National Gallery Page #14

It's probably the only thing in the painting,

I imagine, that does still exist.

But it's that idea of something

being ephemeral,

something like a lemon.

And artists were really intrigued

by the idea that they could do that,

preserve something forever, really.

Well, it won't last forever,

but it'll last longer than us,

barring some disaster.

And that's an interesting idea.

I'll tell you a joke about Moses.

He goes up... This is not true.

He goes up onto the mountain,

comes down with the Ten Commandments.

And he gathers the Israelites around him,

and he says, "OK, guys. I've been up there,

I've had a word with Him.

"Do you want the good news

or the bad news?"

And they say, "Good news." He says, "The

good news is, I've got Him down to ten.

"The bad news is

that adultery's still on the list."

Anyway, this painting got vandalized

a couple of months ago.

Some crazy guy came in

with a red aerosol.

Luckily, they got the restoration team

in straightaway,

took it down, took it away,

worked all night.

And I came in the next morning,

and it was...

- Oh, it was already up?

- Yeah.

It was back up there, cleaned up, perfect.

Sadly, these things happen

from time to time.

But you just have to learn to live with it.

Now, let me show you the last Claude,

because there's a nice little story

attached to this one.

To come back to that research

on Watteau was fundamental.

Bringing the works together

was also an important element.

Now we will see from

what will come out of the...

- The copy...

- Of the study of the partition.

I have ordered a big electronic copy

of the partition,

and we have sent it to William Christie,

who believes -

and I think all the scholars believe -

that Watteau represented very accurately

every movement, musical movement,

- so it's not...

- Well, we've consulted...

- Yeah.

- ...a number of musicologists ourselves.

- Yeah.

- And the consensus now is

- that that is not a real...

- A real partition.

- It's not a real piece of music.

- OK.

Probably an energetic restorer put it in!

Well, yeah, whatever.

I mean, I haven't compared

the music in the painting

- with the music in the print line by line.

- I was going to ask.

That is something I must do.

But I am told that it's not a guitar piece,

because you would expect

a number of chords.

- OK.

- It's not a singing piece,

cos there are no words, other than there's

what appear to be the remains of a title.

- Yes.

- We can't actually make out what that is.

It's impossible to read,

and we've looked at that quite carefully.

- Yeah.

- Er... So if it's not a guitar piece,

and it's not a singing pan,

I mean, what is it?

We conclude that it might be...

the only possibility

is that it is music for the guitar

and that she is rather awkwardly

holding it like this,

so he can actually see what he's playing,

but, in fact, he's not playing, so...

- At that particular...

- So that was another...

So he's just "according" his guitar,

do you think?

- Because we...

- Tuning, yeah.

- Tuning, sorry.

- You mean tuning, yeah.

- Or is he playing, because...

- Yeah, but...

He could be... I don't know,

he could be about to, you know, tap it, or...

- Yeah.

- And on this,

there is some written documents, now,

from the different musicologist who did...

- I've got... I've got letters or emails.

- Correspondence.

- That could be... Can we...

- Yes, yes.

That's incorporated

into a draft catalogue entry

- which I wrote last year.

- OK.

OK. That we can...

We could use this information?

- You could use this information.

- Because it would be interesting

to see who are these musicologists,

and seeing with Bill...

as I would say he's more a musician

than a musicologist,

- I would say.

- Yeah.

The drawings I saw in Berlin,

there, we discovered that we...

with Bill, that we know which music

is performed at a place,

and it's so complex

in the positions on the instrument

that he must have known music.

Because that's still also an element

that was not clear.

- Yes.

- In these drawings,

it cannot be otherwise

than he knows how to play,

and knowing music.

- And that's also an element.

- That's an important thing to prove.

Yes. Yes. That's also the element

of the drawings

which are in the Kupferstichkabinett

by Dr Altcappenberg, in Berlin.

The... the...

The drawings we... I saw there last week.

And so, from the work

that was done by Bill,

he knows now that in the... in the...

in the different drawings,

there's one of an oboe,

then another one of a viola da gamba,

and there's no scores there.

There's only drawings of positions.

- So you have the...

- They're convincing, yeah.

Yes. And also how the... the complexity of...

We've several musicians, also, from the

Berliner Philharmoniker who came to see,

and everyone is convinced

you cannot draw if you don't know music.

- Yeah.

- It's like we would say...

In photography, it's like the... in film,

to make just that moment.

Yes. Mm. No, I think everybody accepts

that Watteau knew musicians,

and he knew his musical instruments.

I mean, that represents the type...

But it's clear that he was knowing music?

That's not clear for me.

Well, it's not clear that he actually

plays music himself.

- Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

- No.

Which is a different thing.

But that represents a guitar

of a type that was being made

in Paris around 1700.

- Yeah.

- I mean, you know, that's pretty accurate.

Did I say the black's

been strengthened or not?

- Cos black's the most soluble paint.

- I don't know.

She's missing a few fingernails,

which makes you wonder,

did they also take off a few notes?

You've got to be very careful interpreting

what is now there

- as musical notes.

- OK.

- Yeah.

- Anyway... it's good to hear the case.

- Yeah.

- You were a surprise...

And good luck with your exhibition,

whatever happens.

- Danke, danke.

- Thank you.

She's just looking too...

Well, I think - I know I'm biased -

I think its the most beautiful room

in the gallery.

- What are you going to say?

- Look at that, the Subleyras.

- Yeah.

- I mean, that's...

Have a look.

- That touch, that very delicate...

- Yeah, delicate touch.

...touch, you know, she can't believe...

She's totally in love

with this shepherd boy.

You know, she just can't believe

how beautiful he is.

And she's got to just touch him

- to make sure that he's real.

- That he's real.

And the dogs! That dog is amazing.

- Anyway.

- Yeah. Well, I'm glad...

- I mustn't keep you.

- That's...

It's lovely to be back.

Well, you must come

and see us more often.

And in the middle

of the 16th century,

we have something called the

Counter-Reformation taking place

in Italy, in response

to the challenge of Luther,

as he challenges the Catholic Church.

And what he... one of the things that comes

into question is the value of images.

Are images dangerous, because they are

likely to be understood as replicants of God

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