Huge Restoration Unearths Italian Masterpiece In British Church | Fake Or Fortune | Perspective

[Music] there's a way to make an entrance my destiny it was now a conspiracy of witches download today [Music] the art world where paintings change hands for fortunes selling at 95 million but for every known Masterpiece there may be another still waiting to be discovered well that's it well that's it isn't it that is it that is our painting International art dealer Philip mold and I have teamed up to hunt for lost works by great artists we use old-fashioned detective work and state-of-the-art science to get to the truth science can enable us to see beyond the human eye isn't that incredible yeah the problem is not every painting is quite what it seems I paid about a hundred thousand pounds for it that is a lot if it's fake it's a journey that can end in joy isn't that great or bitter disappointment they are declaring that your painting will be seized and then destroyed in this investigation we're faced with a double mystery an intriguing who done it a small church is home to the largest painting we've ever looked into on fake or Fortune those look rather good on the stone it looks as though it sort of belongs here really but who painted it and how did what could be a 16th century old Master find its way to the heart of the Lancashire Countryside in this episode we unearth some family secrets miles north gives the enormous sum of 100 guineas a year in annuity so why is he giving these people this money the trail takes us to Italy and glorious Venice it's like a glow and it's to do what the water is to do with the architectures to do with the light where we uncover a secret history of stolen paintings could could an ambitious restoration project hold the key to solving the mystery of who painted the picture okay you ready wow [Music] we're heading north to the Village of Tunstall in Lancashire to answer a call from a fake or Fortune viewer who's contacted us with a rather intriguing puzzle well this is of the beam track I've not been to this part of the countryside before no I think this is the first time that we've ever checked out the mystery in a church let me read you the email we received from Jane Church Warden says hello I've attached a photo of this picture which seems to be baffling many people me included it has been hanging in St John the Baptist Church Tunstall Lancashire for about 200 years the estimates on its value vary widely can can you help us I mean does she give us no more clues than that it might have been painted by where it's from nothing Saint John the Baptist Church in Tunstall is well known not only for its picturesque scenery but also for some famous members of its congregation do you know we're in Bronte country the heart of Roti country this is where the Bronte sisters grew up and they used to worship at this church at Saint John the Baptist and it's even mentioned in one of my favorite novels Jane Eyre except Charlotte Bronte renamed at brunklehurst church joy to work with someone so well read Fiona Church Warden Jane Greenhouse is waiting to meet us along with the vicar Mark Cannon to show us the mystery painting [Music] gosh it's much dirtier than I was expecting it was so dark is it just despite the dirt the first thing that emerges is the subject it depicts one of the most emotionally charged moments in the New Testament the aftermath of the crucifixion I have to say just standing here I'm absolutely Bewitched by that figure in the bottom right hand corner the the woman yeah absolutely I mean that's a beautiful sort of shadowy for shortening of the head and it's been here for about 200 years yes do you know how it got here well we think it was brought back by a soldier called Richard Tallman North who was from a local family he was also a patron of the church and we believe that while he was away at War he might well have found this picture and brought it back and donated it along with other things to the church and it was original we think in the chapel of thurland Castle and I think it was 1860 which is what a next door Castle just down the road lots of castles and when do you think it was in there is there evidence that it was in there no we're still trying to find out this Soldier yes gave this painting to the church you're saying he gave other things to the church as well at the same time yes because he was Patron do you want to get up a ladder then have a look at it and if this Soldier gave other things to the church why not have a look at that and see if there are any clues in that because that strikes me as another way forward as well okay armed with my trusty torch I'm gonna take a closer look can I pick up any clues as to whether this is an original early painting or just some later copy I think already this one potentially very exciting revelation we found a pentiment up there now a pentament coming from the Italian pentamente means a change of mind the artist working out an idea abandoning it and then going on with another one and what I've Just Seen up there is that Christ's loincloth the creases were going in a different direction in other words the artist is working out the composition where to go next that suggests to me it's not a copy while Philip gets better acquainted with the painting I want to investigate Jane's theory about this Richard Tolman North I take a peek around this ancient Church to see if there are any clues Jane mentioned Richard Tallman North and he donated this window to the church that we know for a fact and there's an inscription underneath in a language I don't recognize there are all sorts of indications of Richard Tolman North's presence around this church it was clearly a very important benefactor and it's thought that he brought the painting here but that's just supposition but at the moment Richard Tallman North is the best lead we've got if he was a soldier then I think the best place to start is to check his military records meanwhile the pictures begin to yield a little more information even though the picture is extremely dirty I've been able to get a feel for the colors