SAVING A MASTERPIECE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 22 October 1924, Page 9

SAVING A MASTERPIECE.

LEONARDO’S “LAST SUPPER.” Leonardo’s Da Vin i’s “Last Supper” is once more in-the hands of ..the restorer, and R.ere is now every leason to believe that this “pallida umbra” of what has been called the greatest pi_ture in the world, on toe wall of t;.e refectory of St. Marie <lel!e Grazie at Milan, will be safe for an rime, ihoogr, its delicate state will still require unceasing and tender care. The Corriere della Sera contains a highly interesting article on the subje't. The causes of the rapid decay of one of the great masterpieces of the world long remained obscure, but they have now been reduced to two—the damp due to the position of the picture, which is painted on the wall itself, and the methods used by Leonardo in h;s passion for experiment. Not. till 16 years ago, when Luigi Cavenaghi was nut in charge of the case, were the measures for saving the picture placed on a thoroughly scientific basis. Clearly the first thing to do was to get rid of the damp. It- at once became apparent that the cause of this was perfectly simple, consisting in the difference of temperature between the refectory and the room behind it. which made the moisture condense on the picture as it does on a window-pane in the winter. The moment an electric, stove was installed in this room and an aperture made in the partiwall under the picture all traces of damp vanished.

The other trouble was more difficult to deal with, for it proved to he chronic and yielded only temporarily to regular treatment. Cavenaghi carried his secrets with him to the grave, hut his successor. Signor Oreste Silvestri. works openly, making no attempt to hide his methods. Indeed, he may be seen tenderly manipulating his delicate patient any day on his scaffold. Whether his method is a rediscovery of that of Cavenaghi of one entirely original, if is nroving equally successful, and the Corriere gives a most valuable ion of it. The work is ticklish in the extveme. as it consists in securing to the wall the small pieces of leonardo’s paint which ar© continually becoming detached from it Oddly enough, the method employed is. distinctly medical in character, the principal instrument being a hypodermic syringe. The surgeon inserts the needle of his syringe between the thin strata and the wall and ejects from it an e#sence of petrol, which spreads about and saturates a broad area of the painted surface, thus rendering it, hy capillarity. able to absorb a second injection of moist resinfi.

This pliant, elastic , substance restores the adhesive quality of the section of the crust which is in danger. As soon as the adhesive matter holds firm, the portion that has been thus prepared is heated by an electric process; it is then ironed, so as to strengthen and flatten it, after which the bright polish of the varnish is sponged off. Then, in order to strengthen the work still further, Signor Silvestn edves each, section as he completes it ■with a ..minute stucco border, using the very finest instruments. In this way there can he no doubt of the security of the pieces restored. The picture is then ca v efullv dusted with the softest of brushes t© remove any adhering particles. and the crude nieces of white stucm that appear in the surface are painted so n c to harmonise with the whole. Air flpn ofi rerstormo- this woudorfn? masterpiece to anything approaching its original condition has. of course, heen out of the question fo~ generations. The full -vigour- of healthy manhood has long vanished from it foever. But at least the car© and ski’i lavished upon it. during the last few yeaw are sucoescjfuilv preserving for us what is left of this great heirloom of the Renaissance.