renaissance painting

The DAM is gradually conserving and restoring the Old Master paintings in our collection. Conserving a sixteenth-century painting like Bernardo Zenale’s Madonna and Child with Saints takes a formidable amount of work but often reveals unexpected things. You’ll find this newly conserved painting on level six of the North Building.

Repairing the Ravages of Time

Before

In the mid-1900s, a restorer used harsh chemicals to remove darkened varnish from this painting. In the process, he inadvertently removed layers of paint, especially on the child’s body and the Virgin’s face. The restorer then attempted to hide the damage by covering it in heavy paint.

During

While removing dirt, varnish residue, and the old restoration, conservators discovered that the painting was damaged in some areas.

After

A conservator experienced in treating paintings from this period “inpainted,” or filled in, places where the original paint
had been completely lost. Thanks to this painstaking work, the painting looks complete and much the way it did 500 years ago.

Building a Better Frame

Originally, this painting was displayed in an altarpiece, where a gilded arch covered the upper corners of the painting. Years ago, when the painting was placed in a rectangular frame, someone painted over the upper corners to cover the bare sections. When the painting was recently conserved, the added paint was removed, revealing the bare corners again.

Conservators made spandrels (curved corners) to hide these bare areas. The spandrels were specially created to blend in with the rest of the frame.

Conservation Leads to Discoveries

Artists often create sketches before they paint. If they used a drawing medium with carbon in it, an infrared photograph can “see” through subsequent layers of paint and varnish and find the sketch below.

In the early sketch, the Virgin looks at the text in the Saint Gerome’s lap. In the final painting, she looks at his face. In this painting, the artist started with an image that changed and evolved as he painted. Infrared photography lets us witness his decision-making process.

This conservation message is generously supported by the William H. Donner Foundation.