Featured

A supposed Mary Magdalen turned out, thanks to diagnostics and restoration, to be the portrait of a young noble woman

After the restoration

When thinking about the works of Giovanni di Battista di Iacopo, known as Rosso Fiorentino, you think of grotesque figures, occasionally having an almost demonic appearance. Figures completely deprived of those refined and elegant filters typical of the Renaissance art.Rosso’s style is unique, extremely detailed, but at the same time characterized by geometric, almost static elements. Animated and tormented compositions are flanked by extremely wide drapery with angular shapes, sometimes unrealistic, and by an extreme expressiveness of the portrayed characters, as it happens in The Deposition.Born in Florence in 1494 and trained together with his peer Pontormo in the workshop of Andrea del Sarto between 1510 and 1517, Rosso showed, since his earliest works, a rebellious attitude towards the constraints imposed by the dominant artistic movement, of which the decline had already begun. Trying to recreate that dynamism in the bodies that he admired in Michelangelo’s works, he laid the foundations of the Florentine manner and after moving to France of the Fontainebleau school and of Mannerism as a whole.His unique and certainly easily recognizable style will later undergo a further darkening following the sack of Rome in 1527.However, looking at the Portrait of a young woman, an oil painting on panel, now exhibited in the new rooms of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, although belonging to this collection since 1894, one would think that there must have been a first moment in which the artist’s personality had yet to assert itself. Or, and more likely, that at the time, the young painter, just sixteen years old, was more cautious in determining the composition, and just followed the “fashion” of the time.This young woman is portrayed in a three quarter pose, in a gentle, orderly way. Her appearance, her dress, the whole composition, the simple, timidly hinted, landscape in the background seem to wink at Raphael. In fact, there are many similarities with e.g. La Gravida (1505-1506). The black low-cut dress with green inserts on the bust is very reminiscent of the fashion of the early sixteen century. However, before the analyses, details such as the veil and the halo, just hinted around her head, suggested the portrait of a saint, and indeed it was identified as a Mary Magdalene.

Visible image before restoration

UV image

Infrared reflectography

You can see in the first picture the appearance of the painting in 2009 when it was analyzed by Art-Test. With the objective to establish what was original and what was not, the painting has been analyzed with UV fluorescence imaging, to locate any previous restoration work, and with IR reflectography, to study the preparatory drawing. The combination of the two tests allowed the restorer to proceed with a rather important cleaning project which involved the total removal of those elements that turned out to be not original, such as the halo, the veil and the red drapery that partially covered the young girl’s shoulder. Now the young woman shows similarities with the girls portrayed by Andrea del Sarto in The Nativity of the Virgin and with those of the Assumption painted by Rosso in the cloister of the Vows in 1514. It is true, however, that the absence of Rosso Fiorentino’s stylistic peculiarities make the attribution of the work doubtfulThe diagnostic-restoration binomial thus culminated with the return to the Uffizi of the portrait no more of a Magdalene but of a young and elegant women with clothes, hairstyle, and jewelry typical of the sixteenth century.

In the mid-sixteenth century, when he was still a cardinal, the future Pope Pius V decided to found a Dominican convent in his native town, Bosco Marengo, a small town near Alessandria, hitherto poor and absolutely unknown.

Not only that, a few months after his ascent to the papal throne, in the summer of 1566, he entrusted Giorgio Vasari, an artist at the height of his success and active for many years in Florence, with the task of painting a large “pala” for the church of a convent that was still under construction, but which one day should have received his remains. To understand the ambition of this project, consider that for the main altar, the pope asked that what Vasari describes in his autobiography as “… a very large machina almost like a triumphal arch, with two large panels, one in front and one behind, and in smaller pieces about thirty stories full of many figures which are all carried out in a very good way ”. According to the preparatory drawing, the altar was to have a gilded wooden structure in the fashion of sixteenth-century carpentry, unfortunately dismembered in 1710 when, in honor of the canonization of Pius V, a new high altar in marble was erected (still present today). However, a good number of the paintings that were part of it, including the main work the “Last Judgment”, are still preserved in the church of Santa Croce.

Art-Test Firenze had the pleasure of carrying out an articulated diagnostic campaign on two of the panel paintings in the church of Santa Croce: the one depicting the “Adoration of the Magi” and the one depicting the martyrdom of St. Peter the Martyr. The investigations, with the exception of the chemical ones on micro-sampling, were of a non-invasive optical type: IR scanning reflectography, Multilayer (Art-Test patent), multispectral UV fluorescence, multispectral color and IR, thermography, digital radiography, fluorescence X-ray, 3D survey, FTIR and stratigraphic analysis. The synergy between the different analyzes made it possible to collect those data and information that the direct vision of the work does not give, but which are crucial in the design and then execution of a well-organized restoration intervention.

