2mc19-TE-2011_Venaria Reale, Reggia, F. Marabotti, Portrait of Maria Cristina di Borbone, inv. R 1369 (property of Racconigi Castle)

Facilitated description:

 

The portrait of Maria Cristina of Bourbon is a painting on canvas. 
The painter Francesco Marabotti painted the painting in 1851.
The painting is kept at the Reggia di Venaria. 
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the painting in 2011 along with 35 other paintings from the Racconigi Castle.
The restorers velinated the painting (put a thin paper to protect the parts of color that were peeling off). 
In this way they managed to transport the painting to the laboratories of Venaria. 
After the restorers cleaned up behind the painting.
They repaired the tears of the canvas by inserting small pieces of canvas behind the painting.
The restorers have restored the front part of the painting.
They painted the lacks of color with watercolors. 
They painted the painting to protect it from the sun's rays and dust. 
In the end they restored the frame.
They did a treatment against insects that eat wood.
They cleaned the frame. 
They filled the wooden gaps with a layer of putty (plaster and glue). 
They painted the putty. 
They painted the frame to protect it from the sun's rays and dust.

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

The portrait of Maria Christina of Bourbon It was in a mediocre state of preservation. The painting has been restored together with other works from the Castle of Racconigi (property of the Castle of Racconigi, Royal Residences of Savoy - Regional Directorate of National Museums Piedmont). The project included a first phase of structural consolidation, in view of the exhibition in the visit path of the Reggia di Venaria, and a second phase dedicated to the aesthetic restitution and insights into the conservative events.

Restoration

The intervention on Racconigi's paintings began with the velinatura to stop the adhesion defects of the pictorial film and the removal of the deposits in view of the transfer from the deposits of the Castello di Racconigi to the laboratories of the Restoration Center. Subsequently, a first conservative filing and a preliminary study were carried out, which made it possible to observe affinities and discrepancies between the different works. The removal of inconsistent deposits by microaspiration of the verso and dusting of the recto and the consolidation of adhesion defects were followed. The lacerations of the canvas were glued with localized interventions and canvas supports were inserted at the gaps. During the first phase of the intervention, a general intonation of the gaps with watercolor colors was carried out in such a way as to lower the visual disturbance in view of the exposure in the Palace. In accordance with the direction of the works, the gaps were plastered and tuned to watercolor with temporary additions to be concluded and perfected in the second phase of the restoration. Finally, a light protective was applied.

The frame has been subjected to a biocidal treatment with permethrin application, consolidation, cleaning and structural rehabilitation with the addition of reinforcement elements. The missing portions of wood were compensated with epoxy resin and the gaps were plastered and then intoned with watercolor colors. Finally, a protective layer has been added with a UV filter.

 

Bibliography

- L. Gallo, S. Padovani, The "wonderful gallery" of the castle of Moncalieri, today Racconigi, in Chronicle 4. The neu_ART project: studies and applications. Neutron and X-ray tomography and imaging for cultural heritage, edited by Marco Nervo, Turin, Editris, 2013, p. 72-75;
- R. Medico, Methodological choices and motivations of the restauri, in Chronicle 4. The neu_ART project: studies and applications. Neutron and X-ray tomography and imaging for cultural heritage, edited by Marco Nervo, Turin, Editris, 2013, p. 76;
- P. Buscaglia, M. Nervo, J. Corsi, C. Ricci, Digital radiography as a support tool for knowledge and the definition of lines of intervention: the portraits of the Savoy house of the Racconigi castle, in Chronicle 4. The neu_ART project: studies and applications. Neutron and X-ray tomography and imaging for cultural heritage, edited by Marco Nervo, Turin, Editris, 2013, p 77-87.