an audience of anxious uh Museum creators here it's coming down anxiety mounts I think there's no one's um no one's got a plan how to get the canvas down from top of the scaffold there's no so cradle rigged up bit of string uh the guys drilling some hooks into the fr the canvas into the frame I presume they're going to lower it on the bit of white string down here not room to maneuver so I think I'm going to have to low it down face side against the scaffolder could be very dangerous here it comes now they are my God so you could be you know scratching okay there's a guy down here with a string keeping the face away pulling it to keep the face away from the scafford poles okay it is now in the air with no human hands attached [Music] oh I take it all back brilliantly done you knew what they're doing I just me panicking that's all safely down the canvas is taken away to be prepared for its Journey next time I see it the painting will be once again hanging on the wall at Howton a number of War po paintings came here to Moscow after the Russian Revolution when the capital moved from St Petersburg then as in war Poole's day Fine Art bestowed status and a capital city needed a capital collection in the pushin museum is one of the Howton highlights warpole glorious celebration of drunkenness and nudity this is the U the Balia by rubins warpole acquired it in 1726 and originally it um was displayed in his dressing room in Downing Street then went to the common parlor at um at Halton um an amazing powerful image here it's sanus this sort of epitome of age drunken character supported by nymphs who actually sat look at the ly goat's legs pouring wine over his collapsed female sat here another woman here suckling these monstrous babies at her pendulous breasts an incredible incredible image what what's on to make of this in wpo's perception obviously a great work um by great artist who a lot of uh credit to his collection but I can't help but think it's um appeal to his s of of fun you one thinks of these great convivial congresses at hton where people would go down to hunt and drink political debate networking uh so this is partly evocation of that side of wo's life at Halton the drunkenness the frolicking and um the misbehavior sadly the authorities have deemed the canvas too popular as visitors to leave the m Museum but the pushin also holds a work by one of the greatest artists collected by warpole and this one is returning to Norfolk the paint is now described as being of an elderly woman which is uh correct I'm sure was a theme that rembrand depicted numerous occasions I suppose representing the passage of time people different stages of their lives um but warpo thought this was a portrait of REM br's wife which is interesting if one thinks of the meaning this painting could have had for warhole as he contemplated this he would no doubt have thought of his own marriage Arrangements which were I suppose typical of the 18th century but a bit irregular he had a wife who lived in London mostly and a mistress long-term mistress who pretended to reside at Halton but whatever the reading of this for War what is certain is his painting is of the highest quality and would have made it clear to all the high status of his collection and his talent as a as a collector of fine Works world my final destination Russia is yet another Royal residence pavlos is home to two warpole paintings of particular interest which undergoing Restoration in Readiness for their journey to norol well here we are in the conservation studio and this is the pair of of paintings by Yan goodier dge artist that s Robert acquired in about 1718 as far as we know the earliest paintings in his great collection they are wonderful they are views of a classical landscape world of antiquity the power of Rome this one with a great City in a lush and wonderful landscape the sort of evocation of Pompei before Pompei had been discovered incredible temples obelisks figures here contemplating it and here very lovely touch griffer he signed it as part of the architecture on this found

Channel: Art Documentaries

Views: 20,239

Keywords: Dan Cruickshank, Robert Walpole's art collection

Id: ee0ypqchOa4

Length: 15min 0sec (900 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 13 2013