Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 105. (Budapest, 2006)
ANDRÁS FÁY - MIKLÓS GÁLOS: The Restoration of Maarten van Heemskerck's Budapest Lamentation Panel
consisting of ten vertical, fixed glued pine members and eleven free transverse members keeps well. 9 The former cracks are stable, only a single shorter, 8 cm long, vertical crack was visible on the upper right edge. During the re-framing of the panel in 1994, edge laths were added to the panel, which were fixed to the cradling. THE GROUND AND PAINTING The ground layer is thinly applied wdiite chalk bound in glue size, with the grain of the oak breaking through it in places. 10 On the surface of the raised grain of the wood there are tentings in the ground and paint layers. There is significant damage along the joins, where the gaps were filled. Because of the thinness of the ground layer the gaps were not filled but only retouched at the edges. The low r er left edge is more seriously damaged. The chalk ground bears incisions parallel to the edge of the painting. Along the lower edge of the panel more incisions are visible one above the other. In the upper part the incision is very close, only a few millimetres from the edge. On the right vertical edge of the panel, on a short section at the bottom, the trace of the incision can be seen at 1.5 mm from the edge. These incisions possibly functioned as aiding lines for the composition. 11 The coat of paint is olio-resinous medium. The artist's palette: lead white in the white drapery and in the flesh colours, lead white, siena and ochre vellow on the faces, while the glaze of the complexion is transparent vermilion and varnish or glaze yellow r . This colour appears on Joseph's turban and on Mary Magdalen's cloak, wdiere it also contains grainy ochre. The modelling of the shades of the yellow drapery was made with siena earth colour. The reds are vermilion and madder lake combined with carbon black in the shades, and blended with lead white and ochre on the highlights. The brown of the cross is thin, pure burnt umbra, while in the more thinly applied parts the white of the ground is showing through. An additional colour is copper resinate, underpainted with black and coated with an oily glaze, wddich lends the w r ork an olive-brownish tone. The lighter tones of the green contain lead white, ochre and a small amount of azurite. The blue of the background is a homogeneous blend of pure lead white and azurite with a small amount of ochre, thinly applied, which at certain places also omits the light tone of the ground. The blue of the Virgin's robe does not contain ochre, only white, with some black on the deep shades. Purple is made of madder lake and azurite. 12 After the cleaning, it became apparent that apart from gaps in specific areas and damage, the coat of paint was intact. In certain parts the fillings extended onto the original paint to a minor extent. Abrasions were visible on Christ's body, where, because of the prominent grains of the oak, the original painting had become thin. The retouches over the coat of varnish and
