Beschreibung:

Scottish School (late 17th Century) Portrait of Miss Anne Hume, in pearls and a red dress inscribed lower left "Miss Anne Hume, daughter of Sir Pat. Hume and Lady Christian Hamilton 1683" oil on canvas h:75 w:62 cm Provenance: From a Suffolk country house. Anne Hume was the 2nd and younger daughter of Sir Patrick Hume, 1st Baronet, by his wife, Christian, daughter of Sir Alexander Hamilton of Innerweek. Their elder son, her brother - also Patrick - was created firstly Lord Polwarth , and then 1st Earl of Marchmont of Berwick-on-Tweed and Redbraes. This Anne married her distant cousin Alexander Hume, son of John Hume of Manderston, also in Berwickshire. ,000 Inscribed No. 10 to the reverse. Relined. Two lines of dirt (caustic ?) running vertically from top to bottom. Horrible brown frame needs replacing. Old stretcher bar marks can be seen from the front. Condition report - The painting is executed on oil on a canvas support. The original canvas has been lined onto a secondary canvas support, the tacking margins have been removed during this process which was typical for 19th century linings. The canvas is attached to a wooden stretcher with a horizontal cross bar with all keys present. The canvas has good tension and both the original and lining canvases appear in good condition although it was not possible to examine the tacking margins due to the frame. There are two paper labels attached to the reverse of the stretcher which are both hand written. One reads 'Sister of Patrick: Earl of Marchmont; and the second reads 'Varnished in February 1956 with Dammar resin in turpentine'. The paint layer appears in a good condition with no obvious areas of damage or loss. There is a thick layer of varnish which possibly consists of more than one layer. The varnish has discoloured and has collected in the interstices of the canvas giving lighter areas of the painting a slightly grubby appearance, most noticeably in the flesh. Examination with ultraviolet light revealed no modern areas of retouching sitting on top of the varnish layer. It was difficult to determine if there was older retouching beneath the varnish although the painting does not have the appearance of being extensively overpainted. The varnish is dull with an uneven gloss and is slightly smeary with a thick layer of surface dirt. There are two rip marks running vertically along the length of the painting. These drips are likely to have been caused by water which has degraded the varnish layer causing it to become opaque. There is an inscription on the painting at the lower left corner which reads 'Ms Anne Hume, Daughter of Sr Pat: Hume and D. Christine Hamilton 1683'. The inscription lies beneath the varnish layers and has aging cracks which follow those of the paint layer below. Although it cannot be confirmed whether the inscription is original it was certainly applied either at the time of painting or soon after. The style of the handwriting and the appearance of the paint would suggest that this is not a 19th century addition.