Francesco Bassano, The Adoration of the Shepherds
The Reconstruction of Francesco Bassano’s The Adoration of the Shepherds (Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts): late sixteenth-century Italian painting materials and techniques
by Emma Kimmel
During reconstruction, showing various underpaintings for the sky, draperies, and fleshtone over a dark imprimitura.
Image credit: Emma Kimmel
Excerpt:
This reconstruction has been an invaluable learning opportunity for me to explore the materials and methods of sixteenth-century Italian painters. Coming into this project with a background in oil painting, I anticipated many aspects of the project would be simple for me. However, quite rightly I found the use of historical materials an entirely different process than those of modern ones, and at many times frustrating. I found myself relying on instructions from the historical treatises, and bemoaning any sections that were particularly sparse. There were times reading the Volpato manuscript I felt I (the young apprentice) was having a conversation with Francesco himself. And there is something quite magical about finding yourself agreeing and commiserating with the observations of artists over 400 years ago, whose insights have stood the test of time. I have come away from the project with a great respect for Francesco's artistic abilities, and the great effort required to prepare all the necessary materials; no wonder artists sought to build workshops where apprentices would do the grunt work!
I hope that it may serve as an instructional tool for future conservation students and researchers, and perhaps one day I will be able to work on it further. But for the meantime, I would like to end this report with Volpato's final dialogue between the two apprentices:
I raise a glass of wine to the masters before me, without whom I could not have done this projects. Alla salute!
This reconstruction has been an invaluable learning opportunity for me to explore the materials and methods of sixteenth-century Italian painters. Coming into this project with a background in oil painting, I anticipated many aspects of the project would be simple for me. However, quite rightly I found the use of historical materials an entirely different process than those of modern ones, and at many times frustrating. I found myself relying on instructions from the historical treatises, and bemoaning any sections that were particularly sparse. There were times reading the Volpato manuscript I felt I (the young apprentice) was having a conversation with Francesco himself. And there is something quite magical about finding yourself agreeing and commiserating with the observations of artists over 400 years ago, whose insights have stood the test of time. I have come away from the project with a great respect for Francesco's artistic abilities, and the great effort required to prepare all the necessary materials; no wonder artists sought to build workshops where apprentices would do the grunt work!
I hope that it may serve as an instructional tool for future conservation students and researchers, and perhaps one day I will be able to work on it further. But for the meantime, I would like to end this report with Volpato's final dialogue between the two apprentices:
F: […] before you go, I beg you will take a glass of wine, come.
S: This cellar is very cool.
F: Take this wine and taste it, it will taste as if it were iced.
S: To the health of our masters!
F: To theirs and to our own! […]
S: I will take another glass.
F: Two or three, if you like.
S: One will do for the present.
F: Take it.
S: And with this I will drink to your good health.
F: May you long continue in good health.
I raise a glass of wine to the masters before me, without whom I could not have done this projects. Alla salute!
