A previously unknown painting by 17th Century master Van Dyck has been identified after being spotted online.
The portrait was previously thought to have been a copy and was in storage at the Bowes Museum in County Durham.
But it was photographed for a project to put all of the UK's oil paintings on the BBC Your Paintings website, where it was seen by an art historian.
After an investigation by BBC Two's Culture Show, it has been verified by Van Dyck expert Dr Christopher Brown.
Dr Brown, director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, told The Culture Show that it was a substantial discovery.
It's quite clear that this is a late English period Van Dyck, he said. I don't think there's any doubt about that. This absolutely is Van Dyck at his best.
Anthony Van Dyck, one of the finest portrait painters of the 17th Century, was born in Antwerp and became court artist for King Charles I in London in 1632.
Full article
Unbelievable find!
