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Restoring a Masterwork I: Castiglione's Immaculate Conception with Saints Francis of Assisi and Anthony of Padua - Fall 1999
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Daily Log

Introduction      next

July 26, 1999

A Last Look...


This is our last chance to view Castiglione's masterwork up close as it hangs in the gallery, before conservators remove the painting and prepare it for restoration.


August 8, 1999

De-Installation


Today the painting was taken down from the gallery and removed from its frame. It takes a big crew and special hydraulic lifts to remove the massive frame and canvas from the wall. Then the painting will move to the conservation laboratory, where it will be photographed and X-rayed. Finally, the canvas will be moved into the special exhibition space where the public can watch the restoration in progress.


August 9, 1999

X-Ray Vision


Conservators made X-ray negatives of select areas of the painting, using special equipment and techniques. The X-rays give conservators the information they need. One series of X-rays reveals a possible change in the composition of the virgin's head. The X-rays indicate that the artist may have originally painted the head tilted back, with the eyes looking up towards the sky, while the present composition has the head slightly tilted, looking down. Conservators must now examine this area further.


August 9, 1999

Restoration in the News


Local public television airs the first of several news segments that follow the restoration progress and introduce the project to a larger audience.

A true multimedia experience, the gallery exhibition is complemented by Web access, in-gallery video, graphic panels, and television news -- KTCA's NewsNight MN.


August 13, 1999

Photo-Documentation


The museum's photography department thoroughly documents the pre-conservation condition of the painting.


  Introduction Sep 14 - Sep 17, 1999 next