2024-04-16
In the BBC programme Britain's Lost Masterpieces, an art historian, conservator-restorer of fine art and a social historian join forces to search dusty museum storerooms and collections across the UK for gems of ancient art. In one episode a painting by Peter Paul Rubens is identified, in the final episode broadcasted in 2021 a painting by Italian Mannerist Francesco Salviati.
In season two, which was broadcasted in 2017, an amazing discovery was made. A painting depicting English aristocrat Prince George Villiers (1592-1628), previously thought to be a poor copy of a painting by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), turned out to be an original work made by the master himself. After the repaints were removed, the authenticity of the painting was confirmed by the director of the Rubens House, Ben van Beneden, an eminent authority on the subject.
In the last broadcasted episode in 2021, a group of specialists dealt with a rather mysterious painting located in the magnificent Tatton Park mansion in the town of Knutsford. The work turned out to be by the Italian Mannerist painter Francesco Salviati (1510-1562), the only one surviving in the whole country. In addition to the painting's authorship, the person portrayed was identified as Realdo Matteo Colombo, a famous anatomist of the period.
In Poland, the most famous and at the same time the most interesting programme on art broadcasted on television was “With pen and charcoal”(,,Piórkiem i węglem’’). It introduced Polish viewers to the achievements of architecture for over 30 years, starting in 1963. In each episode, Wiktor Zin, professor at the Kraków University of Technology, architect and restorer, illustrated the issues presented with his own hands. The programme was very popular and it was broadcasted until 2010.