36-AC-2017_Turin, Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GAM), C. Twombly, Senza titolo o Roma (Il muro), inv. P-1704

Facilitated description: 

Rome (The Wall) is a painting of contemporary art.
Cy Twombly painted the painting in 1961.
The painting is kept at the Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GAM) in Turin.
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the painting in two phases in 2017 and then in 2018.
The restorers cleaned the painting of dust.
They glued the detached paint parts.
They mounted 4 wooden panels behind the painting to facilitate transportation for exhibitions.
In a second phase of the restoration the restorers cleaned the painting again.
They eliminated the paintings made during the old restorations. They repaired the holes in the canvas by gluing pieces of canvas to the back.
They filled the color gaps with a layer of putty (plaster and glue).
They colored the stucco with watercolors similar in color to those of the painting.
In the end they eliminated the folds of the painting by correctly placing the painting on the frame (wooden structure that supports the painting from behind).

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

The restoration of the painting was divided into two phases, the first performed on the occasion of the exhibition New York New York. The rediscovery of America at the Gallerie d’Italia in Milan and the Museo Novecento (13 April – 17 September 2017). The project is part of the Intesa San Paolo initiative "Restitutions. Restored art treasures 2018’, aimed at identifying Italian works in precarious conservation conditions and supporting their return and enhancement through an exhibition. For the 18th edition of the initiative, the exhibition was held at the Reggia di Venaria (Venaria Palace).The fragility of beauty. Titian, Van Dyck, Twombly and 200 other restored masterpieces, 28 March - 16 September 2018).

 

Restoration 

The first phase involved surface cleaning of the entire work with micro-aspirator and brushes, followed by dry cleaning of the edges. On the reverse side, the removal of inconsistent deposits was carried out with a microfiber cloth. Subsequently, the punctual consolidation of the lifts was carried out in the areas affected by gaps, adhesion defects and cracks with the application of adhesive activated with thermocautery. The plastering was then performed, intoned with watercolor, to recover the legibility of the pictorial finishes. Finally, a backboard of four panels applied to the back of the canvas was created for the safety and handling of the work. 
During the second phase a new dry cleaning of the surface with sponges was carried out and the pictorial restoration integrations were removed. Further consolidations followed and the gauze present in the corners were eliminated. The compensation of the textile support provided for the application of canvas inserts and perimeter strips and the laying of consolidation on the reverse, then activated in the diner at low pressure. Subsequently, the support gaps were stuccoed and integrated with watercolor colors. Finally, the frame has been refunctionalized and the deformations of the textile support have been recovered through new tensioning.

Bibliography 

S. Abram, M. Cardinali, A. Piccirillo, Sheet 80, in Returns 2018. Restored art treasures. The fragility of beauty. Titian, Van Dyck, Twombly and 200 other restored masterpieces (catalogue), edited by C. Bertelli, G. Bonsanti, Venice, Marsilio, 2018, pp. 274-275.