How Do You Restore a 600-Year-Old Painting? Jan van Eyck’s Portrait of a Man

Portrait of a Man by Jan van Eyk was painted in 1433, and it is believed to be a self-portrait. If that is the case, then van Eyk would probably reject the idea of the filters we use on our everyday snaps – his painting is unsparing to say the least, stubble, wrinkles and bloodshot eyes all infer that Jan was probably not a vain man. But the execution is exquisite – no wonder, then, that it has been prized for so long. It is staggering, sometimes, to look at an old painting and come to the realisation that it is over 600 years old. The very fact that it still exists is a triumph not only over time, but with the social changes it brings with it – so much stuff ends up in bins because it is out of fashion, but wait a few decades and it would probably bounce right back into our hearts and minds. Then, of course, there are things like war, which make the likelihood of something surviving for so long even slimmer. Then there is the introduction of tobacco, the smoke from which has covered…