60mc05-TE-2008_Venaria, Reggia, Portrait of Francesca di Valois, inv. 150513 Dip.65 (property Piedmont region)

Facilitated description: 

 

The portrait of Francesca di Valois is a painting on canvas made in 1660-1664. 
The painting is owned by the Piedmont Region. 
The painting is kept at the Reggia di Venaria. 
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the painting in 2008. 
The restorers cleaned the paint from the dust and the painting of the old restorations. 
They removed the grouting from the old restoration because it was ruined. 
They removed the lining (reinforcement canvas that stands behind the painting and serves and supports the painting). 
They've eliminated the creases. 
After the restorers worked they filled the color gaps with stucco (plaster and glue). 
They painted the putty. 
They painted the painting to protect it from the sun's rays and dust. 
In the end they cleaned the frame, filled the wood holes with stucco and painted the stucco with watercolors and gold powder. 

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

The work was restored as part of the intervention project on the furniture and canvases from the Royal Castle of Valcasotto. The painting has been entrusted to the Reggia di Venaria for exhibition in the permanent visit path (room 21 - Chamber of Quadruped Animals and Alcove of the Hunters). 

Restoration

The restoration of the Portrait of Frances of Valois, which came from the Castello di Valcasotto, aimed at structural consolidation and the restoration of the aesthetic continuity of the work. At the level of the pictorial film, localized consolidations of the decohesions were carried out to safely perform the cleaning operations. The intervention began with the removal by brush with soft bristles and suction of dust sediments and with the chemical removal of the protective layer and repaintings. Subsequently, the unsuitable grouting and lining were removed and the recto and verso were consolidated. The work was then flattened in the diner at low pressure and equipped with bands of perimeter canvas for retensioning on the original frame. Subsequently the gaps of surface imitation pictorial film were grouted and chromatic reintegration was performed with vertical watercolor hatching brought to tone with varnish veils. Finally, a synthetic paint was applied as a protective. 
The frame has been cleaned of consistent and inconsistent deposits. The gypsum layer and the gold leaf were then consolidated and the gaps stuccoed. Finally, the surface was replenished with watercolor and gold powder.