Preparing for Display: Conserving Treasures for the Snite Museum at the University of Notre Dame, Madonna and Child with Saints

As construction continues on the University of Notre Dame's new art museum, the conservation of select paintings from the Snite Museum of Art continues in The Center's laboratory. Scheduled for completion in late-2023, the new Raclin Murphy Museum of Art will increase the University's capacity to display its art collection and accept programs that the current facility, the Snite Museum of Art, cannot because of size restrictions. The Painting Conservation Department and Custom Framing and Fabrications departments recently completed treatment of the 15-century painting Madonna and Child with Saints.

This stunning oil painting is executed on a one-inch-thick wooden panel with vertical wood grain. The frame comprises wood, gesso, paint, red bole, gold leaf, punch work, and sgraffito. The panel is both pegged into the frame with wooden dowels and screwed into the frame during a past treatment. Because of this, the painting and frame are now one unit. Both the painting and frame were stable when they arrived at The Center. A large crack on the back right of the panel runs the length of the painting, and though it is slightly open and out of plane with small, related cracks, these were determined to be stable.

The examination did uncover several areas of cosmetic condition issues. A slight loss was noted at the lower right, and a small area of blind cleavage was present behind the paint in the upper left spandrel with the painted cherub. The frame exhibited open miters and joints, minor scratches and abrasions, and gesso and gilding loss areas. The conservators also uncovered evidence of previous restoration campaigns during the examination. Areas of repaint were discovered, most heavily on the child figure's legs and in the lower-left corner, but as it is discreet and still matches the original paint layer, it would not be addressed during treatment. The painting also appears to have been varnished with a synthetic resin layer, though a partial layer of natural resin varnish is visible under UV light on the blue robe.

Madonna and Child with Saints painting gilding conservation custom mount — Before Treatment, under UV light; the red arrows point to a few of the examples of the inpainting failing to effervesce under UV.

After the examination was completed, Associate Painting Conservator Rebecca Vodehnal and Senior Conservator of Objects and Frames Joshua McCauley could begin work on Madonna and Child with Saints. The first step was to surface clean the painting and frame. Next, the cracks, open miters, and joints were stabilized with appropriate conservation methods and materials. After the paint layer was consolidated of any flaking paint or blind cleavage areas, areas of loss were addressed.

Losses to the painting and frame were filled using conservation grade material, which is white when applied. The fill is also textured to emulate the surrounding areas so that once inpainted, the loss areas in the painted or gilded areas will not be distracting to the naked eye. Areas of more considerable loss to gilding were ingilded and patinated.

In preparation for display at the new Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, a new custom-designed mount was created to safely and discreetly exhibit Madonna and Child with Saints. Mount-making specialist Derek Sutfin fabricated a metal shelf with adjustable height top brackets that would sit in existing eye hooks on the back of the panel.

With this design, the shelf bears the weight of the panel while the brackets secure it to the mount. The mount also allows the painting and frame to expand or contract over time, as is expected with panel paintings. A cleat hanging system completes the support and will be ready for the gallery walls at the University of Notre Dame when Raclin Murphy Museum of Art opens this fall.

Carissa Tonner