Going Dutch at Lunch
A series of free online lunchtime Zoom webinars organized by the Royal Museums Greenwich to accompany The Van de Veldes: Greenwich, Art and the Sea exhibition, currently on show at the Queen’s House, Greenwich.
Advance registration is free but required. All talks take place via Zoom from 12:00-13:00 GMT. Please see the event website for more information.
Painting technique and materials in the Van de Velde studio
Talk given by Kendall Francis, Paintings Conservator
In this talk, Kendall Francis, drawing from her Postgraduate thesis for the Courtauld Institute of Art, delves into a technical investigation establishing the materials and standard practices of the 17th century Dutch maritime painter, Willem van de Velde the Younger.
This comprehensive investigation examined eight paintings in the artist’s English oeuvre housed at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Kendall’s talk will centre primarily around The Royal Visit to the Fleet in the Thames Estuary 5 June 1672 where she will highlight intriguing variations in its making.
The working relationship between Willem van de Velde the Younger and his father, Willem van de Velde the Elder, significantly influenced their shared drawing practices. Kendall examined and compared select drawings associated with the paintings. Engaging in the process of reconstructions, she will shed light on how the drawings played a role in the artistic process of the Younger; facilitating the composition, painting and completion of the works.
In addition, Kendall has recently embarked on a long-term personal project tracing the legacies of colonialism, slavery, and exploitation in artists’ materials, to better understand and acknowledge the extent rapacious histories and appropriation has played in the creation of artworks. The project aims to include a full narrative of the voices, traditions and contributions of marginalised people.
Kendall will end her talk by sharing these initial links to the materials she discovered in the Van de Velde studio.
Kendall Francis
Kendall Francis received a BA joint honors degree in Fine Art and Art History from Plymouth University and a PGDIP in easel painting conservation from The Courtauld Institute of Art. She was a Conservation Fellow at the National Gallery, London and most recently a Painting Conservation Intern at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Kendall has completed internships in museums and private studios across the UK, USA and Europe. Her research includes technical studies into Willem van de Velde the Younger, Anthony van Dyck and Joaquín Sorolla, and her long-term personal project tracing the legacies of colonialism, slavery and exploitation in artists’ materials.
Kendall is enthusiastic about advancing accessibility, diversity and inclusion in art heritage for disadvantaged young people and Black & Ethnic Minorities. Kendall will be taking up a position as Assistant Paintings Conservator at the Yale Center for British Art.