IDENTIFICATION
Subject: Holy Lady and Christ Child, with the figures of St. Anthony and St. Peter
Artist: Attributed to the school of San Marco
Date: 16th century
Dimensions (h x w): 89 x 69 cm
Medium: egg tempera on wood (possibly mixed technique)
Support: wooden panel (poplar)
Secondary Support: primary wooden frame and additional wooden substructure (not brought to SACI restoration lab or
treated).
Artist: Attributed to the school of San Marco
Date: 16th century
Dimensions (h x w): 89 x 69 cm
Medium: egg tempera on wood (possibly mixed technique)
Support: wooden panel (poplar)
Secondary Support: primary wooden frame and additional wooden substructure (not brought to SACI restoration lab or
treated).
Previous Documentation and Intervention: No official documentation was provided by the proprietor. The only record provided by the church of Sant’Ilario was that object was recently restored. From visual examination and UV analysis, it is apparent that a large amount of retouching had been performed as part of the past intervention. Evidence of mimetic techniques can be seen. On the reverse, four metal plates have been added, one on each side, attached with metal screws, drilled directly into both the frame and the panel painting. There are also two cross-bars running horizontally across the back that are attached with screws.
Location and Risks: The panting comes from the church of Sant’ Ilario, at Lastra a Signa, a country village just outside of Florence. It was hung inside, in a room behind the altar that acted as a storage area. There is a secondary structure (large, ornate, wooden frame) that hangs on the wall via a metal pin, and the painting then rests on a small, wooden shelf inside this secondary frame with a protective wooden backing that separates it from the wall. Two screws set into the sides of the frame help hold the panting to the substructure. The room itself is crowded. It has three entryways, windows, and experiences a heavy amount of foot traffic. The building is heated, but there is no unit on the same wall as the artwork. Risk of damage will come from changes in humidity (lack of monitoring device), exposure to people, and the liturgical incense or candles used during mass in the adjacent church. Minor risks come from possible flooding of the Arno river and any pollen or bugs, which may be tracked in from the surrounding countryside.
Description: The panel painting consists of 3 wooden boards, tangentially cut. Two cross bars run horizontally across the 3 boards and sit inside a niche carved into the panels. There are two holes in each crossbar through which hardware would presumably being inserted to hold the crossbars in place, but only one screw is installed in each. The screws appear unoriginal (silver in color, lack of any tarnish). The frame is attached to the panel paining via four metal plates (one on each side of the frame), which have been screwed into the frame and then the back of the wooden boards. Once the frame was removed, a fourth, slim portion of wood (a different species from the rest) could be seen. It is attached to the left side of the panel painting via nails, is roughly 2 cm in width, and has been painted to match the cloak of St. Anthony and foreground. It is thought that this piece was added to try and balance out of the painting since it appears that at some point the original wooden panel on the left was trimmed, cutting out part of St. Anthony making the image uneven.
Decay/Alteration: There are signs of mold along the bottom edges of the boards and worm damage along the back and outside edges. The wooden panels have warped over time (as is evident in the veneering seen on the front). There is also evidence of previous intervention along the back of the panel. The darker patches along the top of the boards are areas where the copal varnish applied in the past is still present. There is also a dark brown putty, presumably made of wood pulp and vinavil, along the entire left and portion of the right vertical seam. Finally, the gray areas running along the vertical and horizontal seams is likely an aged synthetic material applied during a past restoration job.
Tensioning: The way the crossbars are currently fixed in place is too strong of a fastening system. The nails have created a blockage, keeping the wood from being able to move with changes in the temperature and relative humidity. In this regard, the system is incorrect and an alternative solution will need to be addressed.
IMAGES: detail images of found conditions on frame and support.
Layers: At least two layers of a white gesso are present (a primary layer of gesso grosso, and a secondary layer of gesso fino). Possibly a canvas in between the support and the priming, examination with a microscope will need to be conducted in order to confirm.
Cohesion/Adhesion: Overall, the adhesion between the priming layer and wooden panels can be rated as moderate with areas of poor adhesion along the vertical seams due to veneering. Cohesion of the priming is also moderate with possible loses underneath areas of retouching.
IMAGES: performing cleaning test, results, and proceeding with the removal of varnish and previous over-painting.
