14-TE-2007_Venaria Reale, Royal Palace of Venaria, J. Miel, Henrietta Adelaide of Savoy and Ferdinand of Bavaria, inv. R 6382 (property of Racconigi Castle)

Facilitated description:

 

The painting on canvas represents Princess Henrietta Adelaide and Ferdinand of Bavaria on horseback.
The painter Jean Miel painted the painting in 1658-1663.
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 2007 for the reopening of the Reggia di Venaria.
The restorers cleaned the frame (the wooden structure that supports the painting) to eliminate dust and insects that damage the wood.
They repositioned the painting on the frame and eliminated the folds of the canvas.
They cleaned the painting from dust and filled the missing color parts with watercolor colors.
Eventually they painted the painting to protect it from the sun's rays and dust.

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

The canvas Henrietta Adelaide of Savoy and Ferdinand of Bavaria It is part of a cycle of 10. tableaux depicting ladies and knights of the Savoy court on horseback. The painting was restored on the occasion of the reopening of the Reggia di Venaria and the exhibition in its original location in the Sala di Diana. The work, with its eventful conservative history, has come to the Royal Palace from the Castle of Racconigi (Residenze Reali Sabaude - Regional Directorate of Piedmont National Museums). The restoration was preceded by a diagnostic campaign to deepen the study of the executive technique and the pictorial surface.

 

Restoration

The restoration began with an intervention on the frame that, after being mounted on angular tensors and brass guides, was subjected to cleaning and anti-mould treatment. The canvas gaps created by the previous nailing were then grouted and the surface dirt was sucked in. In addition, strips of perimeter canvas have been added to facilitate the re-tensioning of the painting.
On the surface of the painting, after the removal of the protective tissue applied for the interventions on the reverse, a superficial cleaning was carried out. The chromatic integration was carried out, paying particular attention to the areas along the edges. Finally, a surface paint was applied.

 

Bibliography

- C. E. Spantigati, Files 8.11-8.17 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. 156-159;
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, pp.125-161.