Date
1690-1700
Object Type
Painting
Subject
Female allegorical figure
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan to the Circolo Ufficiali, Milan, since 1978
Title
Figura allegorica
Creator
Circle of Giuseppe Maria Crespi
Subject
Female allegorical figure
Object Type
Painting
Original Function
Collection
Date
1690-1700
Crest
On the reverse of the panel, at the top, paper label: "n. 290/ Ignoto / uno degli affreschi di / Bologna (bozzetto)"; paper label: "Legato Ferdinando Oggioni"; paper label: "Accademia di Belle Arti e Liceo Artistico / Milano / N. 295 / Ignoto/ Uno degli affreschi di/ Bologna bozzetto / cm 38x26 L. 40.000".
Technique / Support
Oil on paper, mounted on panel
Visual analysis of the technique
The painted surface is characterized by a fluid and uneven application of paint, alternating between soft brushstrokes and transparent glazes, and areas of greater texture, particularly in the details of the figure’s garments and draperies. In some parts of the background, the paint layer is thinner, allowing the underlying paper support to show through. The color scheme is dominated by dark and deep tones in the background, ranging from browns to greens, which contrast with the lighter and more luminous areas of the central figure. The use of sfumato allows for smooth, gradual tonal transitions, while the overlapping glazes help define the volumes and enhance the three-dimensionality of the figure. The light, rendered in a diffuse manner, appears to come from the right, shaping the volumes without sharp contrasts and emphasizing the subtlety of the chiaroscuro passages. The painted surface is protected by a final transparent varnish, visually perceived as yellowed and altered, which previously gave the work a slightly matte and heavy appearance before the conservation treatment.
Dimensions
cm 38.2 x 26
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan to the Circolo Ufficiali, Milan, since 1978
Inventory number
Inv. 1980, 295
Bibliography
Casati, Elide. Entry no. 253. In Pinacoteca di Brera. Addenda e apparati generali, Musei e Gallerie di Milano. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 1996. 297, ill.
Conservation status
Good
Restoration history
Conservation work carried out in the 2023/2024 academic year as part of the Second-Level Academic Diploma Thesis in Restoration by Matteo Proverbio at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera.
Type of intervention:
Conservation and restoration treatment including preliminary documentation and diagnostic investigations; cleaning of the painted surface using dry methods, aqueous systems, and solvents; removal and thinning of altered varnishes and overlaid materials; interventions on the paper support including adhesion of lifted areas and filling of losses; pictorial reintegration; final varnishing; reinsertion of the work into its frame with stabilization measures.
Supervisory Authority: Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of the Metropolitan City of Milan
Internal scientific supervisor: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Chiara Nenci
Technical director / Qualified restorer: Davide Riggiardi, Maria Chiara Palandri
Operator: Matteo Proverbio
Context: intervention carried out in an educational setting, as part of a Thesis Project
Funding institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera
Type of intervention:
Conservation and restoration treatment including preliminary documentation and diagnostic investigations; cleaning of the painted surface using dry methods, aqueous systems, and solvents; removal and thinning of altered varnishes and overlaid materials; interventions on the paper support including adhesion of lifted areas and filling of losses; pictorial reintegration; final varnishing; reinsertion of the work into its frame with stabilization measures.
Supervisory Authority: Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of the Metropolitan City of Milan
Internal scientific supervisor: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Chiara Nenci
Technical director / Qualified restorer: Davide Riggiardi, Maria Chiara Palandri
Operator: Matteo Proverbio
Context: intervention carried out in an educational setting, as part of a Thesis Project
Funding institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera
Frame, base, secondary support
Historical frame Gilded wooden frame made of carved wood, with molded profiles and an inner rebate designed to hold the painting. The gilding is applied over a gesso-and-glue ground, with a metal leaf finish. On the back of the frame are historical pencil inscriptions, one of which, legible through infrared examination, reads: “Sketch of one of the four existing frescoes of Bologna by a classical author.” On the front, a modern plastic plaque is attached, bearing an abbreviated title of the work. Conservation treatment of the frame comprised dry and aqueous cleaning; removal of overlaid shellac-based varnishes; anti-woodworm treatment and structural interventions on the wooden support; filling of losses with stucco; gilding reintegration; pictorial retouching; final varnishing.
Unique identifier
0300663490