Full lips and small forehead: 1634 portrait victim of ‘Hollywood treatment’

The conservation process of the 1634 painting, depicting a portrait of an aristocrat, revealed that Photoshop retouching was not new, but a 19th-century restorer took the liberty of modifying the face to suit his preferences.

“Do you think Kylie Jenner’s penchant for full lips reflects a very modern beauty phenomenon? Think again!” Friday wrote about the non-profit English Heritage the guardian.

At the hands of a restorer somewhere between the 17th and 19th centuries, the portrait in question underwent alterations to soften the features of the leading lady, Diana Cecil, by adding “fuller lips and less hair.” – A government agency.

The woman, who lived between 1596 and 1654, is the granddaughter of Willian Cecil, a close friend of Queen Elizabeth I, the British newspaper said.

But only by starting the conservation process of the work, the restoration of the collections, Alice Tate-Harte, was surprised to discover the true face of the young woman under the yellow layer of old varnish.

“It was certainly a surprise to find that Diana’s features were so altered. Although the original reason for the overpainting was to cover the damage. […] The restaurant certainly added its own preferences to “smooth” its face,” she asserted.

The painting, created in 1634 by artist Cornelius Johnson, has managed to find its own face and will be exhibited at London’s neoclassical Kenwood Villa on November 30.

“As a modern society with access to digital beauty filters and artificial intelligence technology, we might think we’re more familiar than most with the temptation to ‘perfect’ our looks, but it works. […] It shows that this is not a new phenomenon,” concludes Lewis Cooling, Curator of English Heritage at Kenwood.