The Structural Conservation of Panel Paintings

of the National Gallery and the Metropolitan that the needs of the object

were allowed to prevail at every turn.

The rocks and bricks depicted in the addition to the Metropolitan panel

had always appeared aesthetically unsuccessful. In light of the upcoming

exhibition in which the two pictures were to be exhibited side by side, the

Metropolitan decided to reconstruct the work more accurately in relation

to the artist’s original intention. The reconstruction was based on the

information available in the radiograph taken in Washington, D.C., in the

1960s, shortly after the appearance of Zeri’s article. Washington produced

a new radiograph on more modern equipment that greatly clarified the

original depiction, and the Metropolitan made adjustments that more

accurately reflected the new information.

The National Gallery had not previously considered removing

the overpaint in the sky because the outcome was likely to be even more

confusing and difficult to resolve aesthetically. Since the new radiograph

re vealed much sharper and more extensive detail than was previously

visible, however, the National Gallery decided that it was now worthwhile

to remove the overpaint and expose as much of the original surface as pos-

sible (Fig. 3). The result was surprising, because the overpaint in the sky

had obscured much of the exquisite detail in the depictions of the thatched

roofand all of the brickwork in the lower fragment—elements that were

Initial Phase

344 Bisacca

Figure 3
Washington panel after removal of overpaint
by Sarah Fisher, head ofpaintings conserva-
tion at the National Gallery. The opacity
of the overpaint had prevented much of
the detail in the thatched roof and all of the
brickwork in the lower fragment from reading
in the radiograph.