Sebastiano Mainardi: The Science of Art

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Mainardi's Madonna and Child @ IMA
0:00:04
Madonna and Child with St. Nicolas of Babi and St. Justina by Sebastiano Mainardi

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Interested in reading an article about what an altarpiece is?
0:00:07
Read about altarpieces in art.

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See another painting by Mainardi in the IMA collection.
0:00:20
The Holy Family with St. John and an Angel by Sebastiano Mainardi

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Explore more about this altarpiece
0:00:25
Visit the IMA's website to learn more about Mainardi's altarpiece and the science of art.

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Consider reading a book on art conservation
0:00:41
History of the Restoration and Conservation of Works of Art by Alessandro Conti and Helen Glanville

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What is panel painting?
0:00:52
Read an article about panel painting and impress people with your knowledge.

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What is the Italian Renaissance?
0:01:57
Read an article about the Renaissance in Italy.

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Interested in reading an article about Restoration?
0:02:40
Check out a description here.

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Visit Art Conservation Science
0:03:20
A Collaboration between the Art Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University.

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Consider reading a book on conserving paintings
0:04:30
Issues in the Conservation of Paintings (Readings in Conservation)

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Interested in learning more about the Star Studio?
0:08:08
Come visit the Star Studio on the first floor of the IMA's galleries.

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Go behind the scenes in the Star Studio...
0:08:23
Watch Phillip Lynam work his magic on a faux altarpiece in Sebastiano Mainardi: The Science of Art Installation in the Star Studio.

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What do you think, Max?
0:08:33
Hear what the Director of the IMA has to say about this exhibition in the Director's Journal video.

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Indianapolis Museum of Art
0:09:05
Visit us online!

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Sebastiano Mainardi's altarpiece was painted exactly five hundred years ago. Although it survives more or less intact, its appearance has changed drastically since 1507, the year in which the artist dated it. Conservators and New Media staff worked to create this behind-the-scenes documentary to provide an overview of the conservation process and science of art used to restore this Renaissance painting.

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00:00:00 Sebastiano Mainardi's altarpiece was painted exactly five hundred years ago. Although it survives more or less intact,

00:00:09 its appearance has changed drastically since 1507, the year in which the artist signed and dated it. Its fragile condition resulted in its removal from public view in 1965.

00:00:23 The extent and complexity of the conservation treatment it required meant that it would remain in storage for more than forty years.

00:00:34 Before beginning any conservation treatment, the conservator must thoroughly examine and document the painting with many different photographic and scientific techniques.

00:00:44 The painting was x-rayed to determine the extent of damage to the original paint and wood-panel support, and to provide information

00:00:53 on the artist's materials and techniques. A new state-of-the-art computed radiography system allows the conservator to scan

00:01:02 the exposed x-ray plate and view it on a high-definition screen. The digital x-ray image can be manipulated

00:01:10 to bring out details, such as the fabric patch found below the paint that covers a knot in the wood panel.

00:01:20 The painting is photographed in several types of lighting to reveal details of its condition. A raking light from a side angle dramatically shows how the paint is cracking,

00:01:31 blistering, and flaking away. Conservators use ultraviolet light to help distinguish the original artist's paint from any paint added later

00:01:42 by other artists or restorers. The dark purple areas were not painted by Mainardi, but are 20th century restorations to cover up damages.

00:01:54 Italian Renaissance painters often drew their compositions on their panels before applying the paint. Infrared reflectography, using

00:02:04 a special video camera that records infrared radiation invisible to the human eye, allows the conservator to see through the paint

00:02:13 and make visible Mainardi's drawing that hasn't been seen in 500 years. Stereo microscopes are used

00:02:23 to greatly magnify the surface of the painting allowing the conservator to closely examine the artist's materials and painting technique, as well as

00:02:33 to identify areas of damage. Treatment of the entire paint surface includes infusion of a warm adhesive into every crack

00:02:43 and area of loss and damage, a small section at a time. Then, laying Japanese tissue over the wet adhesive to hold the brittle paint in place

00:02:54 and soak up any excess adhesive. Heat and mild pressure from a miniature tacking iron reattaches and stabilizes the now flexible paint layers.

00:03:05 Once the paint is set back into place and the tissue is completely dry, the tissue and residual adhesive is very carefully removed.

00:03:17 After lengthy planning and testing, the conservator uses a carefully designed mixture of solvents to safely remove the old varnish

00:03:27 without any harm to the original paint. The picture has been repainted by restorers many times over the centuries to cover up damages and losses.

00:03:38 Removal of these repaints with a variety of solvents has revealed the beauty of Mainardi's surviving original paint.

00:03:46 Over the coming months, conservators will apply clear varnishes and fill and carefully in-paint the damaged and missing original colors

00:03:56 with stable and safely reversible materials returning the painting to a visual state that will permit it to go back on display in the permanent galleries.

00:04:07 After the paint has been completely stabilized, paper facings are carefully attached to provide extra strength in critical areas of the painting

00:04:17 to protect it during structural treatment of the wood panel. The painting is very carefully placed facedown on specially designed and constructed sawhorses,

00:04:27 permitting the back to be examined and photographed. The conservator must first carefully saw through small sections of the heavy mahogany cradle

00:04:38 that is glued to the back of the original poplar wood panel. A chisel is used to carve away chunks of the mahogany to expose

00:04:47 the back of the painting. Once an area is completed, the conservator repeats the same process in small sections until the entire cradle is removed

00:04:59 along with the crossbars. This took several days to accomplish. Old glue and wax adhesives are carefully removed from the back of the panel

00:05:10 by applying a specially designed gel to soften and swell the residues without harming the original wood.

00:05:19 The splits and cracks in the very fragile panel must now be repaired by carving away damaged wood, and replacing it with a similar wood

00:05:29 to strengthen it. The conservator uses very sharp chisels and scalpels to precisely cut V-shaped channels into the wood

00:05:39 almost all of the way down to the painting on the other side, in order to expose the splits and cracks that require repair.

00:05:49 Old Italian poplar is used to make the wedges that will be glued into the newly cut channels. The wedges are cut into the right size and shape with a wood plane.

00:06:02 The repair wedges must be a perfect fit in the channels, so adjustments are made with a chisel and scalpel where they are needed.

00:06:11 The wedges are glued in place. Then, when the glue is dry, the new wood is shaved down with a chisel until it is flushed with the original panel.

00:06:23 Some of the old repairs were made with woods that were not compatible with the original panel and were causing further damage.

00:06:32 A router is used to carefully remove these large areas instead of a chisel. These areas were then properly strengthened by gluing in

00:06:41 pieces of the correct wood. To protect the fragile wood panel, and act as a moisture barrier to reduce the panel's response

00:06:51 to changes of temperature and humidity, a stable acrylic polymer is brushed into the back of the painting.

00:07:01 One hundred wooden pegs with rotating metal rods are glued to the back of the panel. These mechanisms will hold the new support strainer

00:07:11 to the back of the painting. A custom made wooden strainer is fitted to the support mechanisms. The strainer is shaped to follow the curvature of the panel.

00:07:23 Custom made springs are fitted onto the threaded metal rods, then brass nuts are carefully tightened to provide the correct tension

00:07:32 for each of the 100 support mechanisms, to gently but firmly hold the new support strainer to the painting.

00:07:41 The painting is finally structurally sound and can be placed upright again. The new support structure will allow the painting to safely flex

00:07:51 in response to changes in temperature and humidity to prevent future cracking or splitting. IMA conservators can now resume treatment

00:08:01 of the paint surface to prepare the altarpiece for its return to the exhibition galleries for the first time in over forty years.