THE RESTORATION OF THE TRIPTYCH

The triptych of the Madonna and Child between Saints Bartholomew and Prosdocimus has been recently restored. The current arrangement in the form of a triptych is quite modern , and it was adopted through the 1930s, when the additions were removed from the end of the sixteenth century. The altarpiece of S. Leonardo was originally topped by a lunette. The work was placed on the altar of the Art of Mugnai, as the brotherhood was under the protection of the two saints represented, Bartholomew and Prosdocimus. The cleanup phase of the restoration has resulted in the return of the painting to the correct interpretation of form and style. The three paintings that compose the work have the support consisting of a wooden S. The backgrounds are made with brush strokes with different densities of matter, the first drafts are more substantial and leave out the traces of the bristles, while the drafts surface are more subtle. The analysis of the work of repentance is evidenced by the artist, mainly in the two paintings on the sides. In the panel depicting St. Bartholomew, for example, the surface initially covered his robe and wrapped the whole figure from the waist down. The triptych of St. Leonardo di Treviso is obviously inserted in a frame and it's not original. The three tables themselves have undergone renovations and were cut along the edges. A larger size is feasible and in the Madonna and Child Enthroned you notice the cut on the sides and it was resized in the basement. In S. Prosdocimus the volume side of the cope is incomplete. Also you can see that the Virgin Enthroned is identical to the painting in Feltre. Some structural elements and iconographic details, like the clouds and the type of characters are common. It therefore follows for the tables of Treviso, an original composition similar to the painting in Feltre.