restoration departments in Florence—have proved to be very effective.
The present-day interventions at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence are
described by Castelli (see “Restoration of Panel Painting Supports,” herein).
In the 1950s the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro in Rome carried
out some of the most complex interventions that had ever been attempted
on panels. One of them is the Maestàby Duccio di Buoninsegna in the
Opera del Duomo in Siena (Fig. 13). The large altarpiece was originally
painted on both sides. It was constructed with two layers of poplar run-
ning perpendicular to each other, but in 1771 the altarpiece was divided
into seven panels; subsequently, the scenes depicting the life of Christ
(Fig. 14) were separated from the sections of the large frontal scene
(Fig. 15). During this process the blade slipped twice, cutting through
the front of the central and widest panel and causing severe damage to
the Virgin’s face and her blue robe (Istituto Centrale per il Restauro
1959:17–19) (Fig. 16). After the front was separated from the back, the
panels of the Maestàwere rejoined.
For nearly two centuries the newly exposed wood was subjected
to atmospheric fluctuations that caused new tensions that resulted in a
series oflarge splits, cracks, and severe cupping of the paint layer (Istituto
Centrale per il Restauro 1959:20–26). During the last restoration, these
cracks were stabilized with the insertion of wedges, and the irregularly cut
areas of the back were filled and reconstructed with seasoned poplar insets
to create an even surface (Fig. 17).
Given the size, weight, and proportionately extreme thinness of
the front panels, asystem had to be developed to sustain the large Maestà
altarpiece. For this purpose a steel support system was devised consisting
offifteen flat steel braces about 0.5 cm thick and 2.5 cm wide. The braces194 Rothe
Figure 13, above
Duccio di Buoninsegna, Maestà,1311.
Tempera and gold leaf on panel, 214 3412
cm. Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena. This
detail of the left section before the restoration
in the 1950s clearly shows two of the six verti-
cal cuts made in 1771.
Figure 14, above right
Duccio di Buoninsegna, Scenes from the Life of
Christ,1311. Tempera and gold leaf on panel,
214 3 412 cm. Museo dell’Opera del Duomo,
Siena. The left section of the former reverse
side ofthe Maestàbef ore the restoration of
the 1950s, showing the horizontal cracks
(marked with tape) that formed after the sepa-
ration from the Maestà.