Műtárgyvédelem, 2004 (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum)

Összefoglalók

for the new permanent exhibition of the museum in 1961. After the exhibition had been closed, the statue was returned into the storeroom for decades.

The demand to show the statue in an exhibition initiated a new restoration process. The operation started with three months of research work. The uncovered facts led to the composition of a restoration plan, in which the primary purpose was the preservation of the condition of the statue. The results of the examinations corroborated that the completions of the former restoration had to be removed.

The decision about the final aesthetic appearance of the statue was brought after the exploration of the original condition. We could observe with simple inspection that the statue made with an application method (95 cm high, 48 cm wide, 27 cm deep) was hollow and it was baked in a single piece. Its raw material is baked clay (terracotta), with small remains of painting.

The most conspicuous consequences of the restoration of 1959 were the completions on the top of the head, on the left eyelid and brow. X-ray showed a large metal nail used as a tenon at the refitting of the broken arm, and two clamps, which fixed the statue to the base. It was also discovered that the plaster was applied in a number of overlapping layers at the reconstruction of the head.

After X-ray examination, pictures were made of the statue in ultraviolet and visible infrared lights. The condition of the support and the applied layers and their exact composition can be told from the combined analysis of the microscopic examinations. X-ray diffraction analysis helped in the exact determination of the raw material of the statue. The analyses demonstrated that the baking temperature remained under 900 °C and the basic raw material was probably free of carbonate.

The colouring seems to have covered the roughest parts of the figure so that their sketchy execution could not be seen. The analysis of the microscopic thin-sections, the determination of the pigments and the X-ray analyses unilaterally demonstrated matters that were already used in the Middle Ages.

The discovery of clearly visible fingerprints on the loincloth and inside the later disassembled head was a special event. Probably Verrochio himself left them there. We documented them both digitally and in macrophotos.

The surface of the statue was cleaned with the neutral solution of EDTE chelating agent in water. The overpaintings applied at the former restoration were also removed. After the plaster that filled in the head, which was used to glue the head together, had been removed, we found original terracotta fragments that could be refit.

The statue was reinforced with Syton X30 silica-sol, while the exfoliated surfaces were bound with acrylic microdispersion. Epoxy-resin (Araldit AW 106) was used at the gluing of the arm and Paraloid B72 to glue the fragments of the head. The top of the head was completed with a natural-based silicate. The plastic defections were not completed at the spots that appeared to be the most sensitive from the respect of originality.

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