on the surface, covering 7 cm of the original paint. The frame was held in
place with screws, inserted from behind, that passed through the planks.
Apparently the back of the support had originally been sustained
and controlled by three crossbars, each attached to the painting by five
small wooden brackets that were fastened with glue and with nails driven
in from the back and bent over on the front of the support. Both the nails
that connect the lap join and those used to attach the wooden brackets to
the support are simply bent, hammered into the wood, and covered by the
gesso preparation.^4State of preservation
Upon the painting’s arrival in the laboratory, large-scale lifting of the
preparation and paint layers was observed; this damage followed the grain
of the wood in the main section of the panel (Fig. 4). The failure of the
horizontal join on the back was also caused by the loss of extensive sec-
tions of worm-eaten wood that rendered several nails (those reinforcing
the connection between the two sections) isolated and useless. On the
front side of the area that corresponded to the join, a fracture affected
thepreparatory and paint layers. In general, various glued joins between
the planks of the main support had opened. The stability of the paint layer
was good in the lower section; cracks were noted exclusively along the
joins. The state ofpreservation of the support appeared considerably
degraded overall from diffuse attack by wood-boring insects that left the
wooden material extremely fragile and weak in some areas. These condi-
tions were worse in proximity to the vertical joins and the horizontal join
between the two sections; the greater degradation there can be attributed
both to the presence of protein substances from the glue and to the sap-
wood in the edge of each plank. The bottom section of the support did
not showthe harmful effects of the wood-boring insects. Its damage prob-
lems consist essentially ofgaps in the joins caused by a greater contraction
ofthese planks with respect to those in the upper part, and of a slight con-
vex curvature of the surface. All the wood used for the previous restora-
tion, particularly for the crossbars, had been extensively attacked by
wood-boring insects, leaving the wood extremely weak.320 Castelli
Figure 4
Domenico Beccafumi, The Coronation of the
Virgin. Lifting of the paint.