21mc008-TE-2008_Turin, Galleria Sabauda, C. Dauphin, The massacre of the sons of Niobe, inv. 931, cat. 643

Facilitated description:

 

The massacre of Niobe's sons is a painting on canvas depicting the killing of Niobe's sons. 
The painter Charles Dauphin painted the painting in the late 1600s. 
The painting is kept at the Galleria Sabauda in Turin.
The Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the painting in 2008. 
The restorers cleaned behind the painting to remove dust. 
They put metal reinforcements on the frame (wooden structure that is behind the painting and serves to support the painting). 
They stopped the parts of color that were peeling off.
They have eliminated the yellowed paint and the paintings of the old restorations. 
They arranged the plastering (plaster and glue) of the old restoration and colored the parts where the color was missing. 
They painted the painting to protect it from the sun's rays and dust. 
Then they cleaned the frame of the dust. 
They glued the frame parts that were peeling off.
They filled the wooden lacunae of the frame with gilded stucco (plate of plaster and glue).
In the end they put a layer of fabric between the painting and the frame so as not to rub the paint against the wood.

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention: 

 

Restoration

The restoration on the support was limited to a removal of inconsistent deposits, since the lining was considered suitable. To contain the chassis vessel, metal brackets have been applied to the joints, inserting the screws into slots to allow mobility.
Localized velinatures were carried out on the pictorial film in view of transport. Subsequently, the colour scales were consolidated in correspondence with the adhesion defects. In agreement with the management of the works, a removal of the oxidized protective and the most altered and less suitable recent retouching was agreed. In addition, the reintegration intervention on the face of the female figure on the left has also been fully preserved. In this portion, a surface cleaning of the paint with acid buffer solution was carried out. During the cleaning operation, fragments of original colour emerged off site with the pictorial film turned upside down and at least two previous light yellow plastering operations. Once this phase had been completed, the plaster and glue groutings were revised and, following the execution of watercolour bases, an initial painting was carried out. The purpose of the reintegration with paint was to close gaps and abrasions and to cover areas where the discrepancies between the original pictorial film and the historical repainting made the legibility of the work confusing. Finally, the protective surface was sprayed in two successive phases.

Frame

First, inconsistent deposits on the back were removed and lifts with aliphatic resin were stopped. The gilding was then cleaned and plastered with plaster and glue. Finally, the gilding was performed in gouache, veiled with watercolors, and a felt was applied along the bar of the frame in contact with the pictorial film of the painting.

 

Bibliography

- S. Damiano, Sheet 6.8 in De Van Dyck in Bellotto. Splendeurs à la cour de Savoie, C. E. Spantigati, P. Astrua, A. M. Bava, S. Damiano, Torino, Allemandi, 2009, pp. 166-167.