Restorer uncovers a demon lurking in this famous 200-year-old painting, can you spot it?

In 1789, British artist Joshua Reynolds created The Death of Cardinal Beaufort, a painting depicting a scene from Shakespeare's Henry VI. When this work was presented, a small detail caused controversy. 230 years later, this detail has resurfaced thanks to the work of restorers.

Cardinal Beaufort's demon

The scene takes place in Henry VI Part 2. The king is witnessing the death of his uncle, Cardinal de Beaufort, who is on his deathbed. Four figures (including the Cardinal) are depicted in this sad 1789 painting. But a closer look revealed a fifth figure hidden just behind the deceased.

And it took conservator Sophie Reddington 7 months to reveal what is in fact a demonic figure. According to the National Trust, which holds several of the painter's works, this demon was much more visible in 1789, but its presence had been strongly criticized:

While it was considered acceptable in literature to introduce the idea of a demon into a person's mind, including it visually in a painting gave it too physical a form. Some even argued that he should have been painted over, although records of conversations with the artist show that he objected to such attempts to alter the work.

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A painting altered by time and... by other restorers?

As you may have gathered, the inclusion of a demon in a painting was not to everyone's taste, nor was it in keeping with the customs of the time. Several successive restorers even attempted to alter the work by masking the demonic presence. The National Trust reports:

It is perhaps not surprising that it has faded so much into the shadows of the image (...) It seems to have been misunderstood by the early restorers. A few decades after the painting was executed, this area seems to have deteriorated into small islands of paint and become less clear due to the paint's constituent elements.

Joshua Reynolds had a reputation for using unusual materials in his paintings, which makes restoration difficult. The work, which now features a demon, can be viewed at Petworth House in West Sussex.

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This article has been translated from Gentside FR.

Source used:

National Trust: The devil in the detail: A fiend re-emerges from the canvas of a painting by Joshua Reynolds