Revealing the Archetype: The Journey of a Trecento Madonna and Child at the National Museum of Scotland

De Bellaigue, D., Troalen, L., Richter, M. , Wong Rueda, M., Palozzi, L., Schwartz, T., Challands, T. and King, R. (2017) Revealing the Archetype: The Journey of a Trecento Madonna and Child at the National Museum of Scotland. In: 18th Triennial Conference of the ICOM Committee for Conservation, Copenhagen, Denmark, 4-8 Sep 2017, pp. 1-8.

Abstract

The National Museums Scotland Madonna and Child project sought to uncover and document the history of a fine polychrome wood carving attributed to The Master of the Gualino St Catherine and to prepare it for display. A new body of knowledge has been assembled by the interdisciplinary team. The conservation treatment was informed by this work and led to further discoveries: the removal of overpaint exposing a previously hidden underdrawing. The ethics of the treatment decisions, including the removal of the Christ Child’s 1960s’ fingers required team dialogue and was opened up for the public to respond to in a series of blogs. The discovery of a rich polychromy including gold and glazed tin has led to further plans to produce a 3-D colour reconstruction. The collaborations developed during this project will facilitate future joint ventures for polychrome sculpture in Scottish collections.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Challands, Dr Tom and Richter, Dr Mark
• Authors: De Bellaigue, D., Troalen, L., Richter, M., Wong Rueda, M., Palozzi, L., Schwartz, T., Challands, T., and King, R.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > History of Art; University Services > Library and Collection Services > Museum and Art Gallery

Related URLs

• Organisation