Restoring Piero della Francesca's 'Nativity'

January 15 2023

Video: National Gallery

I've been meaning to write about the National Gallery's restoration of Piero della Francesca's Nativity. The picture's meaning had become somewhat lost under the usual combination of dirt and old varnish, but also thanks to some unfortunate old restoration, which involved shaving down the centre of the panel, to make it fit better. Now, a new filet of wood has been inserted into the centre and retouched to reincorporate it into the original, which means that details like the angel's eyes and Christ's hands now have their proper form. More crucially, some previously very obvious areas of damage, including the heads of two shepherds on the right, have been restored, and are no longer as distracting as they were. There was some rather unfortunate criticism of the quality of the restoration in the press, but when I went to see it just recently, I was extremely impressed. Restoring panel paintings is always difficult, because getting the texture right can be a great challenge. In this case, when I looked at the picture in various reflected lights, I couldn't see where the restoration began and ended. In the video above, Jill Dunkerton explains what she and colleagues at the NG did to the picture, for which they all deserve special praise. More here.