Renaissance Art Comes Clean

[Cilean]

Hi

So I mentioned that a Titan had gotten a facelift and I wanted to show how gorgeous the painting is now!




If any others see a newly cleaned piece so that we may feast our eyes on it? Please add it to this thread!

Cilean

[Auryn]

I am assuming the one on the left is the cleaned up version.

The difference in the clothing is astounding.
The skin on her chest looks TOO white though. Its harsh
Who knew she was a blonde 

[operafantomet]

Cilean, I don't mean to hijack this thread, as this is a very interesting subject! Just wanted to add some comments.

I saw that portrait in Palazzo Pitti some years ago. I was surprised by how much more blue the dress was than in all reproductions I had seen. I went there in may again, and was surprised to see a recent restoration had just been finished, and that an own exhibition was done around that portrait. The colours was really vibrant... but not as sharp as the first one overneath. I'd say it is somewhere in between the two versions above, along the lines of this:



(but slightly more blue, and not at all as grainy)

The painting was commissioned by Francesco Maria I della Rovere, duke of Urbino, in ca. 1536. It is sometimes thought the lady depicted was the duke's wife Eleonora Gonzaga, but in a letter he describes it as a "...retratto di quella Donna che ha la veste azurra" (portrait of that lady in blue dress). He would probably not describe his wife as "quella Donna/that lady". The lady appears to be the same as in the "Venus of Urbino" painting Titian made for the same family.

I've written a bit about it here, for those interested:
http://operafantomet.livejournal.com/239119.html

[gem]

He would probably not describe his wife as "quella Donna/that lady".

LOL--I don't know, depending on how casual the correspondence was; I frequently refer to Milord (my husband) as "Whatshisname."  (But I see your point.)

A museum in Spain had an exhibit this summer called "Heroines," featuring one of my favorite paintings, Caravaggio's St. Catherine, and released a much more vibrant image than I'd ever seen before. I don't know if the painting had been restored, or if the photograph was just better, but I never realized that the drapery behind her was blue (and I have this painting in several books):





(Interesting that the blues seem to go especially dull. Is there anything behind that, Anea, or am I making a giant assumption based on a field of two images?)

[operafantomet]

Speaking of beautiful women, Leonardo's portrait of Ginevra de' Benci was restored some years ago (2000/01, I think). Many interesting things were discovered in the preliminary tests; for example that the bush/tree behind the lady was originally much more green. But the metal in the green pigment had oxidized and become dark brown. The bush - a juniper, ginepro in Italian - is a pun on the sitter's name, Ginevra.



Another interesting detail is that the bottom of the canvas is folded in, and when folded out it reveals the bottom of the lacing of her dress. It ends just below the fold, and the lacing is actually uneven. The portrait was a lot longer originally, as the backside has a lovely decoration and motto which is chopped off in the bottom:
http://handrade.tripod.com/davinciback.jpg

Also, sketches Leonardo did and copies/variants of the portrait shows elegant hands held up in front of the torso:
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2001/virtuebeauty/390/fig07.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze1/andreadelverrocchio.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze1/dicredi1500s.jpg

A proposed reconstruction:
http://www.drawingonanatomy.com.au/galleryD/images/Surgery_Benci-2.jpg

If I remember correctly, they found a partial Leonardo print in the painting. He sometimes smoothed the oil paint with his fingers. And there were something about the way of the strokes revealing his left-handedness, but it's way too long since I read the article published about the restoration, so don't quote me on this...

What I like the most, though, is to see the skin relieved from the muddy yellow tone, and to see the background sky appear blue rather than olive. Along with the green juniper bush, this portrait must have had amazing colours originally.

Which reminds me... just imagine how the Mona Lisa would glow if it ever was cleaned... Away with 500 years of grease and dirt, and instead displaying the milky skin, the sea green dress and mustard sleeves, and the blue sky in the background... Aaah.  

[operafantomet]

(Interesting that the blues seem to go especially dull. Is there anything behind that, Anea, or am I making a giant assumption based on a field of two images?)