beneath and combined with that is the is the style of the composition the characteristics on the faces it all suggests to me that this is Italian a late Renaissance period painting if Philip's right then the painting could be worth tens or even hundreds of thousands that could pose a dilemma which many churches face how do they keep their doors open to war and Safeguard their most prized assets [Music] but to confirm my theory I need to prove that the picture is a 16th century Italian painting that it passes muster as a genuine old master to help us in our investigation we're heading to the National Gallery in London to see if we can spot any similarities between the greats of the Italian Renaissance and our humble painting [Music] this is one of the trophy rooms in the National Gallery for Italian art and it's got all the great senior people like Michelangelo people like Raphael people like Titian it's a slightly frustrating term isn't it old Master because it means different things to different people yeah I mean to me it means at least 300 years old possibly more it means probably Continental rather than English and it also means the painting is by a definably good hand either an artist whose name we know or someone of real quality incredible to think isn't it that the painting we saw in that little church in Tunstall in the middle of the countryside could just just could belong somewhere like this it's stiff company but it's not impossible there's one painting here that might bring us closer to understanding our picture I feel there's all sorts of crossovers with ours it's by Palo veronese painted in the 1570s and the first thing you noticed thinking about our painting is just this theatrical arrangement of figures the way they almost sort of tumble over each other it's the king's anointing the Christ child and that King in the foreground with his arm out the hand facing towards us that bit of first shortening reminds me so much of the figure of Joseph in our painting yes now I can see that and veronese's Venetian brief we're looking at Old Masters in what the latter part of the 16th century then you know they were working in Florence in in Rome in Milan you know how do we begin to narrow it down well we have to look at the the the the the the different styles and Footprints of the artists of this period and one thing I think that's going to really help us is color when this picture is cleaned I mean this painting is all about light and color it sort of defines the action I mean it looks like they've plundered the dressing up box doesn't it really I think that's going to lead us in a useful Direction [Music] encouraged by our visit to the National Gallery we're meeting up with our specialist art researcher Dr bendor Grosvenor so we've got a double mystery on our hands then who painted this picture and how did it get to the church but I thought the obvious place to start was with the church of England because after all this painting is in one of their buildings they wrote back to me they think they have about a hundred works by well-known artists in their churches around the country possibly 12 000 or more artworks by lesser known or unknown artists but they don't have a central register they enter their letter by saying there will be hidden gems so that's an intriguing thought for any future investigations but as far as this painting goes hit a brick wall there in terms of how the picture got to the church I were following up the congregation's idea that the picture was connected to a local Square called Richard Tolman North and rather hopefully he does in fact have some descendants who still live in the area so they may have some paperwork or some archives that we could look at yeah I definitely want to talk to them all right well while you're doing that I'll look into Richard told me North a bit more if he comes up as a known art collector then that's great news and then of course there's a question of who painted this picture I mean okay I saw it up a ladder with a torch but I reckon it's 16th century and I reckon it's Italian so the question is where in Italy because every part of Italy has its own style its own character of painting is it from the venator with venice's Etc it's going to be different to Florence OR Siena or Rome and then having nailed the area can we find the artist because if we can we can really Elevate this painting as a work by an unknown painter now is it is it very valuable well it's a difficult subject and as an anonymous painter from the 16th century I mean it may be worth fifteen twenty thousand pounds but put a name to it and it could be I don't know a hundred thousand possibly more but before we get anywhere on the name we've got to get a better look at the painting we need to see it under strong lights I've arranged for the painting to be moved to the Hamilton car Institute part of Cambridge University to begin some scientific tests to help us solve this mystery it's run by Rupert featherston who has a great deal of experience in the conservation of 16th Century Oak Masters can he help me pinpoint exactly where in Italy our painting might have come from this strikes you as a standard dirty picture does it yeah I mean it looks like it's a varnish of some 150 years I don't know it hasn't actually sort of kept the saturation so that's why all these areas look so sort of foggy it's very clear now that it's in three pieces yes they're very straight they don't look like tears but they could be Cuts but they're more likely to be seams but then it's a bit odd frankly to have a seam right through the head of Christ first thing Rupert wants to do is to swab a few areas with white Spirit to get an idea of the true colors that lie beneath can we home in on a country of origin if we start with this area it it really does bring out the depth in the shadows and the color intensifies but you see the modeling you see the way the face is constructed yes you see that's exciting that's that shows the subtlety combined with the boldness in the coloring which I think is going to is going to help us identify where this painting