More conservative methods have replaced the radical ones of
the past. Up to the late 1950s, it was common practice in Italy to transfer
onto a new support those panel paintings that had severe woodworm
damage, flaking paint, or warping. Such interventions date to Napoleonic
times, when many of the paintings that had been plundered from Italian
churches and collections were transferred onto new supports because of
severe flaking problems, caused particularly by the stress suffered during
the long trip to Paris. One such example is Raphael’s Saint Cecilia(now
inthe Pinacoteca in Bologna), which was taken to Paris in 1798 and sub-
sequently transferred from panel to canvas. Because of this drastic inter-
vention and the additional effects of aging, it has adopted the surface
characteristics of a canvas painting. Fortunately, as methods of wood con-
servation became more effective and less radical, transfers have become
nearly obsolete.
Splits in the wood and failure of original joins are caused by vari-
ous factors, such as rigid restraints, defects in the original construction,
and excessive fluctuations of humidity and temperature. Until the dawn of
synthetic adhesives such as polyvinyl acetate (PVA) emulsions and epoxies,
panels were rejoined with animal glue and casein. Panels that had com-
pletely separated were planed on both sides of the split to level the surface
for a butt join, but this was often achieved with a considerable loss of
original color. In other cases—such as the large panel by Fra Filippo Lippi,
The Coronation of the Virginin the Uffizi—the splits were rejoined, but no
care was taken to realign the planks, and the paint layer was simply planed
down and repainted. The insertion ofdovetails straddling splits was com-
mon until the late 1950s. The V-shaped wedges, which are still used today,
are mentioned in a book by Secco-Suardo, although he recommends
adding the dovetails as a precaution (Secco-Suardo 1866:68–70). The use of
dovetails to repair split panels dates to at least the sixteenth century. They
can, forinstance, be made of walnut, such as in the original construction
of the back of the panel for Lorenzo Lotto’s Martinengo Altarpiece in San
Bartolomeo in Bergamo, dated 1516 (Brambilla Barcilon 1978:60–63).
There are original dovetails found in the front of some paintings, such as
Luca Signorelli’s Adoration of the Shepherds (Fig. 4). Cross-grain wedgelikeC H P P R I 189Figure 4
Luca Signorelli, Adoration of the Shepherds,
- Oil (?) on panel, 215 3 170.2 cm.
National Gallery, London. Detail. The dove-
tail set into the front of the panel is original.
Figure 3
Riminese, Crucifixion,four teenth century.
Reverse. Tempera on panel. Galleria
Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino. Back of the
panel showing a gesso ground coveredwith a
red tempera layer (possibly red lead) and an
ornate decoration.