21mc034-TE-2008_Turin, Galleria Sabauda, Van Dyck, I figli di Carlo I, inv. 285

Facilitated description: 

 

The Children of Charles I is a painting made by Anton Van Dyck in 1635. 
The painting depicts the three sons of King Charles I of England. 
The painting is kept at the Galleria Sabauda in Turin. 
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the painting in 2008. 
The restorers cleaned the frame (wooden structure that stands behind the painting and serves to support the painting). 
They glued the parts of color that were peeling off. 
They eliminated the yellowed paint and oil paints from the old restoration. 
They painted the colorless parts with watercolors and paints. 
They cleaned the frame of the dust. 
They added the gold leaf where it was missing. 
In the end, they painted the painting and the frame to protect them from the sun's rays and dust. 

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

Restoration

The textile support and the wooden frame have been the subject of an accurate dry cleaning intervention that has allowed to remove the incoherent dust deposits with soft brushes and micro vacuum cleaner. On the pictorial surface the incorerenti deposits have been removed with a brush. Consolidations of the decoese colour scales with adhesive and heat input were therefore carried out. Subsequently, the protective layer of organic sediments consistent with buffers and yellowed paint was removed in areas characterized by light backgrounds, while in dark areas it was thinned. The oldest oil repaintings have been eliminated and only the most recent watercolor repaintings have been retained. A layer of paint was then spread over the entire surface and the pictorial integration was carried out in a differentiated way: rebalancing the retouching turned to watercolor and acting directly to paint in the areas affected by a too invasive cretto. Finally, a protective paint was sprayed.

 

Frame
Incoherent deposits have been removed on the frame by the use of soft bristle brushes. In agreement with the Works Management it was decided to compensate the gaps by applying new gold leaf with gouache technique. Finally, a protective coating was applied.