Unknown artist
Technique: Oil painting on panel
Dimensions: 56 cm x 44 cm (approx.)
Date: Unknown
This project was also filmed and developed into a narrated YouTube short documentary. For a more detailed look at the restoration process, please follow the link to our channel below.
Condition of the Artwork Before Restoration
The panel painting and its frame were in poor overall structural and aesthetic condition. The wooden support had been extensively weakened by wood-boring insect activity and was friable in places. Significant losses of the original wood were present, particularly at the corners, with associated losses of the ground and paint layers. The panel was also deformed, resulting in misalignment between the painting and its frame, including a detached section of the frame.
The painted surface was obscured by a discolored and heavily altered surface layer, with substantial accumulated grime and areas of secondary material affecting the appearance of the original. Numerous losses and abrasions were present throughout the painted surface. The frame had suffered extensive losses of its original polychrome and gilded decoration and had been covered with a crude, non-original red coating, presumably intended to consolidate and conceal damaged areas.
The attachment of the frame had deteriorated, with loose and corroded nails, while considerable dirt and insect remains had accumulated between the frame and panel. The overall condition required both structural stabilization of the wooden support and frame and careful treatment of the highly altered surface layers.
Condition of the Artwork After Restoration
The wooden support was structurally consolidated and the areas affected by insect damage and wood loss were reconstructed using wood-specific epoxy and cellulose-based filling materials. Detached fragments of the original ground and paint layers were reattached, while missing sections of the panel were reconstructed to restore its structural continuity. The reconstructed wood was subsequently shaped, sanded, and refined to correspond with the original contours and naturally worn edges.
The non-original red coating on the frame was reduced and removed using a controlled gelled-solvent treatment following preliminary testing. The painted surface was treated through carefully controlled reduction and removal of accumulated grime and altered secondary materials. Due to the complex and partially unidentified nature of these materials, approximately forty different treatment solutions and approaches were tested.
Following surface treatment, an isolation varnish was applied to the painting to provide optical saturation and separate the original surface from subsequent restoration additions. The gilded frame was treated with a separate varnish isolation.
Losses of the ground layer were filled with toned chalk-gesso and compatible putty, then carefully leveled and textured to correspond with the surrounding original surface. Selective retouching was carried out both on the reverse and on the painted surface to reduce the visual impact of losses and integrate the fills.
The incomplete inscription, identified as “DEVS PROPICIVS ESTO MICHI PECCATORI” (“God, be merciful to me, a sinner”), was only partially reconstructed to maintain consistency with the treatment philosophy. The extensively damaged figural areas were likewise not pictorially reconstructed where the original appearance could no longer be established with sufficient certainty. The final retouching therefore aimed to restore visual legibility and coherence while maintaining a clear distinction between original and restored material and avoiding speculative reconstruction.
