60mc06-TE-2008_Venaria, Reggia, Portrait of Maria Giovanna Battista, inv. Dip. 150555 (property of Piedmont region)

Facilitated description: 

 

The portrait of Maria Giovanna Batitsta is a painting on canvas made in 1675-1680. 
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 have velinato the painting (they put a thin paper that serves to stop the parts of color detached). 
They cleaned the painting of dust. 
They stopped the parts of color that were peeling off. 
They have eliminated the folds of the canvas. 
The restorers mounted the painting on a new frame (wooden structure that stands behind the painting and serves to support the painting).
They filled the colorless parts with a layer of putty (plaster and glue). 
They painted the putty with watercolors and paints. 
Eventually they painted the painting to protect it from the sun's rays and dust. 

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

The restoration of the painting was carried out as part of an intervention project on the furniture and paintings of the castle of Valcasotto. The work was granted to the Reggia di Venaria to be exhibited in the permanent visit path. 

Restoration

The restoration of the Portrait of Maria Giovanna Battista, coming from the castle of Valcasotto, started with a velinatura for protective purposes. The cleaning of the verso and recto from dust deposits and the stopping operations were followed. The painting was then ironed in the diner at low pressure and equipped with perimeter strips for retensioning on the new expansion frame. After the tensioning, the chemical cleaning, the painting, the filling of the gaps and the chromatic reintegration with watercolor colors and varnish coatings were performed. Finally, a final protective painting was carried out.