Milan, Pinacoteca di Brera, Bernardino Luini, Chapel of St. Joseph, Stories of the Virgin and St. Joseph, torn wall paintings

consistency

Restoration reports (1992-1993) and graphic documentation relating to the intervention carried out on the torn frescoes from the Chapel of S. Giuseppe in the Church of S. Maria della Pace.
The restoration involved: 15 fragments depicting the Sthe Tories of Verginand; No. 4 fragments depicting Marta, Magdalene, Marcello e Lazarus; Musician Angels and Arcangels (time).

It also contains: 5 stratigraphic surveys carried out by Syremont - Systems for conservation and restoration - Montedison Group (1991-1993); preventive copy sent to the Superintendence for Historical and Artistic Heritage of Lombardy - Pinacoteca di Brera (07/10/1992); copy of cards taken from Pinacoteca di Brera, Lombard and Piedmontese schools 1300-1535, F. Zeri (eds.), Electa, Milan, 1988.

Works supervision: Maria Teresa Binaghi Olivari, Luisa Arrigoni.

 

 

Facilitated description 
 

The work "Stories of the Virgin and St. Joseph" by Bernardino Luini is a cycle of torn frescoes (a restorer transported the pictorial layer from the original support, the wall, to a different support, in this case a canvas) of 1520-1521 preserved at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan.
Originally, the frescoes decorated the chapel of San Giuseppe in Santa Maria della Pace in Milan.
The restorer Pinin Brambilla Barcilon restored the cycle of paintings in 1992-1993 under the direction of Maria Teresa Binaghi Olivari and Luisa Arrigoni.
The restorer has detached some fragments from the frescoes, making tests to establish the best methodology.
The detachment (separation of the painting from the original support) of the smaller sections was easier, while the detachment of the large ovals was more complex due to the adhesives used in previous restorations.
The restorer Pinin Brambilla has removed the dirt, revealing watercolor colors and grouting (a white layer of plaster and glue that extends inside a lack and that forms a smooth and uniform base on which to paint the additions).
Cleaning (cleaning the surface of the artwork from dirt deposited over time) showed neutral areas and small cracks.
The restorer removed the glue from the surface of the painting and improved the adhesion of the pictorial film.
Reinforced the damaged oval painting with a new liner (application of a reinforcement canvas on the back of a painting).