was painted I think we could try another area because there are some beautiful colors I suspect hidden under this layers of dirt and varnish I mean the the virgins virgin's robe is an interesting one we're hoping that this would be blue but at the moment it still looks fairly green even as you wet it out there's a an under painting but a solid thick white Strokes which are then covered with a translucent glaze which is a recognized technique of the of the sort of 16 17th centuries and it's it's it's just what you'd hope to see yes it's it's one color shining through another and rather some bewitchingly bold way which takes one to sort of Northern Italy doesn't it quite possibly I mean it it feels right for a for an Italian painting certainly so Northern Italy this is exciting and as Rupert continues to clean Clues are revealed which make me suspect a particular city as well what we can already now begin to see with some of the shapes that are now revealed the expression on the virgin's face the colors and the tones these are all like indicating certainly a place and that place has to be the more I look the more I feel that color to be Venice I would agree I would agree totally the emergence of color is a vital clue and reminds me of the veronese we saw at the National Gallery a distinctly Venetian painting which just like ours depicts a dramatic religious scene I'm thrilled I'm confident I now know where this picture was painted the next thing we need to do is to carry out infrared and x-ray tests when we get the results it might even take us closer to the identity of the artist thank you meanwhile I'm investigating how our Painting came to be in the church I'm heading back to Lancashire the congregation believe it once hung in thurland Castle not far from Tunstall and the family seat of Richard Tallman North I've tracked down one of his descendants Lady Sue Kimber who still lives nearby and has an archive of family records Hello nice to meet you can I find any proof here that toolman North ever owned the picture so this is your family tree is it beautifully done love is the family shield yes so we've got Richard Tallman North here so born January the 17th 1782 died unmarried July the 14th 1865. this is a wonderful family recorder do you have many other family documents well an awful lot and Fred got burnt in 1879 and fire and certainly a serious number of pictures went up how disappointing this fire in 1879 probably destroyed evidence which could have linked Tolman North to our painting these cuttings here they're about about the fire are they they are yes on Wednesday morning at an earlier furland Castle near Kirby Lonsdale was found to be in Flames three times an attempt was made to rescue some of the pictures in the dining room but the Flames drove them back it's so frustrating isn't it because if you hadn't been to the fire we'd have a wonderful record I know I imagine you're judging by this it's very disappointing I mean do you know if the family were great collectors of art were interested in art well the only record I have of that is that the fact that we've got paintings of thurlin Castle which is shows a lot of pictures I was just painting here just painting it's straight get it up and have a look at it there we go I knew that was meant to be a rather a good Italian picture that was sold so that must have survived dear far do you have the documentation for where that was sold no each time we get close and then just so annoying isn't it I know our paint is not there is it I'm afraid no do you have the wills of the family because it might detail the painting or or else show the bequest of the painting to the church will very sadly not now I fear they must have all been destroyed in the fire so that's really put the kai Bush on things yeah I'm afraid too well that was very interesting in terms of tracing the provenance of our painting there's no doubt the fire at furland Castle has made things a lot trickier but on the positive side we've now got a real idea of a family that the north family who were great collectors of paintings and patrons of artists as well so it's not completely outside the Realms of possibility they would have collected a 16th century Italian painting not at all that seems a distinct possibility now what I'd like to find out is is how active they were on the Art Market were they buying what they're selling maybe vendor can look into that [Music] while Fiona has been getting to know the north family I've been called back to the Hamilton car Institute to get the results of the x-rays and infrared tests [Music] I'm hoping they will shed some light on how our artists set about painting the picture I'm excited to see what Rupert has discovered so I've asked Church Warden Jane Greenhouse to meet me here using infrared to take a basically a photograph or a scan it's something that cuts through into the paint so it's rather a nice way of firstly picking up the whole painting where the changes might be for example there's a tree right behind Joseph which we frankly couldn't see no but it's very clearly been painted out I'm sure that was done by the artist I don't think that's something that was later retouched and you can see why I might have done it because there is something slightly ungainly about a tree trunk coming out of the back of there is of Joseph's head what does x-ray which takes us deeper tell us the X-ray will show us in more detail if there's changes but it only picks up on certain pigments particularly lead ones can we have a look yeah certainly well in this case what we see and it's a bit difficult to read because it's only a little detail so I have to sort of hold it up but this piece here this shape here is what we see here the virgin's headpiece and then you see this shape which is very strong in x-ray it's dense paint it's up here somewhere we can't see it at all and actually what's happened is that the whole head of the Virgin started off up there and got moved down here that's an artist change a deliberate alteration of the composition and interestingly it it changes that the focus of the picture