The “Adoration of the Magi” (1566-67) was the first work commissioned for Bosco Marengo with which Pius V probably wanted to test the painter’s skills. On 25 January 1567 the panel was finished and in the following February it was sent to Rome so that the Pope could see it before it was sent to the church of Santa Croce. It is a complex composition, crowded with characters drawn from a rich repertoire, characterized by rich ornaments, elaborate drapery and refined luministic and chromatic effects, a true expression of the artist’s virtuosity. The central pivot of the scene are the Madonna and Child in the foreground with the kneeling Magi. The work was in rather problematic conservation conditions, such as the great deterioration of the pictorial film, probably due to humidity. From the analyzes emerged the numerous repaintings of the restoration interventions to which it was subjected as early as the eighteenth century. A micro-sampling was made necessary, an invasive examination but crucial to know the preparation and study its composition.

Identification of the Smalt Pigment obtained via multispectral imaging analyses, overlaid on the Infrared refelctography image

The support was analyzed also under grazing light, while FTIR was used to understand the board preparation, which was based on gypsum and animal glue. Thanks to the infrared scanning with InGaAs sensor, which involved the area of the Holy Family and the Magi, it was possible to detect an underlying drawing made with multiple means and in different parts depending on the degree of progress of the work. Localisation of the areas where the Smalt pigment was used, detected via Multispectral imaging

On the whole, important variations of the painted subject are not identified, but small rethinking of postures and some repentances. The whole work seems to have been completed with great confidence and without the use of cartoons, which suggests the action of the hand of a single master. There have been many pictorial reintegrations over the years for which the palette used was studied with XRF: 20 XRF points and subjected to infrared and false color imaging.

The work depicting the “Martyrdom of St. Peter Martyr” was intended for the rear part of the main altar of the “machine” made by Vasari, to which the painter’s workshop also contributed, for example, the presence of Jacopo Zucchi is almost certain. Some panels of the predella are attributed to him. The episode of the ambush of the Dominican saint occupies the lower part of the scene with a background rich in elements of Nordic derivation. The choice of the episode is not accidental: the figure of Pietro da Verona, who joined the Dominicans in 1221, who was appointed inquisitor for northern Italy by Gregory IX and who fought the heresy of the Cathars, marries the conception Dominican religious of the period of the Counter-Reformation during which Pius V became the supreme Inquisitor of the Church and formed a Holy League with Spain and Venice.

The table retains the sixteenth-century carved and gilded frame with a curved shape. Also on this work, the diagnostic campaign developed on several fronts: the RX investigation for the study of the support, the grazing light for the pictorial film, the FTIR for the preparation and the XRF for the pigments

The writer Vasari talks about his executive technique in his “Memories” and it is known that in the same years in central Italy a certain technical experimentation on binders by artists was widespread and in this case it was the cross sectional analysis in UV light and FTIR to confirm the mixed technique. Underneath the pictorial film, traces of a preparatory drawing emerged but not a the use a cartoon, which suggests a freehand execution. The reflectographic investigation documents the traces of some relevant pentimenti and other minor variations carried out in the course of work with different tools (such as the graphite tip and the brush), elements that suggest the presence of the master during the corrections but also of a valid collaborator in Vasari’s atelier. Martyrdom of St. Peter Martyr, Giorgio Vasari, Bosco Marengo during investigations

The X-ray revealed that the work was “plastered” in same places and that minor repairs were carried out on the support.

In general, however, the extreme technical skill of Vasari’s workshop is confirmed, whose works resist almost unchanged over the centuries.

Results of the analyses have been published in several scientific articles and in : Vasari a Bosco Marengo. Studi per il Restauro delle Tavole Vasariane in Santa Croce, edito da SAGEP

The video of the 3D relief of the “Adoration of the Shepards”, is visible on our  YouTube channel.

Caravaggio escapes from Rome on 28 May, with the accusation of having killed Ranuccio Tommasoni and arrives on 6 October 1606 in Naples, where he immediately receives prestigious commissions, including the painting depicting the “Seven Works of Mercy” for the church of the then new brotherhood of the Pio Monte della Misericordia, where it is still located and where the payment warrant is still kept, indicating that the painter would have been entitled to 370 ducats of the 400 total agreed.

The painter created in a very short time (between the end of that same year and the beginning of 1607) a work that was so appreciated that Monte was forced to prohibit its transfer and sale at any price and to authorize copying only to a few. artists. The large painting will be moved temporarily from its original location only five times in total, both for conservation and restoration reasons and for exhibitions.

