The original fifteenth-century paint was consolidated with fish
glue and the surface lightly cleaned with saliva. Most of the nineteenth-
and twentieth-century restorations were removed with either a methylcel-
lulose gel or an acetone gel, according to which binding media was used in
the later restorations. A new ground of gesso was applied after the wood
had been prepared with glue size. The decorative elements were repainted
with gouache and dry pigments in Arkon P90 resin^22 as a binder. New gild-
ing was applied in the traditional manner. All new inpainting was executed
to match the aged, original fifteenth-century paint.
Through the conservation treatments discussed above, this Italian
Renaissance masterpiece has regained some of its former glory (Figs. 18, 19).A R S D P G 491Figure 16
View of the small ceiling from the window
niche during the conservation treatment. This
portion of the ceiling was almost entirely
repainted in the nineteenth century. The deco-
rative borders, with their fifteenth-century
gilding and azurite paint, are mostly original.
Figure 17
X radiogr aph of the ceiling of the window
niche, showing the absence ofjoinery and
theabundant use of nails. The fifteenth-
century paint has survived only fragmentarily,
as can be seen, for example, in the octagons,
which have dark “islands” of slightly denser
original paint.