Workshop of Benedetto da Maiano (Florence, 1442 - 1497, Florence)
Saint John the Baptist, about 1480
Painted teracotta, 45 x 43 x 20 cm (17 11/16 x 16 15/16 x 7 7/8 in.)
Dutch Room
Commentary
The flowing curls and calm dignity suggest that this might be a portrait of a young man. However, the animal skin under the tunic identifies the figure as John the Baptist. His lips are parted as though ready to speak – an immediacy heightened by the naturalistic colors of his face and garments.
Analysis of this work has revealed that it was repainted four or five times in its history. These alterations testify to changes in taste. For example, in the early 19th century, it was entirely coated in dark paint flecked with brass particles, in an attempt to imitate the appearance of bronze. The paint layers we now see, although modern, approximate the original naturalistic coloring of the figure.
Conservation notes:
Between 2007 and 2010, Gardner conservators undertook detailed study and conservation of three of the Gardner’s terracotta sculptures: Virgin Adoring the Child, Matteo Civitali, ca. 1480; Bust of St. John the Baptist, Benedetto da Maiano, ca. 1480; and Entombment of Christ, Giovanni Minelli (recently reattributed to Giovanni de Fondulis), ca. 1483-87, in addition to thirteen 19th-century paintings in the Gardner Museum’s collection. Funded by the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, this work focused on the analysis of paint and elemental constituents of the terracotta as well as treatment, which provided new insights into the sculptures’ composition and condition. For example, research revealed that the works by Civitali and de Fondulis preserve much of their original 15th-century paint, while Benedetto da Maiano’s Bust of St. John the Baptist has been over-painted several times—including once with a thick layer of black paint mixed with a combination of ground copper and brass metal leaf that was applied to make it appear as though the bust was made of bronze. Analysis also revealed new information about the method of modeling the figures, which were all done by hand as indicated by the visible took marks, the selective massing of the clay, the hollowed out walls with uniform thickness, and the individual expressiveness of the figures. Methods of evaluation focused on X-radiography, paint cross-sections, Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Raman spectroscopy, thermoluminescence, and other methods of evaluation conducted by the Gardner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. These new discoveries contributed to the 2010 exhibition, Modeling Devotion: Terracotta Sculptures of the Italian Renaissance, which highlighted the highly emotive and expressive qualities of these artworks, their technique and condition, and even fakes and forgeries created in the late 19th century to fuel a growing market.
In addition to in-depth technical analysis, treatment, and photographic documentation of the da Maiano, conservators compared it with another version of the bust at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C. The appearance of both busts has changed overtime due to multiple repainting campaigns. Paint cross-sections of the Gardner’s bust suggest that there were four to five successive paint campaigns. Pigment analysis was carried out with SEM-EDS and Raman spectroscopy and revealed that the original paint layer includes: vermilion, lead tin yellow (type I), yellow ocher, red lake, and lead white. The paint layer just below the current presentation surface consists of black paint mixed with a combination of ground copper and brass metal leaf in a prior attempt make the terracotta sculpture appear to be bronze. Interestingly, the NGA’s bust was also faux-bronzed at one point in its history. Treatment of the sculpture was relatively minor, consisting of local consolidation of unstable paint, surface cleaning with water-based solutions, and minor in-painting.
Analysis of this work has revealed that it was repainted four or five times in its history. These alterations testify to changes in taste. For example, in the early 19th century, it was entirely coated in dark paint flecked with brass particles, in an attempt to imitate the appearance of bronze. The paint layers we now see, although modern, approximate the original naturalistic coloring of the figure.
Conservation notes:
Between 2007 and 2010, Gardner conservators undertook detailed study and conservation of three of the Gardner’s terracotta sculptures: Virgin Adoring the Child, Matteo Civitali, ca. 1480; Bust of St. John the Baptist, Benedetto da Maiano, ca. 1480; and Entombment of Christ, Giovanni Minelli (recently reattributed to Giovanni de Fondulis), ca. 1483-87, in addition to thirteen 19th-century paintings in the Gardner Museum’s collection. Funded by the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, this work focused on the analysis of paint and elemental constituents of the terracotta as well as treatment, which provided new insights into the sculptures’ composition and condition. For example, research revealed that the works by Civitali and de Fondulis preserve much of their original 15th-century paint, while Benedetto da Maiano’s Bust of St. John the Baptist has been over-painted several times—including once with a thick layer of black paint mixed with a combination of ground copper and brass metal leaf that was applied to make it appear as though the bust was made of bronze. Analysis also revealed new information about the method of modeling the figures, which were all done by hand as indicated by the visible took marks, the selective massing of the clay, the hollowed out walls with uniform thickness, and the individual expressiveness of the figures. Methods of evaluation focused on X-radiography, paint cross-sections, Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Raman spectroscopy, thermoluminescence, and other methods of evaluation conducted by the Gardner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. These new discoveries contributed to the 2010 exhibition, Modeling Devotion: Terracotta Sculptures of the Italian Renaissance, which highlighted the highly emotive and expressive qualities of these artworks, their technique and condition, and even fakes and forgeries created in the late 19th century to fuel a growing market.
In addition to in-depth technical analysis, treatment, and photographic documentation of the da Maiano, conservators compared it with another version of the bust at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C. The appearance of both busts has changed overtime due to multiple repainting campaigns. Paint cross-sections of the Gardner’s bust suggest that there were four to five successive paint campaigns. Pigment analysis was carried out with SEM-EDS and Raman spectroscopy and revealed that the original paint layer includes: vermilion, lead tin yellow (type I), yellow ocher, red lake, and lead white. The paint layer just below the current presentation surface consists of black paint mixed with a combination of ground copper and brass metal leaf in a prior attempt make the terracotta sculpture appear to be bronze. Interestingly, the NGA’s bust was also faux-bronzed at one point in its history. Treatment of the sculpture was relatively minor, consisting of local consolidation of unstable paint, surface cleaning with water-based solutions, and minor in-painting.