Allegory of Virtue

Identification of wood species by Dr. Peter Klein, 02.12.2013: poplar wood (Populus sp.)

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Material:

- probably a dry drawing material, dark chalk, stylus; a fine tipped brush with a fluid medium may have been employed during the second stage

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing (where visible)

- thin, black lines

Function

- relatively binding for the final painted version; the lines define the main contours; no representation of volume with hatching-strokes

Deviations

- minor corrections were made to forms during the painting process; small changes (e. g. the wreath hanging from the tree was positioned somewhat higher, the chain is round)

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- not possible

[Sandner, Smith-Contini, Heydenreich, cda 2016]

The support consists of a single poplar wood plank with the grain running vertically and is 0.5 cm thick.

The panel is no longer its original size and the surface on the reverse has not been preserved.

Battens attached to all four sides conceal the end-grain edge and make any assertion about the direction of the cut impossible.

White ground (the fill material and binding medium was not analysed).

No assertions can be made about the original framing and the characteristics of the edges of the panel as it has been trimmed on all four sides.

The infrared refectogram did not reveal an underdrawing throughout, however traces were observed in the areas where the painted version deviates from the indicated design. For example the wreath hanging from the tree was positioned slightly higher in the original design and the chain was indicated with rounder forms. In the background landscape the tower on the horizon at the right near the rocky outcrop, was conceived taller than it was realized in the painted version.

The personification of Virtue was outlined with rough contour lines before the painting process began, however these appear thicker and contain more pigments. The contours of the rocky plateaus overgrown with foliage were defined with sweeping brush lines, which are today visible to the naked eye through the sky paint. These, like some of the contours of the rocks, were more generously indicated than when executed in paint (see the area around the inscription VIRTUS).

On the basis of overlapping and areas held in reserve revealed in the infrared reflectogram the sequence of the painting process can in part be reconstructed. The pale underpaint of the sky was applied, holding the area for the tree in reserve. The bristle brush appears to have been used in places with a zig-zag motion over the surface. The reserve provided for a narrower trunk and a smaller crown.

A pentiment can be observed in the positioning of the head of the cleric in the foreground. The IRR reveals that he originally did not raise his head - like the other figures/soldiers in the foreground and a deviating first painted version is visible to the naked eye.

Furthermore the infrared reflectogram shows that the contours of the arms and legs of Hercules, on the right in the foreground, were corrected and made slimmer with the adjoining paint of the landscape after the flesh paint was applied (see left arm, right calf, left foot).

As regards the paint application large forms like the tree at the centre or the figure of Hercules in the foreground were held in reserve when the first paint layer was applied, but the smaller scale soldiers in the foreground were painted over the - in part impasto - paint layers (see entrance arch). The sky was painted before the rocks and the foreground. The foliage of the trees was painted in the wet paint of the sky.

The landscape was painted over a grey underpaint, which held the light areas like the figure of Hercules in reserve, however in places it extended slightly beyond the form (compare IRR).

The small figures in the foreground as well as the architecture were painted in a very calligraphic manner, roofs and windows are defined with minimal linear indication.

In numerous areas the brush was employed sgraffito-like and the wet paint was removed to reveal the dry layer beneath like for example in the area of the armour and the right hand of Hercules where the veins were drawn in the wet paint.

A later correction can be observed in the female figure. Her left shoulder was made slightly broader.

An indication of the pigments employed can be gained on the basis of the absorption of behaviour of the paint layers revealed in the x-radiograph: the underpaint in the sky and the clouds were painted with an admixture of lead white, the same as the river in the background and the base tone for the coat-of-arms at the bottom right, Hercules' armour as well as the robe of the personified Virtue were probably highlighed with lead-tin-yellow, the lances and the impasto foliage in the foreground also show strong x-ray absorption.

new frame

[Translation, Smith, cda 2014]

The condition of the panel can be classified as delicate.

The panel was considerably weakened by extensive woodworm damage in the past. The degree of damage could be establish with the assistance of the x-radiography, which revealed worm channels throughout the entire panel. The panel was thinned and a blind frame made of coniferous wood was glued to the reverse, a ground (probably containing lead white) was applied to the spaces between the vertical members. The date of this intervention was not recorded.

The x-radiograph shows that the worm channels were truncated during the thinning and in part filled with the ground material.

In addition the original size of the panel has not been retained. It was trimmed on all four sides and then extended by adding coniferous wood battens. The 0.6-0.7 cm wide battens were each attached to the blind frame with three nails (at regular intervals), subsequently the blind frame and the battens were chamfered.

There is a wooden insert measuring 5.5 x 0.6 cm at the bottom right edge, which is not original.

This intervention, that was presumably carried out to stabilize the panel, limited its movement and lead to numerous splits in the direction of the grain, some of these have opened on the reverse and exhibit a slight step.

When the panel was trimmed this caused paint loss along all four edges, which has been filled and retouched. The fills exhibit weak bonding in some places. The retouches extend over the varnish, particularly in the sky, and are for the most part discoloured.

The paint layers are abraded along the edges as well as in the area of the rocks (dark glazes), the inscriptions and the clouds.

The green glazes of the leaves and blades of grass have become brown.

The varnish layers have yellowed and have been unevenly applied.

[Tüchler, Kunsthistorisches Museum, revised 2013]

[Translation, Smith, cda 2014]