because it was an image of a mother looking gazing into the face of her dead child it's now one more in which she's reflecting upon the corpse it's more loving it's more caring I should imagine where it is now than when it's more intimate it's much more intimate than it possibly was before yes it's allowing you to reflect on her grief yes it's a lot of thought in it yeah tremendous amount which makes it quite a spiritual um painting I'm excited that we we're beginning to understand it these tests have confirmed to me that our artist was a very skilled painter but can we go further and prove that he was an eminent old master while Philip tracks down our artist bendor is picking up the trail of Richard Tolman North with the fire at thurland Castle destroying much of the family archive and his military records failing to confirm where he served can bend or find any evidence that links him to the painting so I'm going to have a general rummage around try and find out what we can see about Thurman Castle the toolman north whether they were collectors see what we can find there's something here about Thurman's Castle which was written in 1849 that is a guidebook concise description of the English Lakes by Jonathan otley and this is very nice he talks about a trip to the church a call from our from the village of Tunstall stance Church in plain middle Gothic style the interior has lately been restored and with a painting over the communion table of the descent from The Cross by an ancient master so bendor has found solid provenance that our painting has been in Tunstall church for over 150 years just as the congregation told us but is there any evidence to support their suspicion that it was given to the church by Richard Tolman North [Music] bendor consults a handy art World resource the Getty provenance index which lists the sale of every painting from Sotheby's and Christie's since the 1700s is there any record of a Tolman North buying any paintings no I can't find any evidence at all that Richard toolman North was actively collecting at auction in our time frame maybe Tolman North isn't our man after all it seems we're going to have to dig deeper to uncover how our picture got to Tunstall and as for who painted our picture I'm convinced there are more clues lurking beneath its dirty surface so I think we need to begin an ambitious project to restore our picture I've asked specialist conservator Simon Gillespie to take on this challenge at his London Studio it's been to Lancashire it's then been to Cambridge and now it's made its way to you how do you feel with four square meters of dirty canvas like this in front of you at the moment it's very dull because of age the old varnishes have just deteriorated it that's the dullness there's also years and years of dirt on there is there added later paint to this in evidence yes there is certainly you can see it very obviously along the lines of the joins of the original canvas this artist put three pieces of canvas together and that has failed in the past and has been repaired this explains the unsightly seam to make a large picture the artist sewed three separate pieces of canvas together and some of the stitching goes through a key part of the painting The only passage I I'm slightly nervous about is where the the joins in the old canvas go straight through Christ's head which unfortunately actually goes straight through his eye which was the last piece he wanted tear isn't it yeah and if you had to speculate what made it so dirty what would you say it was well let's start at the top number one these little white things all over it they've obviously had bats or swallows or something in the church and then you've got just from neglect because lots of people tell their cleaners don't touch the paintings but of course the one thing they don't do is actually take off the dust and the dirt and at Christmas carols you know when we're all singing and blaring away with our mince poisonous um there's a lot of humid humidity and so the pollution of the faithful pollution yeah yes I can't wait to see What Lies Beneath this picture and what Clues will be revealed by the cleaning process [Music] and Fiona has made a surprising discovery about Richard Tolman North I've done some digging into Richard Tolman North and put together a potted biography for you he was born in 1782 and between 1800 and 1820 he was patron of Tunstall church that was simply because he owned the land that the church was on now this is where I found something very unexpected and it gets very interesting indeed he was declared insane in 1847. now that date in 1847 I found some information about it in a newspaper cutting from the time the newspaper article listed the the evidence against Tillman North to show that he was mad so for example he would pour bottles of champagne down the throats of his soldiers he gave lavish parties I think the final straw that he was found shacked up in a castle in Germany with a discharged stable boy that's very interesting because he doesn't sound like the sort of person who would buy a rather intense religious painting no he certainly doesn't he was a wild boy and party man wasn't he but I don't want to give up on that idea just yet that he was the guy who gave the picture to the church so I think they need to look at Richard Tillman North's will to see if we find any mention in there of him bequeathing this picture to the church as for an artist I'm convinced more than ever that it's a Venetian remember that Palo veronese we saw in the National Gallery think of the similarities to our picture there but there are also other great figures at work in Venice in the 16th century who I think can be seen to be influencing our painter look at this it's by tintoretto and just look at the way the figures Express themselves almost as if they've been caught in Frozen drama are still from a film perhaps that's so Venice you know the idea of of using art to express a sort of a moment of passion and of action these are characteristics that I think we can see in our painting and another great figure of the period and again so