The Congregation of Pio Monte was born in 1602 as a secular institution at the behest of seven Neapolitan nobles, including Luigi Carafa-Corona, a member of the patron family of Caravaggio, who were dedicated to charitable works. In 1604, construction began in the chapel of the brotherhood and Caravaggio’s revolutionary style seemed ideal for expressing his great ambitions. It is in fact the first work commissioned for the decoration of the church.

The Seven Acts of Mercy represent the charitable activities of the brotherhood which was mainly aimed at caring for and satisfying the physical needs of the poor: the acts of Christian charity were the means to redeem one’s sins.

The composition is grandiose and theatrically complex: at the top the light outlines the figure of a Madonna and Child supported by flying angels; Maria observes benevolently the figures below which, organized in a complex interlocking, allude to the acts of mercy. Two floors merge into a single space that encloses the human and the divine, creating a scene of great realism and drama.

On the right side of the composition the precepts “to feed the hungry” and “visit the prisoners” are gathered in the figure of Cimon who is suckled by his daughter Pero. Behind him, behind the prison wall, a man appears carrying a corpse, of which only the feet are visible, followed by a priest in a white tunic holding a torch to represent “burying the dead” (a work absent in the Gospel di Matteo, but added to the list during the plagues in the Middle Ages and which constituted a public health problem addressed with great concern by Pio Monte).

The scene on the left is occupied in the foreground by an elegant knight with a plumed headdress, Saint Martin, who divides his cloak to give it to a poor man and treats a cripple to allude to “dressing the naked” and “visiting the sick”. Further back is depicted St. James welcomed by the man who stands in front of him who represents “hosting pilgrims”, while Samson, a hero of the Old Testament, drinks from the donkey’s jaw which indicates “to give drink to the thirsty”.

The work represents a cornerstone for the painting of Southern Italy and for Italian painting in general: the Seven Acts of Mercy are in fact depicted in a single bold composition with a powerful emotional impact, with strong contrasts of lights and shadows and an unprecedented excited rhythm.

Caravaggio develops in Naples the stylistic innovations with which he has already caused a stir on the Roman scene. The sacred theme takes on the realistic appearance of the faces of the inhabitants of the alleys of Naples and with equal realism the profiles of things are outlined, from weapons to clothes, from the wings of angels to the flow of water.

The composition appears as divided into two parts thanks to the intense contrasts of brightness: the light and white tones illuminate the right part, directly striking the bodies of the angels and their wings and highlighting the figures of Pero and the priest, while the chiaroscuro and the penumbra envelop the left side. Dark brown is the dominant tone in the architecture and shadows on the left. Ochre, green and grey-green are the colours that most characterize the clothes.

The strong realism and the clear and direct vision of the subjects made thanks to the daring use of light will represent an important point of reference for local painters and will mark the transition from a devout and late-mannerist painting to what will be the season of naturalism in the Naples of the seventeenth century.

Art-Test had the pleasure and honour of carrying out a diagnostic campaign of the work as part of the initiatives promoted by the “National Committee for the celebrations of the IV centenary of the death of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610)” established by Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities with the aim of studying in more depth and in a scientific manner, the artist’s extraordinary pictorial production

Art-Test brought its instrumentation inside the Church of Pio Monte and it was necessary to design a particular scaffolding that was stable and that would allow the Scanner to be brought closer to the canvas and the execution of the Multispectral investigation (IR / UV) at night since it is not otherwise possible to adequately darken the place.

A small sacrifice that was definitely worth it. Staying in contact with the genius of Caravaggio and the possibility of exploring his technique from very close are experiences that have no equal.

