National Gallery of Canada

Background

Lucas Cranach the Elder, c. 1518
Venus
oil on wood 180.5 x 72.5 x 0.7 cm

Lucas Cranach the Elder's sixteenth century painting Venus, was cleaned in 1993 in the National Gallery of Canada's Restoration and Conservation Laboratory. It had been observed for some time that a painted leaf (actually a large leaf at the end of a branch) has been added posthumously to mask the goddess's thinly veiled pubic area, and suggestions were advanced that this leaf be removed. This photograph shows the painting before removal of the fig leaf and the thick layers of the old natural-resin varnish. Earlier varnish layers had most likely been removed and replaced several times; this last one had probably been applied about seventy-five years ago. Some discoloured overpaints that had been used to disguise damage caused by the slight splitting of the joined vertical panels had become disturbing.

Click the forward arrow to see the "before and after" effect of this restoration project.

Leaf
This painted leaf (actually a large leaf at the end of a branch) was added posthumously to mask the goddess's thinly veiled pubic area.

Jewelry
Even when painting nudes, Cranach rarely passed up an opportunity to include fashionable extras such as the heavy gold chain necklaces worn by the wealthy.

Drapery
To make the figure's nudity particularly startling the artist added the transparent drapery around her hips, which is designed to emphasize rather than to cover her nakedness.

Revealing the Details

There were two techniques used to show where repairs had been done or where any inpainting had occurred.

The Techniques:
Ultra-violet Fluorescence
X-Radiography

Choose a technique then view the transition to see a demonstration of the results.

Ultra-violet Fluorescence

Ultra-violet radiation causes organic pigments to fluoresce. Photographing a painting with these radiations will show where repairs and inpainting have been done, since the newer areas will be darker than the older areas. U.V. rays excite the surface layer in a characteristic way, indicating the type of varnish, the extent of its discolouration due to ageing and how it was applied.

In Cranach's Venus, the leaf is still visible under u.v. lights even after removal. Also the areas that have been repaired can clearly be seen: the crack where the panels were splitting, the area where the branch covered some damage on the left thigh, as well as the inpainting done on her left ankle. The photograph informs us that a thin layer of the old discoloured natural resin varnish (greenish) has been left in place with the dark interferences / inpainting showing clearly.

Click on the leaf area to see more detail.

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X-Radiography

This composite x-ray image reveals the painted layers of the picture, losses to the original paint, and the lattice pattern of the wood structure applied to the reverse of the panel. The vertical structures are glued along the grain to the back of the wood planks with the horizontal structures held loosely in place by the vertical wooden strips.

In time, the horizontal strips of wood can lock in place and cause further damage to the joints of the original panel by constricting the normal movement of the wood planks. In this painting, the support is made of eight slim vertical wood planks, with one of the joints splitting slightly.

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Notice that the ultra-violet radiation reveals the remnants of where the leaf used to be.

During Treatment

The painting is partially cleaned and the shape of the removed leaf apparent. The old varnish contrasts sharply with the cleaned section on the right side of the painting, which shows the work in remarkable condition for its age. Minor damage to the paint layers is visible in the photograph.

After Treatment
After the old varnish was removed, the painting was left for several months to allow the solvents to dissipate. A thin coating of dammarvarnish, a natural resin, was then brushed on and the damage integrated to match the original paint as closely as possible using dry pigments mixed in acrylic medium. The painting was then given a second coating of dammarvarnish. This varnish is deliberately quite glossy, as works on panel from this period and place would most likely have been similarly presented. After several months (again to allow the solvents to evaporate), the painting was installed in its metal micro-climate box glazed with colourless, low-reflecting glass.
Click leaf area of 2nd image for more detail.