typical of the Venice look and the sistition and look at his colors now I know we haven't cleaned our picture yet we've got a glimpse we've got an idea and I think this gives us a little taste of what's to come it all seems to point to Venice and these artists had Studios they had assistants who worked with them and it's possible that our artists could be one of those people who's working under the influence of one of these great Giants of Phoenician art now the only way we're going to find out more is to go to Venice where we could find the information that could progress our argument it's going to be someone a satellite figure is my guess in their Circle [Music] we've arrived in Venice la serenissima there are archives churches and paintings here which could unlock the identity of our artist we're taking to the water because Philip has a theory that the artist who painted our picture Drew inspiration from the city itself when the solvent was biting through that built the yellow varnish and that color emerged from beneath I remember thinking you know this is Venice if you look at paintings from various parts of Europe they have their characteristics but none is as distinctive and as all-consuming as as Venetian color and what's on that canvas is around us now and Venice would have been such a Melting Pot of cultures of the East and the West I mean during the Renaissance there was nowhere like Venice in the world for that that mixture of influences and cultures so if our painting is from Venice it has to be uniquely the product of the Venetian mind [Music] inspired by this floating city [Music] I'm meeting Dr Philip rylands director of the Guggenheim Museum who's been studying our picture and he thinks he's got some information that can help us he wants to show me a painting by the old Master Titian which depicts the same story as our picture can he help me decode this scene to understand what our artist was trying to achieve I feel like this has real resonances with our painting well the painting is of the same subject the pieta is a theme in in Italian painting and sculpture and it describes really the event that's taking place here the Virgin Mary is sadness at the death of her son Jesus Christ so it's the deepest and the saddest moment in the New Testament I mean it's almost it's worse than the crucifixion in terms of of just angst and grief it's the mother encountering her son in in that way it's more it touches you more humanly uh every mother is going to identify with the loss of the sun anything which reveals for worshipers the sacrifice that Christ made according to Christian religion uh on the cross the sacrifice that God made of his son in order to save man it's a kind of central tenet of of Christian beliefs so it's a it's a didactic it was a sort of shot in the arm to get people to think God more yes this reveals to me that our picture from Tunstall was continuing an important tradition in Venetian Art our artists would have surely taken inspiration from this scene but does Philip rylands think our man was taking his cue directly from the great Titian you've had a look at our picture yes people any thoughts from what I've seen of the painting we're talking about the much more athletic positions of the figures our characteristic of tintoretto so it's closer to tintoretta there is to tissue but that would be normal in the late 16th century so it's someone who has seen or is aware of this type of art who's carrying the battle down whose style is changing but he's still in Venice and he's someone who could have painted it in a church around where we're standing now yes this is encouraging Philip rylands believes our picture was painted in the latter part of the 16th century and that our artists could have come from the school of tintoretto this will help sharpen the focus of our Quest [Music] back in the UK bendor is still trying to find evidence that can connect Richard Tolman North to our painting after a number of years in the lunatic asylum Tolman North died in 1865. bendor's managed to track down a copy of his will is there any reference to our picture here it's dated 1865 for the year he died and because the congregation at Tunstall thinks that their picture might have been given to the church by their Patron Richard told me North I would expect to see that fact recorded in his will so let's have a look see what we've got this is the longest will and testament [Music] well there's lots of stuff here about Estates and dividends but nothing about any pictures unfortunately now normally what one does in this kind of situation is go back in time to see if an earlier generation might have bequeathed the picture so what I've also got here is the will of Richard torment North's father who was called miles north and that is dated 1784. so let's have a look dividends livestock there's no mention of our painting in the will of miles north either but there is something rather surprising miles north gives to Elizabeth Needham of Dublin and Frederick Richard Needham the enormous sum of 100 guineas a year in annuity now that's that's enough that you wouldn't have to work again so why is he giving these people this money there's no suggestion here that they're relatives and it may be just the 21st century mine but my assumption is that she may have been his mistress and that this Frederick Richard Needham could have been his illegitimate son I think these names are worthy of further investigation with no evidence connecting Richard Tallman North to the painting could Frederick Needham offer a new line of inquiry back in Venice Fiona and I are looking for Clues to identify our artist I want to follow up the lead from Philip rylands that our man came from the school of tintoretto I'm also curious to see the type of place our painting would have been displayed so we're on our way to San Giorgio Maggiore an island Church where there is a painting by tintoretto and his son this is the stoning of Saint Stephen which just like our painting depicts a dramatic and emotive scene from the New Testament [Music] you see I think this is far closer to how our