Case Study

Brief description of the interventions

The delicate recovery work was supported by a comprehensive diagnostic campaign. Advanced analytical techniques have made it possible to investigate the artist’s creative process, highlighting, for example, some second thoughts that took place during the drafting phase, and to accurately reconstruct the pictorial palette.
Among the pigments identified, the red lacquer of an organic nature stands out for its intensity, while among the mineral colors a wide use of the precious azurite is documented.

The cleaning phase, aimed at the selective and gradual removal of the yellowed layers of paint, the twisted tone retouches and the repaintings attributable to previous restorations, made it possible to recover the original pictorial material in its values of brilliance and chromatic vivacity.
The main objective of the long phase of aesthetic restoration was to stitch together the continuity of the painted surface interrupted by various lacks of colour, also thanks to the comparison with the historical photographs of the work, dating back to the early 20th century.