59-TE-2006_Nichelino, Stupinigi's Hunting Lodge, Portrait of Maria Giovanna Battista di Savoia, inv. 17

Facilitated description:

 

The portrait of Maria Giovanna Battista of Savoy is a painting on canvas made in 1650-1699.
The painting is kept in the Hunting Palace of Stupinigi.
The restorers of the Centro Conservazione e Restauro La Venaria Reale restored the painting and the frame in 2007 after the discovery of the work. The painting was stolen in 2004.
The restorers carried out a cleaning (cleaning the surface from the dirt deposited over time or from the layers of old restorations).
The painting had abrasions (scratches of the surface) and pictorial gaps (lack) of color. 
The restorers carried out the pictorial integration (reconstruction with the color of gaps and abrasions).
They applied a paint to protect the painting from the sun's rays and dust.
The restorers also intervened on the frame.
They consolidated (made more stable) the detached frame parts. 
They integrated (filled) the small wood deficiencies.
The restorers have reconstructed some parts of the frame. They gilded the reconstructed parts with sheets of gold.
In the end, they sprayed a varnish to protect the frame from the sun and dust.

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

The restoration of the Portrait of Maria Giovanna Battista of Savoy was completed in 2007 under the supervision of Pinin Brambilla Barcilon. The intervention was carried out on the occasion of the discovery of the nucleus of works stolen from the Hunting Palace of Stupinigi in 2004. After the restoration, the work was relocated to the Palazzina.

 

Restoration

The restoration began with the surface cleaning of the deposits. Subsequently, the gaps were pictorially integrated with paint colors. The restoration ended with a painting with a mixture of acrylic resin.
 

Frame
The frame has been cleaned. Subsequently, the detached carving parts were consolidated and the small carving deficiencies were replenished with heralds. The parts reconstructed in heraldry have been consolidated with plaster and gilded with gouache gilding. The gold leaf was coated with earth and alcohol. The preparation and gilding gaps were supplemented with gold earth and powder mixed with ethyl alcohol. Finally, a protective varnish was applied to the entire surface.