Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.17018/portal.2016.10
The Case of Nicola Grassi’s Painting The Annunciation with Saints from the Krk Cathedral Treasury
Pavao Lerotić
; Hrvatski restauratorski zavod, Odjel za štafelajno slikarstvo, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The article gives an account of a painting by Nicola Grassi (1682–1748), The Annunciation with Saints that underwent a radical historical intervention into its physical integrity. Once a single canvas, it was cut into three separate paintings that were mounted on simple decorative frames and displayed in the collection of the Cathedral Treasury in Krk. The fragments were cut so as to trace the contours of the original composition and then presented as individual pieces. The exact date and reasons for the intervention fell into oblivion, and the paintings had from then on been perceived in the art-historical literature as a Grassi cycle.
The article places the deliberate damaging of the Krk painting and the retailoring of its format within the context of numerous such examples in Europe. Whether painted on canvas or wood, these works have, owing to the loss of their original designation, suffered considerable and sometimes even vandalic alterations, either to be sold off or adapted to new functions. An outline is given of the efforts to raise awareness among conservators of the scale and consequences of such actions, in addition to the accounts given of similar examples of fragmented and dislocated paintings, with the still rare cases of physical recomposition of cut- or sawn-off pieces, together with models for their presentation and protection. Highlighted are the examples of paintings by Paolo Veronese and Giambattista Tiepolo, where only temporary reconstitutions of fragments were made for the duration of the exhibitions. The one held in Udine in 2012–2013 was an opportunity to enjoy Tiepolo’s The Finding of Moses, a horizontal-format painting that was cut in two pieces. The other example is the Petrobelli Altarpiece that Veronese painted for a chapel in the Franciscan church in Lendinara around 1560. The painting was cut off in the late-18th century to facilitate the sale of fragments. Parts of the altarpiece are now kept by several museums, having switched between owners and locations for centuries. A project that focuses on conservation and research of individual parts was presented in 2009 and 2010 when Veronese’s altarpiece was temporarily assembled and exhibited as an ensemble in countries and galleries that owned individual pieces. The text makes a mention of a rare example of a physical reconstitution of an artwork that was cut off: the 1455 altar of the Holy Trinity by Francesco Pesellino (National Gallery, London) was sawn into pieces sometime in the 18th century, and during the 19th and 20th century the pieces were one by one bought off and joint into an ensemble in 1937.
The text brings forth new insights into the original condition and size of Grassi’s Annunciation with Saints that were gathered in the course of conservation research. Along with a detailed argumentation, the preparation procedures and results of the reassembly are described. The restored painting is now displayed at the Krk Cathedral collection in its original format.
Ključne riječi
Nicola Grassi; Krk; Cathedral Treasury; St. Quirinus’ Church; devastation; fragmented paintings; conservation work; archive
Hrčak ID:
171697
URI
Datum izdavanja:
28.12.2016.
Posjeta: 1.343 *