picture would have been experienced I mean we're in a side Chapel it's rather more intimate and you can imagine it up there in front of us you know this this image of grief communicating itself very personally to someone sitting Where We Are this is my Tinder tinturo and his son and Studio which certainly when it comes to the attribution of our painting just shows how complicated it it may be it's a whole family business so trying to pinpoint exactly who painted any painting in Venezuela particular painting is a lot more complicated than it I always think trying to tell one artist from another working in Venice is a bit like trying to work out one part of a flock from another I mean they're all the same species but they all vary slightly and there's something about the color that warm Hue that shines through but still got the other bright colors something to do with the contrast so the light and the dark something to do with the way the figures are leaning forward in that quite extreme way lurching dare I say it I feel we're getting just that little bit warmer that little bit closer to who might have done ours oh foreign seems to point towards our artists coming from Venice and from the school of tintoretto I'm going to stay here continue my research and see what else I can unearth and I've returned to London where the ambitious operation to clean our painting has begun I'm really hoping that this process will uncover some vital evidence for the investigation what's exciting is this is the oldest painting that we've ever dealt with on fake or Fortune what's frustrating is that the paperwork has thrown up so little therefore what's going on behind me now is absolutely crucial could hold the key to the identity of the artist they are using a sophisticated variant of the normal cleaning method special formula of gel is made up and applied to the canvas it absorbs the dirt and varnish but leaves the paint untouched a team of force Specialists will spend over six weeks restoring the picture will this reveal an artist connected to the old master tintoretto [Music] while Philip's overseeing the restoration of our painting I want to know why it may have left Venice and ended up in Tunstall a painting like ours was almost certainly intended to hang in a church and I found out that churches in Venice were a valuable source of cash to the invading armies of Napoleon as he waged War across Europe at the end of the 18th century when he conquered Venice he seized thousands of works of art from the churches did he take ours I'm meeting Dr Nora gates at the Venetian State archives who's been compiling a list of the paintings appropriated by Napoleon you've got this fascinating Ray of documents here what does this tell us about that period Savannah's before Napoleon came in had a 70 parishes and Napoleon reduces this to 30 parishes only and so here what these listing is is the parishes their subsidiary churches exactly and other churches and oratories fantastically detailed and here interestingly it talks about those that are particularly conspicuous or commendable for their architecture and paintings what do any of these documents show us about what paintings Napoleon selected and where he put them so he hired This Man Called Pietro Edwards to go through these paintings here I chose the document to show you he basically would go into each building that has been closed down inventorize the paintings and then organize the paintings to be transported into various deposits so how many paintings are we talking about in this document here well here for example you see that um there's a total of 12 791 paintings that this man cataloged fascinated he catalogs them by their quality as well so you've got piture post they so pictures in third and even in fourth class exactly so he then had to make a selection which of these 12 791 paintings were the best ones and decided to keep only a total of 1279 paintings and what would happen to those and where would they would go into galleries like the brera galleries in Milan which was his capital in Italy or the Academia here in Venice and the very best ones would go into the Louvre in Paris these paintings taken by Napoleon were listed as the greatest in Venice they're clearly categorized and none of the descriptions match our painting maybe ours was a second third or fourth class of painting what happened to those pictures obviously they were trying to sell these paintings so they would organize auctions with very little success unfortunately but also try and sell paintings in private transactions to raise money for the Empire and there's very little success in the auctions because well presumably the Art Market was saturated if he was selling if you're trying to get rid of this many paintings it was it's very likely this is how our painting was removed from a Venetian church and eventually ended up in Tunstall our picture could have been one of the thousands of paintings which left Venice after Napoleon invaded we just need to find evidence that the north family could have bought the painting around this time [Music] back in the UK Bendel has confirmed an intriguing connection between Richard Tolman North and Frederick Needham there's an article in the times here from long ago discussing a legal dispute that Richard torment North was involved in and it suddenly says that a Mr Needham was the natural son of Mr North's father and therefore the half-brother of Mr North so the Mr North's father is miles north and Richard Tolman North is therefore the half-brother of this Frederick Needham chap endore has also discovered that Frederick Needham has a close connection with tunstalled church and looking into the church records from the time we suddenly see Frederick Needham's name pop up as the vicar of Tunstall he's vicar from 1800 until 1816 when he dies so that's extraordinary what we have here is a religiously minded man with a family connection to the tournament Norths and who probably had enough money to be buying pictures so the next step that goes off in my mind is to check my handy Getty database to see if someone called