AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

This paper explores the decision-making process behind the reconstruction of a painting of St. Andrew by an unknown Cuzco school artist. The original format of the painting had been dramatically altered at least twice, leaving behind a work of art with several aesthetic inconsistencies. After the original painting was initially cut down, a floral border was added, covering important iconographical features. The painting was cut down a second time, cropping large portions of original paint and the floral border. The alterations at one of these stages may have included some iconoclasmic damage to the devilish figures tormenting St. Andrew. The work was restored by its amateur owner in the 1970s before coming to the paintings’ lab at Queen’s University.



The most challenging aspect to the treatment occurred at the stage of retouching and reconstruction, as we grappled with ethical and technical challenges associated with various options under consideration. Given the compromised nature of the design layers, various digital images were produced to explore options for reconstructing the missing perimeter. The owner expressed a strong preference for a ‘finished’ painting with a full recreation of the missing elements and tests were undertaken to determine whether this was technically feasible using canvas inserts and wax-resin fills. The results of the material tests limited the choices available for reconstruction, however the ethical considerations were a greater factor. A minimal reconstruction was proposed to square off the edges of the painting and reconstruct some missing elements to present a complete painting.



In this paper, we will present the critical pathways through the technical and ethical options and the outcomes of the treatment.