1802. ] 
This valuable work was executed by 
Raphael for Sigifmund Conti, a man of 
learning, Chamberlain and Principal Se- 
cretary to Pope Julius II. It was firft 
placed over the high altar of the church 
called Ara-celi, at Rome. Afterwards, 
viz. about the year 1565, the picture was 
carried to Foligno, and given to the 
church of the Nuns of St. Anne, by the 
fitter Anna Conti, niece of Sigifmund. 
Jt was taken by the French from the 
church, and made one of the hundred arti- 
cles of the Treaty of Tolentino. It has 
been engraved by Vincenzio Vittoria. 
The Adminiftration is of opinion, that 
it will render an important fervice to the 
arts, in making public an extract from the 
interefting Report, which the Citizens 
Guyton Morveau, Berthollet, Vincent, 
and T’aunay, Members of the National 
Inftitute, have made to that learned fociety 
concerning the operations which this pre- 
cious picture has undergone. 
When it was taken away from Foligyo, 
it was in fuch a ftate of decay, that the 
Commiffaries for the Arts in Italy hefitat- 
ed whether they fhould fend it to Paris; 
and they did not determine upon tranf{- 
porting it thither, until they had firft fe- 
cured feveral parts of the painting, which 
had ftarted from its ground, by means of 
gauzes glued upon the furface. Befides 
this injury, the pannel of o mo 32 
(inches) in thicknefs, on which the picture 
was painted, had a crack of o moto 
(inches) wide at its upper part, defcend- 
ing, and gradually diminifhing, as far as 
the left knee of the infant Jefus; from 
this fraéture to the right edge of the pic-' 
ture, the furface formed a curve, of 
which the greateft fine was omo 67 
(inches), and, from the fraéture to the 
cther. edge, another curve of om’o 54 
(inches) fine. A great number ‘of feales 
were already detached, and, moreover, 
the picture was worm-eaten in various 
places. 
It was therefore neceffary to find out 
fome means of faving this valuable per- 
formance from the ruin which threatened 
it; and the Adminiftration determined 
upon having them immediately put in ex- 
ecution, well perfuaded that nothing could 
be effectual fhort of transferring the pic- 
ture to an entirely new ground: but, fince 
it was not without the moft religious re- 
{fpect, that an operation of fuch impor- 
tance could be uadertaken, and more ef- 
pecially when the fubjeét of it was a pic- 
ture of this great malter, they requefted, 
from the Minifer of the Interior, an in- 
vitatien to the National Inftitute, to ap- 
*Montruty Mac. No. 94. 
Method of reftering a Pidture of Raphael's. 
407. 
point out of its body a commiffion for 
conducting the projected reftoration, and 
making a report thereupon, for the pur- 
pofe of quieting the minds of the timo- 
rous, and filencing thofe perfons, who 
might be inclined to doubt of its fuccefs 5 
and, above all, for rendering public ope- 
rations the moft fimple, and the fartheft 
removed from that quackery and juggling 
in which things of this kind had formerly 
been enveloped. 
This commiffion was compofed of the 
Citizens Guyton and Berthollet, chemifts, 
and of the Citizens Vincent and Taunay, 
painters. They perceived, as well as the 
Adminiftration, the urgent neceflity for 
refloring the picture: here follows the 
detail of the operations which they fol- 
lowed : 
Tt was neceflary, as a previous ftep, to 
render the furface perfectly plane. To 
this end, a gauze having been pafied over 
the painting, the picture was turned upon 
its face. ‘The Citizen Haquin then form- 
ed in the fubftance of the wood a num- 
ber of fimall channels, at certain diftances 
from each other, and extending from the 
upper extremity of the arch, to where the 
pannel prefented a truer furface. He in- 
troduced into thefe channels {mall wooden 
wedges, and afterwards covered the whole 
furface with wet cloths, which he took 
care to renew from time to time. 
The action of thele wedges, expanding 
by the humidity, obliged the pannel to 
re-affume its original form, the two parts 
of the crack before-mentioned were bronght 
together ;.and theartift, havine introduced 
a ftrong glue to re-unite them, applied 
cro{s bars of oak, for the purpofe of re- 
taining the picture, during its drying, ia 
the form which it had taken. 
The deficcation was performed very 
flowly; a fecond gauze was applied over 
the former, and upon that two fucceffive 
layers of fpongy paper.. This prepara- 
mt whieh is ere me He Bae 
dry, the piéture was again inverted upon a 
table, to which it was firmly fixed.down, 
and they afterwards proceeded to the fepa- 
ration of the wood on which the picture 
had been painted. 
The firft operation was performed by 
means of two faws, the one of which 
worked perpendicularly, and the other ho- 
rizontally. “Phe work of the faws being 
finifhed, the wood was found io he reduced 
too mo1o(inches) in thicknefs. ‘The 
artift afterwards made ule of a plane, of 2 
form convex, in the direGhiin of ics 
breadth: this was applied obliquely a abn 
the wood, fo as to take off very feist 
4 F ia ks, 
