The Nativity, Piero della Francesca, National Gallery, London, after restoration
The National Gallery of London recently showed what Piero della Francesca's "Nativity" looked like after it had been fixed up for three years (1475). But some well-known critics don't like the work that was done to fix parts of the badly damaged painting. They say that the restoration was done wrong. Jonathan Jones, a critic for The Guardian, said in a recent review that the National Gallery's "clumsy and plodding, if not downright comical," restoration had "ruined Christmas." One thing is clear, though: the painting really needed to be cared for. When the National Gallery bought this Renaissance masterpiece for the first time in 1874, there were cracks in the panel. It had also been cleaned too much, so the heads of two shepherds in the background were almost completely gone. The painting was in such bad shape that Benjamin Disraeli, who was Prime Minister at the time, had to explain to Parliament why he thought it was a good idea to buy it.
The shepherds, who almost had to be repainted from scratch, are the parts of the painting that have changed the most. The people who were fixing it up used a sketch that Piero had made as a guide. The dark, almost orange-colored skin of the figures makes them look out of place with the other figures. Some of the original delicacy was lost in the drawing of a stone wall with light coming through the broken roof. A new frame was another thing that some people didn't like about the restoration. The painting used to be in a gold altar frame that was very fancy. After doing some research, the people who were fixing up the painting found out that it was made to decorate a home, maybe Piero's own. They put the painting in a frame from the time that would have been seen in a home, not a church. The new frame is made of dark walnut wood and has simple designs on it. Even if you don't like what they did, the restorers had a lot of respect for the painting and their job.
The Nativity, Piero della Francesca, National Gallery, London, before restoration - © Sailko via wikimedia
In a statement, Jill Dunkerton, a senior restorer at the National Gallery, said, "Working on this well-known painting for the past three years has been a great honor and a huge responsibility." "Every decision and every tiny touch of retouching changes how we see it and what it means, maybe for many generations to come. I hope that people will now be able to enjoy its quiet magic without being distracted by the damage done in the past.
Selena Mattei
