Leseprobe

ously. A plan and procedure would be necessary to reintegrate these losses. As mentioned previously, the original canvas sup- port was glue/paste lined and further consolidated with a wax mixture for strengthening. As the canvas support proved stable it was decided to leave the structure intact (ill. 3). Preliminary investigations On the painting construction The original linen canvas is constructed using a sim- ple tabby weave. The thread count is 11 × 11/cm 2 . The first layer of priming, pure calcium sulfate, is very rich in binding medium and appears slightly swollen. It was possible to identify drying oils as the binding medium. 8 The calcium sulfate ground was subse- quently coated with two additional priming layers in a light, warm grey tone. Remains of the ground and paint film found on the tacking edges suggest that the painting might have been strung into a larger working frame during the painting process. Only later was the final format de- fined, most likely by the artist himself. This would be supported by the c. 1 cm. wide black border, painted over the background and along all four sides of the painting. Radio diagnostic investigations Infrared reflectography Examination using infrared reflectography did not reveal a carbon containing (black) under-drawing. It must therefore be assumed that Titian used another drawing material to define the composition, very likely a sketch with brush and reddish-brown color that he integrated into the following underpainting process. Support for this is provided by the red- dish-brown lines, applied with a brush that, on closer inspection, can be seen with the naked eye as bound- aries to the left arm, on the shoulder, the waist and skirt section of the robe. X-ray investigations The X-ray image (ill. 4) revealed a very loose form of underpainting, without any significant corrections, which is consistent with Titian’s late work. 9 In this initial design, the face is rounder, the mouth – as well as the nose – more voluminous so that the overall in its holdings (ill. p. 12). 7 Making a comparative study of the two paintings quite obviously suggested itself. All of these factors provided additional support for the decision to carry out the restoration treatment. Condition of the painting before the restoration The painting was covered with a strongly-yellowed, uneven layer of varnish with deposits within the in- terstices of the canvas texture. Especially in the areas of the flesh tones, the paint and ground layers re- vealed a fine craquelure with a tendency towards cupping. Minor losses could be seen along the net- work of cracking. Extensive retouching, extending over the entire surface, especially in the form of ex- cessive glazing within the flesh tones, had darkened considerably (ill. 3). Areas of broken fills were apparent both in the fig- ure itself and in the background. Considerable abra- sion was found within the passages of the head and costume as well as along the edges of the painting. The abrasion extended to the raw canvas in localized areas. The background was completely overpainted with a dark-brown layer of paint in order to mask the ex- tensive abrasion to this area. This overpaint to the background partially extended onto, and over the original paint passages within the figure and fan. It was clear that the decision to remove the older layers of varnish would reveal damage from the past as well as restorations that had taken place previ- Ill. 3 Reverse with ironed-in spot of wax Ill. 2 (left) UV fluorescence before the restoration Ill. 4 (right) X-ray image 66