Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 105. (Budapest, 2006)
ANDRÁS FÁY - MIKLÓS GÁLOS: The Restoration of Maarten van Heemskerck's Budapest Lamentation Panel
Budapest, and the Institut Royal du Patrimonie Artistique (IRPA), the researchers of the IRPA arrived in Budapest in the autumn of 2004 to make infrared reflectograms of some of the more important works of the early Netherlandish material. On Zsuzsa Urbach's insistence the Heemskerck panel was also included in the material to be examined. The infrared reflectogram assembly of the painting revealed that although the blue background was homogeneous it was nevertheless full of extensive retouches and hid five figures. The decision to remove the multilayered, obviously intentional overpainting required serious consideration. The danger that the hidden figures would emerge from beneath the overpainting only in a decayed or heavily abraded condition also had to be taken into account. After carefully weighing up the risks, we finally decided on the removal of the overpainting. The Friends of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, offered to cover the expenses incurred by the restoration of the painting, making it possible to commence the work to restore the painting at the end of March, 2007. The restoration succeeded in fully revealing the hidden figures. Thus the hitherto visible characters of the scene —the dead Christ, Joseph of Arimatbaea supporting Christ's body, the group consisting of the Virgin and John, and Mary Magdalen kneeling at the feet of Christ —were joined by additional figures in the background. To the left three holy women appeared, while to the right the figure of Nicodemus wearing a fur cap and holding the nails of the Crucifixion in his hands became visible, as well as a bald male character-head (fig. 2). In addition to eliminating the yellow coat of varnish from the painting, which created a uniform effect upon the colours, and removing the numerous minor retouches that had not falsified the original composition, the restoration produced novelties which have made it necessary to publish the renewed state of the work, since it now significantly differs from its description in the literature to date. The restoration was preceded by a detailed technical examination. We assessed and documented the state of the work prior to the restoration and took ultraviolet and infrared photographs. The detailed documentation of the restoration is preserved in the Old Masters' Gallery of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. THE SUPPORT The support of the painting is a cradled oak panel bevelled to 3-4 mm. Judging from the traces of sawdng at the edges, it has been cut around, and the unpainted borders are missing. Due to the subsequent smoothing work, the bevelled edges are not visible. The panel consists of three planks of oak, of approximately the same width, with a vertical grain. s Along the joins in the lower third of the panel the warping created a slightly staggered effect. The cradling,
