The Paston Treasure: A Painting Like No Other

This short film presents a technical journey into The Paston Treasure that delves beneath the paint layers to explain how this unusual painting was made and how it has changed over the last 350 years. Traditional and pioneering analytical techniques were used to reconstruct the experience of the artist, his painting materials, momentum, and interruptions that left major compositional changes hidden under the painted surface. The unique quality of the painting’s composition and color balance today are traced back to its making and the extraordinary interaction between painter and patron.

Produced by the Yale Center for British Art in association with Cultureshock Media, the making of this film was generously supported by the Dr. Lee MacCormick Edwards Charitable Foundation.

Narration: Stephen Fry
Musical Score: Griffin Brown (TC ’18)