Prayer in the Garden canvas restoration
Located in the Convent of the Mercedarias of the Purísima Concepción
The church of the convent of Mercedarias de la Purísima Concepción in Madrid, known as Las Góngoras, houses inside a set of highly valuable movable property, among which is Prayer in the Garden, anonymous work from the 17th century, which represents Jesus, kneeling and praying on a hill, contemplating the angel, bearer of the chalice and the cross. The disciples Peter, James and John doze carefree in the foreground.
Tenebrist style, in the dark background spatial and landscape references are barely distinguishable, beyond the rocky terrain and some plant elements. It is made on two pieces of thick linen fabric that are joined by a vertical seam. It is a type of second quality canvas called brin, which was used to make sheets, linings and boat sails. It preserves the original frame with its format topped with a semicircular arch.
Images of the work before and after restoration:
Previous state of conservation
The canvas was in a fairly precarious state of conservation, with patches and repainting that hid losses of the original paint, humidity and lack of preventive conservation. The mechanical and structural stability of the support was compromised due to impacts and improper manipulations. The frame structure was slightly deformed and had losses of some of its elements. The nails used to attach the fabric to the frame were rusty and the fabric had become loose and torn in some places, which resulted in tension problems that caused slight deformations.
Although at first the general appearance of the painting offered a sensation of continuity, a detailed observation revealed an irregular pictorial surface with losses and textures that denoted the presence of an underlying paint. In addition, other imperfections could be observed such as cracking, varnish oxidation, loss of saturation and runoff stains. The work appeared almost completely repainted imitating the original colors.
restoration project
Criteria of maximum respect for the original work have been followed, using materials compatible with the originals, reversible and discernible. In the reintegration work he has prioritized the recovery of the complete image of the painting, to make it more understandable and improve its reception by the viewer. The interventions carried out have been the following:
- Historical-artistic study of the work and temporary protection of pictorial film.
- De-constructability of the work of its location in the arcosolium of the cloister, cleaning of the back and disassembly of the fabric from the frame and the stretcher.
- Removal of patches and taping.
- Application of humidification and controlled pressure to elimination of deformations.
- Adhesion of the fabric to a rigid support inert to guarantee its tension and stability.
- Removal of remains of oxidized varnishes and repaints.
- Chromatic reintegration. Due to the small size of most of the gaps and that they did not compromise any iconographic element, a discernible and reversible chromatic reintegration was carried out.
- Canvas varnishing.
- Cleaning and varnishing the frame.
