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Indianapolis Museum of Art
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Sebastiano Mainardi's altarpiece was painted exactly five hundred years ago. Although it survives more or less intact, its appearance has changed drastically since 1507, the year in which the artist dated it. Conservators and New Media staff worked to create this behind-the-scenes documentary to provide an overview of the conservation process and science of art used to restore this Renaissance painting.
Sebastiano Mainardi's altarpiece was painted exactly five hundred years ago. Although it survives more or less intact,
its appearance has changed drastically since 1507, the year in which the artist signed and dated it. Its fragile condition resulted in its removal from public view in 1965.
The extent and complexity of the conservation treatment it required meant that it would remain in storage for more than forty years.
Before beginning any conservation treatment, the conservator must thoroughly examine and document the painting with many different photographic and scientific techniques.
The painting was x-rayed to determine the extent of damage to the original paint and wood-panel support, and to provide information
on the artist's materials and techniques. A new state-of-the-art computed radiography system allows the conservator to scan
the exposed x-ray plate and view it on a high-definition screen. The digital x-ray image can be manipulated
to bring out details, such as the fabric patch found below the paint that covers a knot in the wood panel.
The painting is photographed in several types of lighting to reveal details of its condition. A raking light from a side angle dramatically shows how the paint is cracking,
blistering, and flaking away. Conservators use ultraviolet light to help distinguish the original artist's paint from any paint added later
by other artists or restorers. The dark purple areas were not painted by Mainardi, but are 20th century restorations to cover up damages.
Italian Renaissance painters often drew their compositions on their panels before applying the paint. Infrared reflectography, using
a special video camera that records infrared radiation invisible to the human eye, allows the conservator to see through the paint
and make visible Mainardi's drawing that hasn't been seen in 500 years. Stereo microscopes are used
to greatly magnify the surface of the painting allowing the conservator to closely examine the artist's materials and painting technique, as well as
to identify areas of damage. Treatment of the entire paint surface includes infusion of a warm adhesive into every crack
and area of loss and damage, a small section at a time. Then, laying Japanese tissue over the wet adhesive to hold the brittle paint in place
and soak up any excess adhesive. Heat and mild pressure from a miniature tacking iron reattaches and stabilizes the now flexible paint layers.
Once the paint is set back into place and the tissue is completely dry, the tissue and residual adhesive is very carefully removed.
After lengthy planning and testing, the conservator uses a carefully designed mixture of solvents to safely remove the old varnish
without any harm to the original paint. The picture has been repainted by restorers many times over the centuries to cover up damages and losses.
Removal of these repaints with a variety of solvents has revealed the beauty of Mainardi's surviving original paint.
Over the coming months, conservators will apply clear varnishes and fill and carefully in-paint the damaged and missing original colors
with stable and safely reversible materials returning the painting to a visual state that will permit it to go back on display in the permanent galleries.
After the paint has been completely stabilized, paper facings are carefully attached to provide extra strength in critical areas of the painting
to protect it during structural treatment of the wood panel. The painting is very carefully placed facedown on specially designed and constructed sawhorses,
permitting the back to be examined and photographed. The conservator must first carefully saw through small sections of the heavy mahogany cradle
that is glued to the back of the original poplar wood panel. A chisel is used to carve away chunks of the mahogany to expose
the back of the painting. Once an area is completed, the conservator repeats the same process in small sections until the entire cradle is removed
along with the crossbars. This took several days to accomplish. Old glue and wax adhesives are carefully removed from the back of the panel
by applying a specially designed gel to soften and swell the residues without harming the original wood.
The splits and cracks in the very fragile panel must now be repaired by carving away damaged wood, and replacing it with a similar wood
to strengthen it. The conservator uses very sharp chisels and scalpels to precisely cut V-shaped channels into the wood
almost all of the way down to the painting on the other side, in order to expose the splits and cracks that require repair.
Old Italian poplar is used to make the wedges that will be glued into the newly cut channels. The wedges are cut into the right size and shape with a wood plane.
The repair wedges must be a perfect fit in the channels, so adjustments are made with a chisel and scalpel where they are needed.
The wedges are glued in place. Then, when the glue is dry, the new wood is shaved down with a chisel until it is flushed with the original panel.
Some of the old repairs were made with woods that were not compatible with the original panel and were causing further damage.
A router is used to carefully remove these large areas instead of a chisel. These areas were then properly strengthened by gluing in
pieces of the correct wood. To protect the fragile wood panel, and act as a moisture barrier to reduce the panel's response
to changes of temperature and humidity, a stable acrylic polymer is brushed into the back of the painting.
One hundred wooden pegs with rotating metal rods are glued to the back of the panel. These mechanisms will hold the new support strainer
to the back of the painting. A custom made wooden strainer is fitted to the support mechanisms. The strainer is shaped to follow the curvature of the panel.
Custom made springs are fitted onto the threaded metal rods, then brass nuts are carefully tightened to provide the correct tension
for each of the 100 support mechanisms, to gently but firmly hold the new support strainer to the painting.
The painting is finally structurally sound and can be placed upright again. The new support structure will allow the painting to safely flex
in response to changes in temperature and humidity to prevent future cracking or splitting. IMA conservators can now resume treatment
of the paint surface to prepare the altarpiece for its return to the exhibition galleries for the first time in over forty years.
X-rays don't damage paintings. The amount of radiation is generally quite low. However, although the radiation won't damage archeological ceramics, it could throw off determining the age of the ceramic through analytical techniques such as thermoluminescence that counts the amount of residual radiation in a buried artifact.
David Miller
Conservator in Charge
Indianapolis Museum of Art
Excellent questions. I'm very impressed with your thinking on collections care.
In my opinion, the first step you must take is to have your collections and facility surveyed by professional conservators. "CAP" (conservation assessment program) through Heritage Preservation (http://www.heritagepreservation.org/cap/) will look at your facility and make recommendations for storage, environmental concerns, lighting, etc., which will also lay out the costs for long-term care.
Or, you can contract directly with professional conservators to do collections surveys. The cost for this may vary based on the amount of time it would take to complete the survey, and any travel costs and associated fees. A professional conservator should give you an upfront estimate. A written survey can give you an overview of the condition of the collection and recommendations for future care, including the costs to do so. You can then look into a variety of grants to support treatment, if needed. Contact the AIC (American Institute for Conservation) at http://www.conservation-us.org/ for a list of conservators in your area who perform surveys.
Once you have these numbers and priorities in hand, it will be easier to budget and do fund raising. Good luck!
David Miller
Conservator in Charge
Indianapolis Museum of Art
Great video! I am directing members of our administration and board to this site. They need to know how involved conservation can be.
I am working with our development office to set up an endowment specifically to cover care, conservation, and restoration needs of our art collection. The collection (more that 225 items) is comprised of oil paintings (77%) many on "panels" of masonite, works on paper (21%), and three-dimensional work (2%). The majority of the collection was created in the first half of the 20th century by American artists.
Is there a formula for determining average annual budgets for conservation and restoration? Or, does anyone have an endowment earmarked for collections care? If so, is the monetary amount adequate for "routine" conservation and restoration on an annual basis? And, what would be considered "routine".
Very cool look into the science, creativity, and long hard work that goes into the art of conservation!
I love this. It was educational and I love the period.
pretty good (i guess)
THIS IS PRETTY COOL, IT ENTERTAINS KIDS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN ELECTRONICS. IT ROCKS!!
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