lunedì 14 novembre 2016
sabato 12 novembre 2016
The restored ‘Last Supper’ by
Giorgio Vasari
Since November 4, 2016 it is possible to view “The Last Supper” by Giorgio Vasari, on display in a wing of the Museo
dell’Opera di Santa Croce, the old refectory. The monumental painting (more
than 8’ x 21’) divided
onto five wooden panels, has a very fascinating history.
It was painted in 1546 by
Giorgio Vasari, the favourite artist of Granduke Cosimo I, for the convent ‘Le
Murate’ along via Ghibellina in Florence. This was its original location until the beginning of
ninenteenth century when it was then
relocated to the
convent of Santa Croce. Here in the Museo dell’Opera di Santa Croce the “Last Supper” hung and on November 4th 1966 the river Arno flouded the work remained there under water and mud for over 12 hours. The
painting was deeply
damaged in both its wooden substructure as well the paints used in the painting itself. Since
it was rescued in November of 1966 it has remained there for 50 years untouched
in the restoration labs at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.
The restoration of Vasari’s “Last Supper” began in
2005 by a team of restorations experts at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure which is one of the two most important
conservation schools in Italy.
The results? Brilliant! Magnifcent! Stunning!
The team, as we can read in the
news of the Getty Foundation, developed a conservation solution based on the
support system originally devised by Vasari himself, which has stabilized the
painting while also allowing the wooden panels to move naturally with standard
temperature and humidity fluctuations. They also were able to recover an
unanticipated amount of the original painted surface, revealing the artist’s
hand in surprising details.
Compliments
to all the restorers and many,
many thanks
to the Opera di Santa Croce, Prada Company, The Getty Foundation and the Italian Civil Protection Department for their generous support of this project.
This type of recovery
effort whose results are so magnificent makes me proud to be Italian!! Bravi!!
.
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