nique was carried out in close collaboration with the Institut Royal du
Patrimoine Artistique, Brussels (Glatigny 1990; see also Glatigny,
“Backings ofPainted Panels,” herein).The authors hope to have shown in this account that the Service de
Restauration des Musées de France, heir to a long tradition of restoration of
wooden supports ofpaintings, continues to explore working methods tend-
ing toward minimal intervention as well as use of lighter support systems.
Because of the highly specific natur e of the material and the
added complexity due to a paint layer, panel paintings must be restored by
specialists who, through their daily contact with old techniques and earlier
restorations, have acquired a deep awareness of the repercussions their
interventions may have in the future.
In recent years, research on the treatment of wooden supports has
shown a need for close collaboration between practitioners of various disci-
plines—curators and scientists—who should join forces to design a new
approach to conservation. This approach seeks to emphasize treatment of
the causes of deterioration and, in turn, assumes both a thorough knowl-
edge of the material itself and a clear understanding of the material’s envi-
ronment: when the condition of the work is weighed against the treatment
it requires, weare still facing the need to compromise between the benefits
ofthe treatment and the drawbacks that intervention may entail.
Considerable research remains to be done, in particular regarding
very thinned-down panels as well as disinfection and consolidation prod-
ucts and treatments, in order to improve their effectiveness and reversibil-
ity. There is, therefore, an urgent need for the kind of international
collaboration that can improve our understanding and lead to the resolu-
tion of these problems.The authors would paricularly like to thank France Dijoud, who was kind
enough to read over this article; they would also like to extend their grati-
tude to Sophie Le Guischer for her help.Acknowledgments
Conclusion
T C-R W P S 261Figure 8a, b
Reverse of panel painting (a) with a backing
made ofsquare balsa blocks cut along the
grain (Lucas Cranach the Elder, Saint Peter,
sixteenth century; oil on panel, 113 3 54 cm;
Louvre Museum, Paris). Another panel (b) has
a backing made of hexagonal balsa blocks,
cut along the grain (Peter Neefs the Elder,
Cathedral of Antwerp, Interior View,seventeenth
century; oil on panel, 62 3 102 cm; Musée des
Beaux-Arts, Grenoble, France).
a b