9-TE-2005_Venaria Reale, Reggia di Venaria, J. Miel, Hunting for the hare, inv. D 291 734 (property Stupinigi Hunting Lodge)

Facilitated description: 

 

"The Hare Hunt" is a painting on canvas and represents a hunting scene.
Jan Miel painted the painting in 1659-1661.
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 2005-2007 for the reopening of the Reggia di Venaria.
The restorers have replaced the frame (wooden structure that stands behind the painting and serves to support the painting).
They have eliminated some previous restoration work. 
Scientists at the Venaria Center did scientific analysis to study how the painter Jan Miel painted.
After the analysis the restorers eliminated the layer of ruined paint that covered the painting.
They filled the color gaps with a layer of putty (plaster and glue).
They painted the stucco in watercolor colors.
Eventually they painted the painting to protect it from the sun's rays and dust.

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention: 

 

The canvas The Hare Hunt 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. The restoration was preceded by a thorough diagnostic campaign. Before being relocated to the Royal Palace, the painting is exhibited in Palazzo Bricherasio (8 restorations from "La Venaria Reale". The Conservation and Restoration Centre: a new reality for cultural heritage, Palazzo Bricherasio, 2007). 

 

Restoration

The restoration of the painting began with the replacement of the frame and the removal of the old conservative interventions: removal of the 6 patches that covered some lacerations to avoid signs on the front in the future, replacement of the linen cloth that covered the upper part of the insert for the widening of the sky, removal of the small rectangles of linen placed along the entire perimeter used for the previous re-grinding. Subsequently the verse was cleaned and the canvas was mounted on a new frame.

Before proceeding with the restoration work on the pictorial film, non-invasive investigations were carried out: the ultraviolet fluorescence showed the state of conservation of the work, while the white/black infrared showed precisely the abrasions of the pictorial film and a strong inhomogeneity of the chromatic drafts. We then proceeded with the removal of the yellowed paint and part of the pictorial retouching in the upper part of the sky. Some of the previous restoration works, on the other hand, have been maintained due to their location and historical importance, for example the pictorial piece of the lady on horseback on the right.
A paint brush was then applied to saturate the color and grouting was carried out on the two new canvas inserts and in the gaps spread on the surface. The pictorial integration was done with watercolor colors, while the stitching of the extensive abrasions and ginnings was done with paint colors.
Finally, the high end of the sky was reconstructed for a better reading of the work and a final protective varnish was sprayed.

 

Bibliography

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.
- 8 Restorations from ‘La Venaria Reale’. The Conservation and Restoration Centre: a new reality for cultural heritage, catalogue of the exhibition, Torino Palazzo Bricherasio (26 January-4 February 2007), pp. 40-43; 
- 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.