Blue and green have a tendency to disappear over time. Partly because the pigments react to the air and pollution, like the Ginevra one, and partly because some layers of dirt only makes the colour appear "dark" and not really a colour. There are so many dresses I've been surprised to see the colour on in real life and/or after restoration. Especially when compared to elder online scans, which often are the ones circulating.

ETA: Who would have guessed the underskirts of the girls were green and gold, for example? Compare:
http://www.museicivicivicenza.it/file/foto2g-10484.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/fasolo1560paologualdo3.jpg

[gem]

Which reminds me... just imagine how the Mona Lisa would glow if it ever was cleaned... Away with 500 years of grease and dirt, and instead displaying the milky skin, the sea green dress and mustard sleeves, and the blue sky in the background... Aaah.  

I would love that! One thing I find surprising about portrait reconstructions is how very few there are of Mona Lisa (I've actually never seen one). My theory is it's because it's so very hard to see what she's wearing.

[operafantomet]

Which reminds me... just imagine how the Mona Lisa would glow if it ever was cleaned... Away with 500 years of grease and dirt, and instead displaying the milky skin, the sea green dress and mustard sleeves, and the blue sky in the background... Aaah.  

I would love that! One thing I find surprising about portrait reconstructions is how very few there are of Mona Lisa (I've actually never seen one). My theory is it's because it's so very hard to see what she's wearing.

I've been tempted to, but the thought of having one million people emailing me, telling me that some detail is all wrong, just freaks me out every time... But what she's wearing seems quite conventional Florentine as such. A dress similar to these:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze1/bdgiovanni1488.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze1/ghirlandaio1486d.jpg (w/o front lacing)

With a sheer at home/just given birth/overclass (it depends on who you ask) dress like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze1/botticelli1470-75.jpg

The only odd thing is that her outfit is very old fashioned for the 1503 dating. Her style is more that of the 1480-90s, both in dress and hairdo. But the sleeves are more modern, similar to the women Raphael depicted in the 1500-1515s.

Now... who wanna see this in its original colours? I know I do...! I fully understand few dares to tackle it, as the eyes of the whole world would be on anyone signing up for the job. But in a few years they have to, as the wooden panel is cracking, and it's getting closer to her head every year...

[operafantomet]

Hah! This is an exciting find, seeing my last post was about how fantastic a cleaned up Mona Lisa would look.


(the extra hand obviously don't belong to the painting...)

The Prado Museum in Spain worked on restoring one of the many Mona Lisa copies in this world. But what they find was mind blowing. Originally their version was thought to be a later Flemish copy. But examining the panel and the materials closer it was placed in Florence, and quite contemporary with the original by Leonardo. Furthermore, when they removed the black overpaint, the background showed a landscape similar to the original.

The version is question is thought to have been painted by one of Leonardo's pupils. Apart from the slightly changed background, the red sleeves and the fact that her eyebrows now is visible, it's a close copy. Probably the closest copy out there. It shows how radiant the colours of the original probably was before 500 years of grease and dust covered its surface (*cough*itoldyouso*cough*). Also interesting to show how clearly the sheer overdress can be seen. That is mostly muddled in the original, due to the layers of dirt.

The Prado version is now prepared to be sent to the Louvre, where the two portraits are to be examined side by side. Maybe this will spark a new discussion about an eventual cleaning of the original. As I said wrote earlier, the panel of the original is cracking, and the biggest crack is getting closer to her forehead every day. Action needs to be taken soon, and I think it would be a good time to maybe remove the worst layers of dirt!

Link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/spains-prado-museum-reports-possible-earliest-replica-of-mona-lisa-done-in-da-vincis-studio/2012/02/01/gIQAFvCehQ_story.html


ETA: both versions shows the lady in an almost pigeon blue dress, but with different colours of the tie-on sleeves. The original shows a mustard shade, the contemporary copy shows red sleeves. What's interesting is that these three colours were Leonardo's favourites. This tricolore was included in most, if not all, of his paintings. And now it kinda is in the Mona Lisa as well. The colour trio can for example be seen in the Cecilia Gallerani portrait:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5KO5c03muts/TvI3YyIa8ZI/AAAAAAAAOnU/ytHrk3wK9II/s1600/da-Vinci-lady-with-the-ermine.jpg