Needham was buying pictures at the right time the Getty database should list any painting that need and bought at a major auction house [Music] I like the look of this a picture sold in 1812 in Dublin it's a religious scene it's by jacobo basano another Phoenician painter from the 16th century the buyer's name says Needham doesn't say Frederick Eden but it says the Needham of Dublin so therefore it would appear to be the right date of sale the right subject matter similar name although this picture can't be ours as it depicts a very different religious Scene It makes Needham a more likely buyer of our painting and it's not a dead cert but everybody at Tunstall thinks that Richard Tolman North gave them the painting because he gave him the stained glass but what if it was his brother the illegitimate half-brother the vicar who actually gave him the painting this is a real breakthrough Frederick Needham had money from his father's will he had a strong connection to the church and the north family and was buying old Master paintings from Venice so in all likelihood it was Needham who gave the painting to the church it all adds up to being the most likely explanation for how our painting arrived in Tunstall and back in Venice I might have a lead on who painted our picture after weeks of searching I've at last Tracked Down someone who believes they may know the identity of our mystery artist I'm meeting Enrico Del potsolo a highly regarded Italian art scholar at the Doge's Palace the seat of power in Renaissance Venice and as such adorned with the finest 16th century Venetian paintings could this be the moment our elusive artist is finally unmasked hello lakes in Europeans accounting there kievitura is Enrico thinks he can see past the dirt and grime of our painting and believes the same artist is responsible for this gloriously colorful picture on the ceiling of the Doge's Palace he's also spotted similarities in other paintings by the same artist is [Music] Enrico points to the way Christ's arm Falls the same way in both pictures and the face of the Virgin Mary they certainly seem to Bear a remarkable similarity to our painting foreign [Music] who did work with tintoretto but is more closely associated with Paulo veronese the artist whose work Philip and I saw at the National Gallery in London this could be a massive breakthrough but how certain is Enrico was foreign [Music] I wasn't sure we'd ever get to this point putting an actual name to our painting but one of Italy's top Scholars is convinced Monte mitsano is our artist he worked in the right period in Venice was a contemporary of tintoretto and had close ties to veronese I can't wait to get back to the UK and break the news to Philip and bangdore foreign I think we've had a real breakthrough meeting that Italian scholar in Venice Enrico Del Portillo and coming up with that name as if from thinner Francesco montemezano I must confess I've never heard of before neither have we but it's really substantive progress we have now got an artist that we can play with and I have been I've been looking at other works by montavezano and I have to say I think the argument is looking really convincing here is our picture and the other two paintings that I'm referring to now look at the figure of the Dead Christ look how the light falls upon the body it's in a very similar way and particularly those loose arms but there's another have a look at the face of the Virgin Mary and I am pretty well convinced that this is the same face as the Virgin Mary in these two other compositions by montemezano so we could be dealing with an artist whose is just using as artists do the same model well I've been looking into the life of Francesco montemezano and it turns out it was at least as colorful as his paintings there's not an awful lot said about it but I've tracked down some information about him in a rather obscure biography of Venetian artists from 1648 by a chat called ridolfi and it tells us how montemotana was born in about 1540 he painted with Paolo veronese which might explain some of those sort of similar characteristics my favorite bit is at the end of this biography it talks here about Francesco a piaceri amorosi had many many love affairs and he also had a great love of expensive things and his life ended in a poisoning whether he was poisoned by I don't know Angela's husband Joseph lover in these many love affairs who's to say but he was certainly quite a character he reminds me in that aspect about Richard Tillman North who actually I think was now a bit of a red herring when it comes to who gave our paintings of the church I'm pretty convinced instead that it was his illegitimate half-brother Frederick Needham well this is all really encouraging it seems that we've managed to solve at least half the mystery but what about the artist now Enrique's thesis is very convincing but in order to convince the British Art Market the people who buy these pictures over here we need to go to the leading Authority on this area of history of Art and before we do that we have to make sure that the painting is cleaned as best it can be because with any luck it will do the work for us [Music] we've invited Church Warden Jane to the studio to see the results of the restoration and reveal who the artist may be let's get in here it is shall we do the ground unveiling wonderful okay you ready hang on wow the painting has emerged like a butterfly from a chrysalis where there was dirt and Grime on our jewel-like colors just what you'd hope to see in an old Master painting from Venice oh isn't it beautiful absolutely wonderful oh there's a bit of the tree up there yeah the tentiment the artist's first idea I mean in in art World terms this has been more than just a clean it's been a little short of a resurrection I mean what what was hidden cannot be seen and what we've learned let is a little dark patch can you see on the Virgin Mary's drapes there yes that black Square so that's how dirty it was gosh the comparison couldn't be more startling details once hidden are now revealed and the restoration has even managed to repair the