Restoration of paintings for the exhibition "Dreams of the Gothic and Renaissance. Sienese painting from the 14th century to the first half of the 16th"

In 2002 the staff of the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Tempera Painting (headed by T.D. Chizhova) carried out a large amount of work to prepare paintings for the exhibition of Sienese painting from the 14th century to the first half of the 16th.

Western European works of this period were painted on wooden panels using the tempera technique. Plaster mixed with animal glue was used as a primer. The paint layer consisted of an emulsion of pigments and water-soluble binders (egg yolk, whole egg, water-soluble resins and so on), as well as varnishes selected according to the properties of the colorants. Covering varnishes were applied to the paint layer in accordance with the character of the pigments. The peculiarities of this technology led to a rapid deterioration of the painting: deformation of the base due to changes in ambient humidity and temperature, damage by wood-boring insects, separation of the paint layer and primer from the base and considerable losses of painting. Serious damage to the paintings produced a need for "renewal". As a consequence of all these factors many works of tempera painting have come down to us in a distorted state.

Six works by Sienese painters earmarked for inclusion in the exhibition were in a very poor condition requiring a full range of restoration. The Department of Scientific and Technical Evaluation of Works (headed by A.I. Kosolapov) carried out all the necessary x-ray and infra-red examinations to establish the degree of preservation of the original artists' painting. Repeated repaintings and partial reprimings that extensively concealed the artists' paint layer were, however, capable of distorting the general picture given by these investigations. Therefore small trial exposures were required to establish a final view of the true state of preservation of the works.

The actual restoration process was exceptionally laborious. Very often it was impossible to use the solvents normally employed in cleaning paintings and the work had to be carried out without them altogether. Compositional changes introduced by later additions required the restorers' constant attention. The degree of damage to the original painting meant that in areas where it had been lost the lower layers of late restorative painting had to be retained. All work to uncover the painting was carried out under the microscope, the later additions being removed gradually, a layer at a time. This highly time-consuming method of restoration made it possible to preserve every millimetre of mediaeval painting that had survived.

The question of toning was a very complicated and ticklish one: the integrity of the work needed to be preserved without emphasizing the damage to it. This task demanded an individual approach to each of the works.

The process of studying the painting of The Rest on the Flight into Egypt under infra-red illumination (restorer I.P. Gefding) revealed drawing on the primer concealed by the original painting. On the basis of this drawing, T.S. Kustodiyeva, leading research worker in the Department of Western European Art and curator of Italian painting, managed to establish Archangelo Salimeni as the author of the painting. Previously, when the original painting had been covered by two layers of additions and a practically black layer of late varnish such a positive attribution was impossible.

A surprise also awaited the team during the cleaning of Bernardino Fungai's work The Magnanimity of Scipio Africanus (restorer Ye.F. Filippova). Examination revealed several layers of overpainting and reprimings of considerably late date. In the process of uncovering the painting, it was discovered, however, that the reprimings concealed defects in the base (uneven areas of panel), while the original artist's painting remained splendidly preserved beneath the later additions.

The Madonna and Child Enthroned, with Saints and Angels by a member of the circle of Pietro Lorenzetti (restorer A.Yu. Shamonin) also revealed a good state of preservation. Another Madonna and Child Enthroned, with Saints and Angels painted by an artist of the same circle (restorer I.B. Permiakov) was, on the contrary, badly damaged.

Major problems arose during work on the Madonna and Child, with Two Angels by Paolo di Giovanni Fei (restorer T.D. Chizhova). When transferred from panel to canvas, it had been reduced in size on all sides. The artist's original priming had completely gone and large losses could be seen across the entire painting. The original painting was concealed by numerous additions and extensive areas of re-priming that had been made even before the transfer to canvas in 1860, as well as later overpaintings whose colours had strongly changed. After a whole complex of restoration measures, the surviving original painting of high artistic merit was uncovered.

Golgotha by a follower of Duccio di Buoninsegni (restorer A.Yu. Shamonin) was in a very poor state of preservation and required especially complex restoration.

The restorer at work
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Laboratory equipment
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T.D. Chizhova, head of the Laboratory for the Scientific Restoration of Tempera Paintings
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During restoration
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In the Laboratory for the Scientific Restoration of Tempera Paintings
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