£08: 
fhavings, and to avoid raifing the grain of 
the wocd, which was reduced, by this 
means, too mo 02 (inches) thick. 
He took afterwards a fiat toothed * 
plane, of which the effect is nearly fimilar 
to that of a rafp, which takes off the 
wood in form of a duft or powder: it was 
reduced by this tool toa thicknefs not ex- 
ceeding that of an ordinary fheet of paper. 
In this ftate, the wood having been re- 
peatedly wetted with fair water, in {mall 
compartments, was carefully detached by 
‘the artift with the rounded point of a 
knife-blade. The Citizen Haquin, hav- 
ing then taken away the whole of the 
prin ning on which the piéture had been 
‘painted, and efpecially the varnifhes, 
which fome former reparations had made 
neceflary, laid open the very fketch itfelf 
of Raphael. 
In order to give fome degree of fup- 
pienefs to the painting, fo much hardened 
by time, it was rubbed with cotton dip- 
ped in oil, and wiped with old muflin; 
after which a coating of white lead, 
ground with oil, was fubftituted for the 
former priming, and laid on with a foft 
bruh. 
After three months drying, a gauze 
was pafted onto the oil-priming, and over 
that a fine cloth. This being again dried, 
the picture was detached from the ao 
and again turned, for the purpole of tak- 
ing off the cartonage by means of water 5 
which operation being finifhed, they pro- 
ceeded to take away certain inequalities 
of the furface, which had arifen from its 
unequal fhrinkingf during the former ope- 
rations, “To this end the artift applied 
fucceffively io thefe inequalities a thia 
pafte of wheaten flour, over which a 
firong paper ‘being laid, he pated over it 
a heated iron, which produced the defired 
effect; but i¢ was not until the moft 
careful trial had’ been made of the cue 
heat of thei iron, that it was ailowed to ap- 
proach the picture,’ 
‘ We have thus feen, that having fixed 
the pi iGture, freed from every extraneous 
matter, upon zn oil priming, and having 
given a true form to its farface, 1 it yet re- 
mained to apply this chef d guvre of art 
flmly upon anew ground. To this end, 
i: was necefiary to paper it afrefh, and to 
take away tlhe gauze, which had been 
provifionally laid upon the priming, to 
* «¢ Rabot plat 3 fer dentelé.” 
T Recaguillement, for which no Lats he 
word cccurs in Englifh, The French lan- 
guage Is exiremely rich in terms of art, moft 
of which are cf a figurative kindy 
Method of reftoring a Pifiure of Rapbael’s. 
(Dee. 1, 
add a new coat of white lead and oil, and 
to apply upon that a very foft gauze, over 
which was.again laid a cloth, woven all of 
one piece, and impregnated on the exterior 
furface with a refinous mixture, which 
ferved to fix it upon a fimilar cloth firetch- 
ed upon the frame. ‘This laft operation 
required the urmoft care, in applying to 
the prepared cloth the body of the paint- 
ing, freed again from tts - cartonage, in 
avoiding the injuries which might arife 
from too great or unequal an extenfion, 
and, at the fame time, in obliging every 
part of its vaft extent to adhere equally to 
the cloth firetched upon the frame. 
Thus was this valuable picture incor- 
porated with a bafe more durable even 
than its former one, and guarded againft 
thofe accidents, which had before pro- 
duced its decay. It was ftill, however, 
to undergo that part of its Tele en, 
which may be ftyled piéforial. 
This was confided by the Adminiftra- 
tion to the Citizen Reefer, to whom it, 
owes the reparation of other valuable pic- 
tures, aad whole repeated fuccefs was a 
fuficient motive for their confidence. 
The commiffarics, having pointed out 
the proceffes to be made ufe of on this 
eccafion, are fatisfied that it has been 
done in a manner as perfect as could be 
defired: and here terminates their inte- 
refiing report. — 
We have thus the happinefs of feeing 
this chef d’@uvre of the immortal Ra- 
phael reftored, as it were, to new life, 
fhining in all its {fplendour, and without | 
any fear of the return of thofe accidents 
which had threated to ravifh it for ever 
from the admiration of the world. The 
Acminiftration of the Central Mufeum of 
Arts, which has thus, by its fuperior in- 
telligence, perfected the art of reftoration, 
will doubtlefs neglect nothing which may 
tend to preferve fo valuable an art in all its 
purity; and, notwithfanding fuch re- 
peated facceffes, will not fuffer it to be 
applied, except to objeéts which are fo far 
decayed, that it is better to fubjeét them 
to thole hazards, which are inteparable 
from operations fo delicate and multifari- 
cus, than to abandon them to the deftruc- 
ion which threatens them. The invita- 
t.on, which the Adminiftration of the Mu- 
feum has mace to the National Inftitute, 
to diret the above-defcribed procefles in 
the reftoring of this pi€ture, is a fure 
warrant that the learned men who com- 
pofe it, look upon their labours as carried 
on undey the eye of the whole of enlight- 
ened EPTORR: qi 
74 
