21mc035-TE-2008_Turin, Galleria Sabauda, G. B. Castiglione said Grechetto, Bacchae, inv. 340, cat. 551

Facilitated description: 

 

Baccanti is a painting made by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione called il Grechetto in 1645-1665. 
The painting depicts the wine god Bacchus sitting under a tree with his followers, the Bacchae. 
The painting is kept at the Galleria Sabauda in Turin. 
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre created the painting in 2008. 
The restorers elimianto the yellowed paint from the painting.
They removed the folds from the painting.
They then colored the plasterings (plaster and glue layer) with watercolors.
Eventually they sprayed a product to protect the painting from the sun's rays and dust. 

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention: 

Restoration

The restoration of the painting began with the removal of the protective layer with solvent. We then tried to improve the deformations of the pictorial film, in order to reduce the optical disturbance. Since the presence of adhesive residues was revealed during cleaning, it was considered appropriate to limit the surface improvement intervention to the combination of humidity with pressure and heat only in the most compromised areas in order to replastify the adhesive already present. Chromatic intonation of the plastering with watercolour colours, painting, retouching of the plastering with paint colours and lowering of the point blackening on the surface were also carried out. The work was protected with a final resin spray application.

 

Bibliography

G. Spione, Tab 6.13 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. 171-172.