Masterpiece

Sophia, who has also done work for the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery has been Dulwich Picture Gallery's conservator for the past 15 years.

Her recent work has included the conservation of 25 out of 26 Dulwich Picture Gallery paintings.

But out of all the gallery's fine works, Sophia agrees Rembrandt's A Girl in a Window is its star attraction.

Painted in 1645, in the middle of Rembrandt's career, the painting, of a girl who appears to be leaning out of a window, has been with the gallery since it was founded in 1811.

Sophia says: "It's not one of Rembrandt's best known paintings but it is a fine example of his work."

"For being so old, it is really in good condition and I did not have to do very much to it considering."

However she explained the painting had a marked craquelure (a cracking of the paint) which meant it was becoming unstable.

She added: "It also had a yellow varnish over it which had become opaque and made it difficult to appreciate it because it was as though you were looking at it through a veil."

Now the conservation work is complete and the yellow varnish removed, the painting has become much clearer and has revealed the range of colours used in the girl's face including yellow, blue, green, orange and red.

Sophia said: "Rembrandt's colours are very exciting. The colours he used in her left cheek are amazing."

Also visble now is the bold highlight on the girl's nose and in the right background the much-darkened evidence of some kind of a textile hanging.

Sophia said her task was to consolidate the whole surface of the painting, which meant removing the varnish, covering the raised loose paint and revarnishing it.

The painstaking work took months, working under magnification across the surface of the painting.

This is the first time in the past 100 years any work has been done this work of art and Sophia hopes it will not need any further restoration for the next 100 years.

"As long as it is kept in a stable condition with an even humidity and temperature and it is kept out of sunlight, it should be pretty good.

Anyone who goes to see it will see it is easy to become fond of the painting which Sophia describes as being "a bit enigmatic" and having "an air of intensity to it".

"She is most beautifully painted and a wonderful example of Rembrandt's skill and there are always arguments about whether she is leaning out of a window or leaning on something."

But most importantly, Sophia says the painting allows you to appreciate Rembrandt at work because you can see where he tightened up the outline of her right arm to create a sense of leaning out from an enclosed space.

You can view Rembrandt's A Girl at a Window at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in Dulwich, London. Call 020 8693 5254.