Estudo e intervenção da pintura a óleo sobre madeira, Descida da Cruz, do século XVI

Abstract

The following report was written throughout the curricular internship carried out within the scope of the Master’s Degree in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Items, specialization on Painting, at the Catholic University of Porto. It unveils the research and the intervention performed on a painting on oak wood, The Descent from the Cross, which dates to the 16th century and whose author is unknown. The painting is owned by Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Porto. This report examines its historical, artistic and iconographic context, followed by a material and technical research for which different methods of analysis have been used. The results will be provided throughout the report and alongside the description of the conservation and restoration treatments that were carried out. In accordance to the ethical principles of the conservation and restoration practice, the goals that were set aim to restore the artwork’s stability and interpretation. The state of the painting’s conservation was observed in order to identify the main pathologies that it presented. It was established that its major conservation problems were related to its structural part. The proposed conservation and restoration intervention of the work “The Descent from the Cross” aimed to solve the main problems observed during the analysis of its state of conservation, namely, the xylophagous insects and fungal infestations. In this case, it was important to identify the artwork’s origin, since it could either be a Portuguese or a Flemish painting. After carrying out microchemical tests on the ground layer, there was no evidence of carbonates, meaning it is probably a Portuguese work.

Date of Award	23 Jan 2020
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maria Aguiar (Supervisor) & José Ferrão Afonso (Supervisor)