Tax Collectors, or The Misers, Follower of Quentin Massys

Follower of Quentin Massys
Tax Collectors, or The Misers

oil on panel
panel: 48⅜ by 36⅞ in.; 122.9 by 93.7 cm.
framed: 54⅝ by 43¼in.; 138.7 by 109.9 cm.

Condition Report:
The large panel is made of at least three vertical boards. It is uncradled and stable. The overall images reads clearly beneath a crisp varnish, and the paint layer is stable. There are some faint cracks to the panel, mostly associated with panel joins, visible at upper and lower edges, with some old restored losses at the upper edges. The paint layer is stable, and there is some faint frame abrasion at the edges. Some of the pigments have lost definition with age, for example in the blues of the figure at lower left. Inspection under UV reveals a milky varnish that is streaky in areas and fluoresces somewhat unevenly. There may be more than one campaign of restoration, but more recent restoration is visible scattered in the costumes of the figures, and some spall spots and strokes in some of the still life elements along lower register and in upper left. There is some brushier restoration in the architectural elements of the background, particularly along the right and upper edges. Some of this aforementioned restoration has slightly discolored and is visible to the naked eye. Offered in a dark wood frame with a gilt decorative inner and outer liner.