Conservation in Action

A Royal Visit to the Fleet in the Thames Estuary was painted by Willem van de Velde the Younger in the 17th century.

At almost four metres wide, the painting is one of the largest ever made by the artist.

Since 2020 Royal Museums Greenwich specialists have been carrying out vital conservation work on the painting. This treatment will enable the work to go on display and allow visitors to fully appreciate van de Velde's skill.

It has not been possible to display A Royal Visit to the Fleet in recent years due to the painting’s condition. Previous restoration treatments and the age of the work led to problems including discolouration, flaking and instability of the canvas.

Once the discoloured layers of varnish and overpaint are removed, the artist's original paint and brushwork can shine through. The team is now preparing to carry out the retouching stage, one of the most important parts of the whole conservation treatment.

The initial stages of the conservation were carried out at the Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre.

This is Royal Museums Greenwich's state-of-the-art conservation studio and storage centre. Even when the Museum was forced to close due to COVID-19, work inside the paintings studio continued.

The painting will now be transferred to the Queen's House as part of Conservation in Action.

Conservators will carry out further treatment inside the House itself, allowing visitors to see the painstaking work that goes into preparing a piece for display.