The Structural Conservation of Panel Paintings

Previous restorations

The restoration work done at the beginning of this century was carried

out with an invasive technique and with materials that were harmful to

the preservation of the wood (Fig. 5). This method created conditions

favorable to infestation by wood-boring insects and produced tensions

within the structure, causing the deterioration of both the support and

thepainting. In previous restorations, the original crossbars had been

removed, and the missing areas had been reconstructed with a paste of

hide glue and sawdust.^5 Also, seven crossbars made of cypress and plane-

tree wood with an upside-down T cross section had been mounted to the

support with large, notched wooden blocks.^6 These elements had been fas-

tened with hide glue and large screws. Poplar strips had been attached

along the entire perimeter with glue, screws, and several nails hammered

in from the front. This intervention—extremely invasive for the quantity

of wood added and for the method and materials used—also made exten-

sive planing of the panel surface necessary. This planing facilitated the

exchange of moisture between the environment and the wood, a process

that, in turn, fav ored a tendency toward deformation of the planks, which

nevertheless was blocked by the interventions described above.

Another damaging intervention was the already cited application

ofthe frame to the painting; the operations necessary to adjust the frame

and hold it in place had produced twenty holes (each 6 mm in diameter) as

well as six deep tracks into the painted surface (Fig. 6).^7

Restoration proposal

Given the severely deteriorated state of preservation of the wooden sup-

port and the ground, the following program was outlined:

1. Consolidation of the most degraded parts of the wooden
   material with acrylic resin (Paraloid B72).

T R  P P S: S C H 321

Figure 5
Domenico Beccafumi, The Coronation of the
Virgin. Back ofthe panel before restoration.

Figure 6
Domenico Beccafumi, The Coronation ofthe
Virgin. Marks in the painted surface caused by
adjustment ofthe frame during previous
restoration.