Bulletin du Musée National de Varsovie (20.1979)

of the composition was carried on the basis of the generally well-preserved drawing layer.
Wherever it was not necessary, abrasions of the epidermis wcre not complemented. Whcn the
restoration was completed, the face was waxed with wax-and-turpentine polish and polished
(figs. 5, I).

Conclusion

Comparing the results of the investigation of our painting with the research into Botticelli's
other paintings such as, e.g. The Adoration of the Magi at the National Gallery in London or
the Madonna of the Campana Collection, we find considerable workshop similarity. According
to H. Ruhemann1, who investigated the London picture, the workshop in which the paintings
originated seems somewhat outdated in relation to BotticeUTs eontemporaries, but it brought
to perfection the possibilities of the traditional mediaeval craftsmanship and madę a maximum
use of them. The characteristic ąualities, common to the three paintings under discussion,
can be found in the drawing, performed with a sharp burin in the architectural details and
painted in black water colour like paint, in uniterrupted lines varying in thickness, defining
clearly the folds of the garmcnts, and more softly, but with an unerring sense of form in the
outlines of the heads and hands; another characteristic quality is that the finishing touches
applied to decorative objects, nimbuses and at times also garments are accomplished with
gold, stressing the chiaroscuro and the form; yet another common factor is that the nimbuses
are shown in perspective. Characteristic also is the multi-layred structure of the painting and
the similarity in the type of the layers and how they are laid; in addition, save for very slight
variation, the same colour underlays and finishing layers are used. The researchers who ex-
amined the other two paintings by Botticelli emphasize also the wealth of luminous and pure
colours as well as those broken and harmonized. Ruhemann speaks with admiration about the
presence in The Adoration of the Magi of as many as ten shades of blue and red, although the
artist surely did not have so many colours on his palette. Regrettably though the author
gives a detailed description of the colour layers in the painting, he does not say how many and
what type of pigments were used. In our painting we have five totally different blue areas and
seven in red and in pink, each of those colour areas rich in a great variety of shade nuance,
while, as we know, only two blue pigments were used and one red. According to Madeleine
Hours' research, copper blue was used in the Campana picture as the underlay and lapis lazuli
as the finishing layer, which is also true of several areas in our painting.

Some difference in the stratification between the three pictures stems from differences in
composition and in the generał colour scheme. It is also possible that it is due to a search for
new colouristic effects.

The execution of the three pictures in the same workshop seems to be corroborated by the
same type of wood and ground in the support of all of them, otherwise rather typical for the
mediaeval Italian painting2.

1. H. Ruhemann, "Technical Analysis oi'an Early Painting by Botticelli", Stadies in Conse.rvation, II, 1955 No. 1. pp. 17—40;
M. Hours, "Un dossier de la Collection Campana Botticelli la "Madone", Scritti di Storia deWArlc in onorp di
t/go Procaccii, 1977.

2. The research was carried out in close collaboration with Dr. Maria Skubiszewska (see her article above). I wrould likei
to cxpress my gratitude to all those who participated in the research and the conservation of the painting by Botti-
celli. I would like to nicntion here my collegues from the National Museum: Miss Barbara Chyczewska performed
analytical Identification of the pigments, Mrs Anna Bursze and Mrs Bożena Sercdyńska took the X-ray photographs,
Mr Michał Tarasiewicz took the photographs in ultraviolet radiation induced lumincsccnce, Mr Jacek Noyszewski pro-
vidcd the colour transparencies. The examination of the binding medium was carried by the Chemical Laboratory of
the Conservation Department of the Fine Arts Acadcmy in Warsaw. Mr Andrzej Umgelter of the Institute of Wood
Technology at the Agricultural Academy in Warsaw cstablished the type of wood used in panels.

Translated by Joanna Holzman

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