Comments by "Mat Broomfield" (@matbroomfield) on "'Extremely Rare' Painting Sparks Debate In United Kingdom" video.

  1. "this truly remarkable work of art" let's not overstate the matter eh. It's a mediocre painting, and if a black woman was not in it, nobody would care. I very much agree with nations not allowing culturally important art to go to foreign purchasers - especially if they will not be publicly displayed. Not sure who gets to write the definition of "culturally important."
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  2. England is NOT crying foul. SOME members of the British art world are. I agree with you about Britain returning all of its stolen treasures.
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  3. Trolololol...
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  4.  @imogen1  Oh you're not a troll - you're just painfully ignorant. The monarchy is functionally powerless and all but dead. Prime minister Johnson is constantly fighting for his own survival, and Britain withdrew from a European trading organisation - nothing more. This year, Britain hosted multiple global events, and with its favourable financial terms, and the fact it never tied itself to the Euro, is at the heart of European finance. Britain does not throw its weight around internationally, leads on climate protection, and is still a member of NATO, and would lend its military strength such as it may be, to Europe if it was needed. Britain has a LOT wrong with it, but turning into a rogue state is not one of them. And while we're at it, there are probably not a handful of countries on the PLANET with a greater collection of artworks and the expertise and long experience of preserving them. Greece, France, America are the only others that spring to mind. BRITAIN is the nation that sends ITS preservation experts around the world to help their experts. It has at least a dozen WORLD CLASS galleries and museums, and centuries of expertise in protecting and caring for art. There's literally no nation on Earth that would care for art better.
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  5.  @Sam_Guevenne  Don't be a douche Sam. ALL art is subjective but one universal constant is the quality with which it is constructed relative to the period in which it was created. This was only from the 17th century - the so-called "Golden age" of painting; an era of Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Vermeer and dozens of other superb artists. Compared to them, this piece is flat, lifeless, unimaginatively composed and frankly boring A/F. And you don't need to be an expert to recognise that.
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  6.  @resourcedragon  I suppose it all depends upon what is meant by "remarkable." I should have clarified that I meant artistically, rather than culturally. In a sense, the fact that we are remarking upon it makes it remarkable, but one would have to know its background to know how remarkable it really was. Perhaps it was painted in a country where whites were the minority? Perhaps it's a piece of fantasy and the black woman was actually a servant. The most interesting thing about this painting is what is NOT known about it.
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