Medieval Madonna and children have returned to vivid colors –

After six years of cleaning and protection, the wooden sculpture of Madonna and children in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Florence has been restored to its original vivid multicolor.

Being called Welcome back (“Welcome back”), Madonna and the child were carved in a pear tree trunk around 1382 by Giovanni di Francesco Fetti. Fetti used crimson and blues for Mary’s gown with gilded edges. The baby Jesus’ packages are gilded, and the mother and son are gilded with blonde hair. Later repainted and varnished, most recently in the 19th century, turned brown, covering the glory of the pigment. The gilded areas were not overly coated, but they were darkened by dirt.

The Cathedral of San Lorenzo is an idol of Renaissance architecture and a funeral of the Medici family, and a great customer of Renaissance art and architecture. It contains Renaissance masterpieces such as Donatello, Bronzino and Michelangelo, which includes a secret hiding place where Michelangelo paints on the walls for several months as a fugitive. this Welcome back One of the very few medieval artworks in San Lorenzo, it is even better for the rare work of Fetti, who is primarily a marble sculptor, in Wood.

The protection experts at Opificio Delle Pietre Dure (OPD) first conducted an in-depth analysis of the sculpture to determine the materials used to remove paint and dirt from different colors. The meat, blue, red and gilded areas all require different solvents to retain the surviving original paint. The repairer then merged the cracks in the wood and modified the filled blanks to disguise them. There are areas, especially on Mary’s mantle, that have to be repainted. The final sealed jacket must also be different for different color areas.

Analysis conducted during restoration provides valuable information on the commissioning and quality of the work. The fineness of the modeling, the perfection of the multi-chromosomes, and the use of precious materials on silver bases such as gold leaves and translucent paints confirmed that the “Bentornata” was commissioned by important figures of the time.

The statue has now returned to the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and will be back in public display.