SPECIFIC IDENTIFICATIONS

SUGGESTIONS THAT THE SELF PORTRAIT AGE SIXTEEN HAS BEEN REPAINTED

We have seen suggestions that the canvas has been repainted but we have no definitive sources. These were seen in the early stages of our research and mostly as short quotes in search engine results which we made a brief note to return to later. On coming back to look at this aspect in September 2020 we have been unable to find the original search results. Web pages cached on Google have also been searched but the ability to do this is somewhat limited. From memory and a few handwritten notes some phrases that were seen:

.............the portrait is too sentimental

.............there may be a genuine eighteenth century canvas beneath the ninteenth century paint

The provenance of the painting seems clear [view provenance in B&J]- at least from Ruskin - and the main point we notice is that it was never in the posession of an owner or dealer who would tamper with it ether by repainting or by any other method. This particular portrait does not appear in Armstrong (published 1902, when the picture was in the posession of Arthur Severn at Brantwood but only recently so, Ruskin having died in 1900, and therefore at the time Armstrong was compiling his entries the work may have been with Ruskin's executors.)

The Indianapolis Self Portrait

This picture is very well documented by Butlin and Joll, Indianapolis and Tate.(Tate have now removed their information)

The references strongly suggest that the painting has been repainted, possibly over Turner's original. (The provenance suggests not)

If Turner initially painted this canvas on a piece of his Rochester canvas then the self-portrait canvas could be from the same piece as 'The Rising Squall' and if it is the same picture, 'Squall at St. Vincent's Rock, Bristol'.

But there are other possibilities

A complete 'copy' repaint on newer canvas

Turner's original could have been on panel (if so a piece of Rochester canvas may have remained after the 1793 exhibition ? B&J 8? ) and transferred to canvas later. Damage during the transfer would explain a total repainting later. Although we considered this possibility we consider it totally unlikely.