Duveen and the Quattrocento: the Examination and Treatment of a Tondo from the Circle of Botticelli
by Isabelle Tokumaru
Annual ANAGPIC Conference, April 15-17, 1993, hosted by Buffalo State College
Abstract
The 1926 restoration of the Madonna and Child by a follower of Botticelli from the Samuel H. Kress Collection was typical of Quattrocento paintings that went through the hands of the Duveen Galleries in the twenties and thirties. It reflected the expectations and tastes for bright, clean paintings with smooth surfaces. The thick varnish and retouches had become discolored with time, and a previous treatment to correct bloom in the varnish had produced an uneven surface. The cleaning of the panel paintings revealed extensive damage to the background and Madonna's robe and two large diagonal losses. Some of the damages were caused by the 'Duveen' restorations, which included a transfer to wood, and some to earlier alterations and treatments, such as the overpainting of the background and the subsequent removal of the overpainting. The extensive losses were retouched and a portion of the Madonna's robe was reconstructed.