When the painting “St. John the Evangelist and St. Francis of Assisi” entered the Uffizi collection as part of a donation,  it was assumed to be a copy executed by the workshop or by disciples of El Greco. Indeed only a few people had seen it before and scholars had not even examined it, so for several years it was kept in the storage rooms of the Uffizi and not displayed. The analysis carried out by Art-Test prior to the restoration by Lisa Venerosi Pesciolini in 2010, found in the canvas all the technical characteristics of the master and his unique pictorial language. In this case, only non-destructive investigations have been performed:  the X-ray and IR reflectography scan revealed, beneath the outermost varnish layer, a complex reworking of the figures, with numerous “pentimenti”, changes made by the master in the course of work; and other important autograph signs such as the use of brushes of various types and sizes. The relative radiopacity is also peculiar to the paintings of El Greco, i.e. above all the inimitable insistent brushstrokes for the drafting of flesh tones.  For the attribution of a painting it’s very important to identify a strong similarity with similar works of the painter, especially in the inner layers which are not visible to the naked eye. Indeed the disciples, but also copyists and counterfeiters, which flourished especially in the nineteenth century after El Greco was rediscovered, generally arrive to reproduce with great fidelity the outward appearance, but the internal structure, being hidden and tied to the way of working of the artist, is much more difficult to imitate and reproduce. In the case of El Greco, not only the inner layers, but also the surface itself have a very specific personal character, a complex work of a drafting extraordinarily layered, rich, sophisticated, expertly built with precious colour: lapis lazuli, lacquer work with a particular technique, which allows to obtain deep tones, cold, as visible in macro images and as noted by the investigations in ED-XRF. This uniqueness made it always very difficult for disciples and copiers to imitate the master. But it makes it easier for us, after the results of the tests, to state with certainty that this stunning painting, now in the rooms of the Uffizi dedicate to foreign painters of the XVI and XVII centuries, comes from the hands of El Greco himself.

The survey results were published by the magazine “Art e Dossier” of February 2012.

The painting, which is owned by a private collector, was originally thought to be a copy of Caravaggio’s St. Jerome Writing (composed between 1607 and 1608), which is in the Oratory of St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta. Prof. Keith Sciberras of the University of Malta says that the painting does not evince Caravaggio’s “vigor” nor “his brush work” and that, during his later years, Caravaggio did not paint replicas of his own work. Maurizio Marini, who during the last forty-five years has closely analyzed many works by Caravaggio, argues that the face is too coarse to have been painted by the master.

The collector had it sent to SACI labs of Florence to have it cleaned up for an exhibit featuring it next to the original painting as part of the events marking the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio’s visit to the Mediterranean island nation in 1607-1608. Art historian Dr. Roberta Lapucci, conservation expert at SACI and a well-known expert on Caravaggio techniques, asked Art-Test to perform some diagnostic testing before restoration. The new Multilayer® technique allowed the researchers to identify and examine successive strata of paint because each layer projects a certain kind of fluorescence. It works backward, from isolating the most recent layers of paint to the oldest ones, said Anna Pelagotti of Art-Test, the private Tuscan-based institute that copyrighted it. The researchers then performed the more traditional infrared analyses, which corroborated the claim.

“With the new technique I understood it was something spectacular. “, Lapucci said. She presented her findings during an Italian TV science show (“SuperQuark” on RAI television), and said she plans to publish her findings later this year. Lapucci says the assertions that discarded the painting as a copy were made “without seeing the new test results and the painting after cleaning. Both revealed, under the heavy retouching, a much higher quality level and a very different pictorial execution, especially in the area of the face.”

In particular the painting scans from Art-Test showed several “pentimenti”, i.e. modifications made by the painter during his work, about the composition, which obviously do not show up in copies, as the reference is fixed already. “The multi-spectral analysis done in February by Art-Test convinced me that the painting is actually a preliminary sketch by Caravaggio.” She believes that Caravaggio “did a great part of this artwork: the saint is all his, as are the table top and the objects. Then Caravaggio began the official St. Jerome on another canvas (the one presently in the Co-Cathedral) with no more doubts or uncertainties.” Later on the composition was probably finished off by someone else, and then there were subsequent restorations in Malta, perhaps not performed by highly skilled restorers, which made experts think it was a contemporary copy.

The painting has been returned to Malta and plans are underway for it to be featured next year at a major museum in an exhibition focusing on the importance of scientific methodologies for art investigation.

Sources: Washington Post and the SACI newsletter

In preparation of the exhibition “Novecento sedotto” at Museo Bardini in Florence, restoration of the Waterseller painting of Velazquez from the collection of the Uffizi museum has taken place. Another version of the Waterseller is at the Wellington Musem in London and in Baltimore, and the attribution of the Uffizi painting to Velazquez has always been a matter of discussion. The painting was first sent to Art-Test for diagnostic testing prior to restoration. The data of the analysis showed no contradiction concerning the materials used and data confirm that there is no reason to doubt its authenticity.

Concerning the relation with the other paintings by the same author on the same subject, it is not possible to ascertain which one is the first version. Based on current information, the Uffizi version might be the first one, but in order to confirm this assumption X-Rays and infrared analysis would be required.

A superb painting was presented to public as it became, through a highly generous donation of Bernardo Caprotti, part of the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana collection. Art-Test had the true privilege to investigate it with IR Scanner Reflectography, IR false color, UV fluorescence and Multilayer Method. It resulted as one of the most amazing paintings we ever came to analyze.