2-TE-2005_Venaria Reale, Reggia di Venaria, J. Miel, La Curea, inv. D 740 297 (ownership of the Royal Museums of Turin - Galleria Sabauda)

Facilitated description: 

 

The "Curea" is a painting on canvas and represents the final ceremony of the deer hunt when a part of the killed deer is fed to the dogs.
Jan Miel painted the painting in 1661.
The painting is kept in Diana's room of the Reggia di Venaria.
The Conservation and Restoration Center "La Venaria Reale" restored the painting in 2006-2007 for the reopening of the Reggia di Venaria.
The restorers have dusted the frame (wooden structure that stands behind the painting and serves to support the painting).
They cleaned the front of the painting of dust.
They filled the color gaps on the edges with watercolors.
In the end they spread the paint to protect the painting from dust and the sun's rays.

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

The canvas The Curea by Jan Miel was restored on the occasion of the reopening of the Reggia di Venaria and the exhibition in its original location in the Hall of Diana. The painting, part of a series of 10 works with a hunting theme, has been affected by several movements during its conservative history and has come to the Royal Palace from the Civic Museum of Ancient Art in Turin - Palazzo Madama, where it was in temporary storage by the Galleria Sabauda. The restoration was preceded by an in-depth diagnostic campaign, which allowed us to know more precisely the executive technique and the preparatory design. 

 

Restoration

The restoration work began with the dusting of the support and the pictorial surface. It was followed by the execution of veils with watercolor colors along the edges of the canvas. Finally, a layer of paint was applied to allow a correct reading of the chromatic values of the work and protection from UV rays. 

 

Bibliography

- D. Zanardo, Tabs 8.1-8.10 in The Royal Palace of Venaria Reale and the Savoy. Art, magnificence and history of a European court, edited by E. Castelnuovo, catalogue of the exhibition (Reggia di Venaria, 12 October 2007 - 30 March 2008), pp. 143-155;
Of the hunts I give thee the high empire: restorations for Diana's room at the Venaria Reale, in ‘Archivio 2’, edited by C. E. Spantigati, Nardini Editore, Florence, 2008.