FRANKFURT.- Bank of America Merrill Lynch today announced that the Städel Museum will receive funding to restore The Bad Thief on the Cross / Saint John the Baptist an altarpiece from circa 1430 by the Master of Flémalle (Robert Campin), through the company’s 2014 global Art Conservation Project. Since the programme’s inception in 2010, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has provided grants to museums in 27 countries supporting 72 conservation projects.
The talented Master of Flémalle is considered a leading light in early Flemish and Dutch painting. The panel, which is painted on both sides, is the only surviving fragment from a large altarpiece destroyed during an iconoclastic campaign in the late sixteenth century. Showing on one side the crucified thief standing at Christ’s left and on the other, a fragment of Saint John the Baptist, this painting is a highlight in the museum’s collection. The conservation has been scheduled to complete in time for the Städel Museum’s 200th anniversary in 2015.
Beginning in October 2014, the panel will undergo a process of conservation and restoration expected to last about one year. The chief focus will be the scene’s background, which consists of gold brocade. In its present state, this original relief structure is no longer discernible owing to the large number of material losses and revisions which the painting has suffered during the course of its history. The original gold ground is amongst the earliest known applications of the so-called pressed brocade technique in Netherlandish painting. This extremely sophisticated technique impressively simulates the effect of space and textile materiality.
The first step in the conservation process will be to examine the altarpiece fragment with a stereo microscope as well as under iridescent and UV light. With the aid of infrared reflectography and X-radiation, the conservators will be able to ascertain how much of the original substance of the gold ground has survived. A virtual reconstruction of the pressed brocade will then simulate the original design of the panel’s background. These findings will determine all subsequent conservation and restoration measures. Within this context, the chief aim will be to improve the visibility of the gold ground.
“This highly important panel, which has been with our museum since 1840, is not only one of the key works of the Städel’s Old Master Collection but also a seminal painting of western art history. The generous support of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch is enabling us to examine this prominent work in depth, and to conserve and restore its unique gold ground. As a result, not only present-day visitors but also those of coming generations will be able to experience this masterwork of revolutionary early fifteenth-century Netherlandish painting in a whole new way,” said Max Hollein, director of the Städel Museum.
“For many years, we have been extremely proud to help support Germany’s flourishing arts and culture sector through a wide range of sponsorships and restoration projects. It is therefore an honour for us to continue our support of the Städel Museum in the conservation of this striking altar-piece,” commented Holger Bross, country executive for Germany at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
“Our Art Conservation Project is designed not only to shine a light on the need for the preservation of artistic and historical treasures, but also to educate communities and to convey respect for the varied cultures and traditions throughout the world,” added Andrea Sullivan, head of Corporate Social Responsibility for EMEA at the bank.
