Leseprobe

65 Those paintings that were in a particularly precarious condition were given conservation treatment with the appropriate safeguard measures to prevent any fur- ther damage occurring to them. A committee of ex- perts checked every single work when it was returned in 1955. The Moscow condition protocol of Septem- ber 30, 1955 makes the following note on the condi- tion of the “Lady in White” when it arrived in the USSR: “An old crack in the ground layer at the lower left in the background. Old losses to the ground on the lower right border. Blanching of the varnish ap- peared to the left of the fan.” The same protocol re- cords: “Was not restored.” Before the painting was returned to Dresden, the condition of the painting was evaluated once again: “Condition, good. No changes in the condition.” 3 There are records of frequent, minor conservation measures being taken since the painting’s return to Dresden: In 1968, blanching within the varnish was partially addressed; 4 treatment of paint flaking on the lower edge was noted in 1971. 5 A wax-resin mix- ture had been ironed in-between the original and lining canvas, in localized areas on the back of the painting, to improve adhesion. It was also necessary to exercise various protective measures with this painting when it was occasionally loaned. 6 Not only the necessity to consolidate the paint- film, but also the poor overall aesthetic impression, led to the extensive work that was carried out on this painting in the years 2006 and 2007. The thick, strongly yellowed, layers of varnish had compro- mised many of the subtleties within the picture. It was no longer possible to recognize the “Lady in White” of the painting’s title (ill. 1). The long-standing interest to restore this painting was given priority when a loan request for the work was received from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, which was preparing the exhibition “The Late Titian and the Sensuality of Painting” (2007/2008). The Viennese painting gallery has a “Young Woman with a Fan” by Peter Paul Rubens – a copy of a lost painting by Titian that the Venetian master painted for Philipp II two years before the Dresden version – In the year 1561, Titian sent the painting “Portrait of a Lady in White” to Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio. It made its way to Dresden in 1746 as one of the hundred pictures from the Este Col- lection purchased by August III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. We have no information about the state of the portrait’s preservation at the time of the purchase. The painting was taken into the gallery and – like the other pictures from Modena – given a so-called “Dresden Gallery frame” with the insignia of the royal collector immediately thereafter. It is documented that the Italian Pietro Palmaroli, who was active in Dresden at the time, restored our painting along with more than fifty other works in 1826/27. 1 It is likely that Palmaroli provided the “Lady in White” with a so-called “doublierung” or lining – he strengthened the original canvas by gluing a second canvas to its back – as he did with other paintings in those years. A mixture of natural glue and starch paste was used as the adhesive to bind the original and lining canvas; this is customarily known as a glue lining. However, it is not possible to determine if this was the first lining of the canvas painting, whether the lining on the painting today is Palmaroli’s work or if it was replaced by a new one, also made using glue, at a later date. However, the state of aging of the canvas glued to the back of the painting makes it seem likely that it could actually be the lining carried out by Palmaroli. The next record of further work being carried out on the painting can be found in the files of the Picture Gallery dated August 5, 1910. Titian’s “Lady in White” is mentioned as one of those paintings “that are to be cleaned, rejuvenated (regenerated) or varnished [...]”. At this time, Court Counselor Prof. Paul Kiess- ling officially handed over the painting to the resto- ration workshop under Theodor Krause and, after the successful completion of the work, took it back on May 31, 1911. 2 After the end of the Second World War, the Dres- den paintings were sequestered and transported to the Soviet Union where a first appraisal and conser- vation care were undertaken by the Soviet side. Günter Ohlhoff The Restoration of Titian’s Painting “Lady in White” Ill. 1 Condition before restoration