04-DM-2005_Turin, Galleria Sabauda, Apostoli

Facilitated description: 

 

Apostoli is a wall painting detached from the wall of the church of San Giacomo di Cassine and hung up on masonite (a wooden panel).
The painting was made in the middle of 1300 and represents 6 apostles (followers of Jesus).
The painting is kept at the Galleria Sabauda in Turin.
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the painting in 2005.
The scientists of the Center have done scientific analysis to recognize the restoration interventions of the past.
The restorers cleaned the painting of dust.
They filled the material gaps with stucco (plaster and glue layer) and the color gaps with watercolors.
They replaced the masonite panel on which the painting was attached with another aluminum panel.
They shaped the new panel by creating the same curves as the church wall from which the painting was detached.

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

Restoration

The wall painting detached from the hiesa of San Giacomo di Cassine is kept at the Galleria Sabauda in Turin.
The diagnostic campaign that preceded the intervention highlighted some details, in particular thanks to the UV analysis, the touch-ups related to the previous restorations were highlighted, while the infrared allowed to identify the fragments of the original pictorial film.
The intervention began with a chemical and mechanical cleaning of the surface and the fixing of the pictorial film. The gaps of greater magnitude and depth were then stuccoed, while for the more superficial gaps a white filler was used. The chromatic integration was performed with veiled watercolor colors. On the pictorial film, finally, a final protective was laid out. 
Masonite was detached from the substrate and residues of tarlatana and calcium caseinate were removed. The previous groutings were then exposed and, in order to obtain a regular thickness of the fragment, groutings were made with lime mortar and sand from the back. An enticing layer was then created to relocate the fragment to the new support (aluminum honeycomb panel with pre-impregnated glass fibre and epoxy resin surface). The new support has been shaped by recreating the proportions of the vault and oculus of the original wall of the church of San Giacomo di Cassine, from which the fresco comes. A sub-level ‘neutral’ mortar has been laid in the perimeter strip.