Cathy's Art Diary

Fascinating online lecture from the National Gallery introducing their exhibition on the 15th century artist Pesellino. The show marks the conservation of two panels on the story of David by Pesellino and the talk brought together Laura Llewellyn, the curator of the show and Jill Dunkerton who had worked on the conservation. Llewellyn talked us through the other works in the show and outlined what we know about the artists short life describing their technique and content. She focused in particular on the galleries own Pistoia Santa Trinita altarpiece which had been cut up in the 19th century and entered the collection incrementally in pieces. Dunkerton then talked about how she conserved the two David panels and what she learnt from the process. She talked about the quality and amount of gold work on them, how she had managed to reveal it and the effect it would have had. Having just done a course on Lorenzo de Medici I was fascinated her theory that they were painted as part o...

Fascinating online conversation from the National Gallery discussing the recent restoration of Piero della Francesca’s “Nativity”. Carlo Corsato from the gallery’s education department interviewed Jill Dunkerton from the conservation department who had been working on the project since early 2020. She took us though earlier restorations and the thinking behind the current one. She explained how a mm of the panel had been lost after panels had been rejoined in the past which had distorted the face of an angel and their lute. This had been filled and the missing paint retouched which had rectified the angel’s squint. She also took us through how, in cleaning the stable, she discovered a patch of light on the wall which is coming through the hole in the roof which one shepherd points to. Talking of the shepherds she also discussed how these were not unfinished as previous thought but just worn. The decision was taken to retouch their faces based on the underdrawing and pounce marks...