Layers: At least two layers of a white gesso are present (a primary layer of gesso grosso, and a secondary layer of gesso fino). Possibly a canvas in between the support and the priming, examination with a microscope will need to be conducted in order to confirm.
Cohesion/Adhesion: Overall, the adhesion between the priming layer and wooden panels can be rated as moderate with areas of poor adhesion along the vertical seams due to veneering. Cohesion of the priming is also moderate with possible loses underneath areas of retouching.
Decay Phenomenon: There is noticeable veneering along the vertical seams of where the boards meet. The right joint is heavily damaged, resulting in a large amount of plastering and retouching work having been applied in the past. Even with past interventions however, the paint over both seams is flaking. Other areas of loss include a hole to the right of St. Anthony’s face where the paint has been chipped away to reveal the white priming layer.
Craquelure: The craquelure exhibits a regular network pattern across the entire work, with stronger areas running vertically along the entire left and upper right section of the work.
Adhesion/Cohesion: Overall, the adhesion between the paint layer and priming can be rated as moderate to poor. Due to the heavy amount of retouching, it is assumed that there are quite a few losses underneath. Also, the paint is flaking minimally through out the entire painting and strongly over the areas of veneering.
Observations: UV light analysis revealed a large amount of retouching across the entirety of the panel painting.
Protective Varnish: Subtle with no signs of dripping, blanching, or streaking. Examination
with UV light shows a light green fluorescent material with a slightly uneven application.
with UV light shows a light green fluorescent material with a slightly uneven application.
Surface Deposits: Some surface dust, but most noticeable is the previous restoration work, which includes retouching and plastering.
IMAGES: losses visible after the removal of previous over-painting. UV light showing previous repairs and over-painting prior to their removal.
FRAME: Size: 68.5 x 93 x 6.5 cm
Fixed with: Four metal plates with two screws each attached on each side of the frame. There are also two metal plates on either vertical side of the frame used to attach the frame to the secondary support.
Constituent Material: The frame is made of light colored wood with a carved and gilded motif on the front, and painted a gold color on the edges.
Decay/Alterations: A majority of the decay and damage on the frame is located on the reverse. There is a large amount of an off-white colored plaster across the back and inside edges. A light amount of mold and paint loss can be seen along the bottom side edge of the frame.
Observations: Will need preventative treatments against further biological attack (mold and worms).
IMAGE: St. Peter prior to removal of over-painting
IMAGE: St. Peter after removal of over-painting
Cleaning: Aim is to remove varnish and past retouches. Whether the gouache layers underneath the retouching varnish can be kept will be determined by whether they are undertone (will be kept), overtone (will be removed), or disfigure the image (will be removed). Any plastering of losses will be kept.
Chemical: 1st Level cleaning will be with solvent mixture at 1:1:3 of DMSO (CTS©), Alcohol, and Petroleum Ether. This procedure will be carried out across the entirety of the painting. 2nd Level cleaning will be done with a solvent gel mixture of 8ml Ethomeen C-25, 1.5 g Carbopol, 35ml Benzyl Alcohol, 200ml Acetone, and 25ml distilled water. This procedure will be carried out locally, and only applied on top of any retouching that needs to be removed but was not affected by the first cleaning. Both solvents will be rinsed with a solution of Petroleum Ether and Lavender essence.
Mechanical: A scalpel will be used to assist with the removal of any stubborn retouching during the 2nd level cleaning process.
Pictorial Work: Gouache colors will be placed on top of the plastered losses using Maimeri Venezia gouache paints. Then, a coat of Talen’s Retouching varnish will be applied via brush to fix the 1st level of retouching and completely stop the solvent’s action. After this, mimetic retouching will be carried out with final glazes using varnish colors (homemade) and diluted with a mixture of Butyl Alcohol (70%) and Turpentine Essence (30%). Finally two coats of ketonic varnish (Regolrez®) will be sprayed on using an air compressor (at fifteen days apart). The first layer will be matt, with the second coating being either a gloss or semi-gloss.
Support: Holes along the edges of the panel will be filled with Balsite ® (W+K) (CTS©).
Frame: Back and inside edges of frame will need to be lightly sanded and a coating of Perxil 10 (CTS©) applied to deter further biological attack.
IMAGES: beginning the process of in-painting