Eduardo’s Restoration Ancient Painting Restoration Reveals Hidden Masterpiece!

As you may have seen in previous episodes, this project demands a great deal of time and involves numerous procedures. The retouching process for this painting is particularly extensive as there are many areas where the paint has been lost and I need to restore them. My goal is to ensure that when we look at the painting we can clearly interpret the imagery the artist intended to convey centuries ago. There are many areas where the paint has faded or is particularly lost. When we look at the painting we might not immediately notice these imperfections but my goal is to minimize their appearance so that our eyes are not drawn to them allowing us to perceive the image as a cohesive whole. There are several challenges in this restoration especially here at Simon where a significant amount of the retouching is needed. One of the biggest tasks and challenges is reconstructing Simon's hands and his beard, both of which are missing. I will use an image of the original initial painting as a reference and I will carefully try to follow its details. This is a highly time-consuming process as I will need to apply multiple layers of paint to gradually rebuild the image. So, layer over layer I will try to achieve the same hand's image as they were previously. One interesting note is that many years ago when portrait painters created commissioned artworks for those who could afford them, the price of a portrait could vary significantly depending on whether it included the subject hands. So, hands are incredibly difficult to paint, requiring extensive practice to master. Because of this, portraits featuring hands were often much more expensive than those without. The artistic style and possible origin of this painting is that the painting style, with its warm colors palette, rich drapery and gentle sfumato, which is the soft transition between light and shadow, is reminiscent of the 16th and early 17th century Italian religious art. The balanced yet dynamic composition, with figures arranged in a triangular shape, aligns with the high renaissance or modernism traditions. This painting features a striking contrast between light and shadow, where the illumination on the foreground subjects is much stronger than on those positioned further back. This significant contrast is known as chiaroscuro or tenebrism, a technique used by several artists in the past to emphasize key figures in the painting or to intensify its dramatic effect. In my humble opinion, the greatest master of this technique was Caravaggio. His paintings are extraordinary works of art, and to achieve their perfect, lifelike quality, he applied multiple layers of different tones as a base, before adding more diluted flesh-colored tones on the top. This layering process contributed to the incredible depth and realism in his work. Caravaggio, whose full name was Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, was born on September 29, 1571 in Milan, Italy, and died on July 18, 1610 in Porto Ercole, Italy. He was known for his bold use of light and shadow, as well as for his realistic depiction of human figures. Often using ordinary people as models, however, he also had a notoriously hot temper and was involved in multiple violent incidents, including a battle fight in 1606 that forced him to flee to Rome. Despite his turbulent life, his revolutionary painting techniques influenced countless artists and left a lasting impact on the Baroque period. Explaining the iconography in this painting, the creature in the bottom right corner of the painting appears to be a dragon, or a demonic beast. It has a reptilian appearance with sharp teeth, a wide-open mouth, and dark, scaly features. This type of imagery is often associated with religious paintings, especially those from the Renaissance or Baroque periods, where dragons and monstrous creatures symbolized evil, sin, or challenges faced by saints and holy figures. Given the religious context of this painting, likely a depiction of the Virgin Mary and Child with saints. This creature could represent Saint Margaret's dragon, a common element in the Christian iconography. According to legend, Saint Margaret of Antioch was swallowed by a dragon and miraculously escaped by making the sin of the cross, symbolizing triumph over evil. Another possibility is that the creature symbolizes Satan or sin, emphasizing the triumph of holiness over evil. When I speak about potential attribution of this painting, the influence of Raphael or Correggio can be seen in the soft modeling of the faces and tender interaction between figures. We can see here the very close appearance between the faces of Maria and the expression between Anna and the Child, showing the tender interaction between figures. The retouch is finally complete and I'm delighted with the result. After my final inspection, I can confidently say the work is finished to my satisfaction. Every detail has been refined and the outcome meets my expectations perfectly. I'm pleased with the effort and precision put into this process. The pigments I used for the retouch are very matte, that's why I use varnish to mix pigments and create the colors needed for the retouching. That way the varnish will bring some shine and light to the retouched areas. But now it's time to apply the final coat of varnish. Although this final layer of varnish has a different formula and normally wouldn't interfere with the retouching I have done, I don't want to take any risk after all the effort that went into the restoration. So, to ensure a safer application I will spray the final varnish. This method gives me better control, reducing the chance of disturbing the underlying layers. Many of you may have heard this before, but depending on how I hold the spray, I can also control the varnish level of sheen. If I want a medium sheen or a matte finish, I spray from a slightly higher distance. This allows the varnish particles to dry slightly before landing on the surface of the painting, resulting this way in a beautiful soft medium matte finish. Once the final layer of varnish is applied, I can let it dry before re-stretching the painting onto his original stretching frame. The painting is now ready to be re-stretched, meaning I can carefully remove it from the working frame by cutting the canvas. I will be using the original antique stretching frame which has been wrapped in plastic film. Beforehand, I treated the wood to eliminate any potential insect infestation, as my initial inspection revealed several signs of possible damage. To prevent further issues, I applied the specialized treatment and allowed it to take effect over time. Now that the process is complete, the frame is safe to be reused. This project was incredibly demanding, but looking back at the painting's original state, the transformation is remarkable. The paint layer was flaking extensively and the artwork was in a severely deteriorated condition. Now, after countless hours of meticulous work, this beautiful painting has been fully restored. We can once again admire the richness of its colors, especially in the drapery, the clothes, and the figures. It is now ready to be appreciated in all its glory and to embark on a new journey, captivating and inspiring all who gaze upon it.