22-mc07c-TE-2012_Moncalieri, Castello, A. and G. Ferri, Putti scherzanti (soprapporte), inv. 413

Facilitated description: 

 

The joking putti is a painting on canvas. 
The painting is an overdoor (a painting that is placed above the doors). 
Augusto and Gaetano Ferri painted the painting in the first part of 1800. 
The painting is kept at the Castle of Moncalieri. 
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the painting in 2012. 
Scientists at the Venaria Center have done scientific analysis to see if there are any restorations of the past.
The restorers cleaned the frame (wooden structure that stands behind the painting and serves to support the painting).
They dismantled the painting from the frame and eliminated the folds of the canvas. 
They reassembled the painting on the frame. 
After the restorers cleaned the front of the painting from dust and yellowed paint.
They glued the parts of color that were peeling off. 
They filled the color gaps with a layer of putty (plaster and glue). 
They painted the putty. 
Eventually the restorers painted the painting to protect it from the sun's rays and dust. 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention: 

 

Restoration

The restoration of the 5 doors of the Blue Salon of the Queen (Castello di Moncalieri) was preceded by a multispectral analysis campaign in order to find information on the state of conservation and the execution technique of the works. It was then made a series of shots in ultraviolet fluorescence, which highlighted the presence of original painting and retouching of a later era.

The intervention began with the cleaning of the frame, still in good condition. For the paintings 411, 413, 414 it was necessary to release the textile support from the frame to smooth out the deformations that weighed on the conservation of the pictorial layers. The canvas was then cleaned, taking care to eliminate also the deposits present in the interstices of the fabric, and the textile support was subjected to a slight pressure to smooth out the deformations. Strips of perimeter fabric were then applied to allow re-tensioning on the original frame. 
Subsequently, work was carried out on the pictorial film, thinning the paint and removing the deposit material (surface cleaning) by aqueous means. The de-adhesion phenomena were solved by making a localized pre-consolidation with organic adhesive and working on structural deformations. The small color gaps were compensated with plaster and glue grouting and finally retouched in camouflage with powder pigments linked to synthetic paint. Finally, a protective was applied.