NML home > National Conservation Centre > Departments > Paintings conservation > Technical examination of 'Molly Longlegs' > Detail of the tack

Our venues

Skip page navigation

Conservation departments

Detail of the tack

In the tack at the lower right corner Stubbs shows the same close observation of the unfurling stripes of the girth as he does of the veins on the horse's flank.

detail of a scrolled strip of pale fabric with 3 thin red stripes running along its length

Detail of the tack

The stripes are painted in an organic red glaze whose glassy surface crazing can be seen at low magnification.

extreme close up of two of the thin red stripes on the tack, showing fine cracks in the paint's surface

Macrograph of tack (6.3x magnification)

Back to the top