In March 2006, a team of painting conservators from the Straus Center for Conservation
(Harvard University Art Museums) began the campaign to conserve the altarpiece. The
team included Paintings Conservator Teri Hensick, Paintings Conservator Kate Olivier,
Assistant Paintings Conservator Kate Smith, and Advanced Level Intern in Paintings
Conservation Sandra Kelberlau. Their work followed stabilization of the paint surface
by Conservator Daniel Fabian before the altarpiece was shipped to this country from
Bamberg, Germany.
Treatment began with the removal of accumulated surface grime from each of the five
paintings comprising the altarpiece. After this cotton swabs dipped in solvent mixtures were
used to “roll off” the varnish that had yellowed and dulled. At the same time, many of the
old discolored retouchings were removed.
Removal of the old retouchings revealed the generally excellent state of preservation of the
paintings as well as uncovering some problematic areas. The two small donor figures in the
central panel were abraded and damaged. These figures had been painted out at some point
in the altarpiece’s history, and the original head of the male donor had been almost entirely
effaced. This was discovered during a previous restoration campaign in 1955, when the
figures were uncovered and partially repainted.
The side panels also required treatment. The Saint Anne wing had multiple vertical losses
along the seam where the two oak boards comprising the panel were joined. In the opposite
panel Saint Ivo’s brocaded robe appeared to have undergone a color shift from purples and
blues to a brownish tone, possibly because of the nature of the pigments used by the artist.
In the grisaille painting on the back of the Saint Anne panel, the Angel of the Annunciation had
numerous old retouched losses and several large recent losses, which were likely caused by
fluctuations in relative humidity.
In order to address these problems, the conservators filled the relatively few areas of new loss
with a synthetic gesso to level their surface with the surrounding paint. An isolating layer
of varnish was then brushed on. Losses and abrasions were inpainted, first in watercolor,
followed by a saturating varnish layer. Final inpainting was done with pigments ground in a
synthetic resin, and a final varnish layer was added.
Throughout the treatment, slides and digital photographs were taken in visible and
ultraviolet light.
Teri Hensick
Paintings Conservator
Straus Center for Conservation
Harvard University Art Museums