stitching through Christ's eye so we have been to Venice yes and while we were there I spoke to an Italian a well-known Italian scholar the name he came up with was a man called Francesco montemezano oh right well it's not one of the greats no we're not talking about Titian tintoretto right and if we can turn it into a Francesca montemezano a canvas that would be worth fifteen twenty thousand pounds as an anonymous work it could be worth a hundred thousand pounds wow I now I am surprised because I didn't think it would be as much as that so that's an oh gosh and I have to say that although that's wonderful news we want the picture in the church and we don't want to sell it but it's amazing that that could be that value but it but it's just a beautiful painting absolutely delighted I mean the picture looks magnificent now that it's cleaned it's a different picture and I just hope that this can be verified now it's time for the verdict this will determine the true value of our painting we've invited Enrico Del potsolo who Fiona met in Venice to examine the painting in person but to get the Art Market to accept it as a genuine montemezano will also need the endorsement of Professor Peter Humphrey a recognized Authority on this period of Italian art a lot riding on this if we can't give it a firm attribution in a tough market for Italian works it's worth probably fifteen twenty thousand pounds however if we can add that name more to mezzano it transforms it it's that name that we need [Music] normally on fake or Fortune we deal with artists that are household names so this is an unusual situation for us Francesco montemezano an artist most people have never heard of and certainly neither Philip nor I had heard of before he went to Venice and then suddenly his name was pulled out like a rabbit from a hat putting that name to the painting today will be crucial and now is the note we're going to find out gentlemen hello Enrique nice to see you again this is the first time you've seen the painting and of course now it's been cleaned as well are you still of the opinion as you told me originally in Venice that this is a work by Francesco motive so you definitely think it's by him yes especially now after the restoration well that is great news that sounds like a rounding endorsement thank you Peter now I know how much significance the art World attaches to your opinions whether you like it or not I'm afraid we do what are your thoughts about this picture seeing this even in poor reproduction to start with I could see that it was related to the work of Paolo veronese the figure of the Mary Magdalene for example could almost be taken from one of his pictures but you can see that it's not fair and easy it's by somebody related to him and so I actually thought of Monty metzano and was very pleased to hear you know Enrico came up with this spontaneously and and I quite agree I quite agree I think it's got to be yes we have a name it's official our painting is by Francesco montemezano making it worth in excess of a hundred thousand pounds [Music] foreign the moment has come to return it to the church at Tunstall and reveal what we believe is the true story of their painting we've arranged for it to be reinstated in its original position on the wall and waiting for us are Jane vicar Mark Cannon and Lady Sue Kimber from the north family a bit of a change we didn't know what it was and now we've got this light and glowing devotional piece there aren't many large-scale restoration projects quite as revelationary as this I've been involved with and two things have emerged the first is that the picture now is performing as it should do it's telling a story in a church and secondly as a result of all of this restoration we can look into the painting and we can be certain about who painted it and it's by an artist it's called Francesco montemezano working in late 16th Century Venice but it's not just that the painting we know know a little bit more about you Richard Holman North who you believe was how this painting got here that seems less likely now okay Richard Tolman North is a bit of a red herring right but he did lead us to his half-brother Frederick Needham a name you'll know because of course he's written up here as a vicar of this church and Frederick Needham was left a substantial a stipend by his father and what did he spend it on Italian art and therefore it seems the most likely that Frederick Needham with his love of Italian art brought this painting to his church I mean it's not it's not everybody's subject matter clearly because religious paganism but it's worth it's worth a hundred thousand or more [Music] yeah we'll sell it no we won't at last we can reintroduce the painting to the entire congregation it's Francesco Monte have I got it right foreign [Music] this started out as an ecclesiastical whodunit who created the painting and who brought it here and we've cracked it Francesco montemezano late 16th century painted from Venice and Frederick Needham the vicar of Tunstall two names until now I don't think you'd ever put together in the same sentence of course it's not all about big names is it I mean who who really knew about this artist much before this and we've plucked him from obscurity and of course it makes one think you know scratch the surface go beneath the dirt use what knowledge you can how many more out there are just waiting to be discovered if you think you have an Undiscovered Masterpiece we'd love to hear from you at bbc.co.uk slash fake or Fortune [Music]

Channel: Perspective

Views: 347,471

Keywords: history documentaries, art history documentaries, art and culture documentary, TV Shows - Topic, art history, Documentary movies - topic, tv shows - topic, fake or fortune, full episodes, art, classic art, philip mould, season 4, series, Francesco Montemezzano, montemezzano, italian artist, perspective, bbc, old masters, venice, italian art, St John's Church, tunstall, lancashire, church of england, rural, church, renaissance

Id: mT3zVmfI-pE

Length: 57min 58sec (3478 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 19 2023