Before

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Date: 2015-03-12

Before IMAGE

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Date: 2015-03-12

After

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Date: 2015-03-15

After IMAGE

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Date: 2015-03-15

Reintegrating Large Areas

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Date: 2015-03-19

Bottom Right Corner

The bottom right corner of the painting had sustained considerable losses during previous restoration campaigns and may have also suffered from moisture-related damage. The conservation team spent many hours carefully reintegrating the large area of loss in this area.

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Date: 2015-03-19

Texturing Fills

The silicone mold is placed atop the wax-resin and locally applied heat is used to impart texture. Once the wax-resin has cooled, the silicone mold is peeled away revealing the textured fill beneath. (Pictured Here: Project intern Serena Vella)

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Date: 2014-12-07

Public Outreach

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Date: 2014-12-15

Visit from High School Students

Students from a local high school visited the painting to learn about traditional painting practices and the analytical techniques employed by the conservation team. In this image the students decided to "re-enact" the scene depicted in "The Triumph of David."

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Date: 2014-12-15

Philadelphia Inquirer Article

The Philadelphia article provides an in-depth summary of the project and the progress that the conservation team has made thus far:<br/><a target="_blank" href="http://articles.philly.com/2014-12-26/news/57398481_1_painting-chemistry-layers">Link</a>

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Date: 2014-12-15

Collections Care

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Date: 2014-12-23

Learning from the Ruspoli Collection

History students at Villanova were given access to the Ruspoli Collection, providing them with exciting opportunities for research and thesis studies.(Pictured Here: Villanova Student Alexandra Stump and Dr. Timothy McCall)

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Date: 2014-12-23

Status

Began retouching/inpainting small areas of loss as well as larger textured fills. Continued using silicone molds and wax-resin paste to impart texture in large areas of loss.

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Date: 2015-01-01

November 2014

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Date: 2015-01-01

December 2014

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Date: 2015-01-03

2014-12 IMAGE

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Date: 2015-01-03

January 2015

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Date: 2015-01-05

2015-01 IMAGE

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Date: 2015-01-05

Preparation of Inpainting Palettes

Today conservators have the option of either preparing their own conservation paints or purchasing pre-made paints (e.g. Golden PVA Conservation Paints, Gamblin Conservation Colors, etc.). These paints are chemically DIFFERENT from the original materials used by the artist so that they can be easily and safely removed from the surface if necessary. Conservation paints are also tested to ensure that they are lightfast and will not darken or discolor over time.(Pictured Here: Project intern Claire Burns)

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Date: 2015-01-07

Applying Retouching Paints to Losses

Extremely small brushes are used to carefully mix and apply the reversible, stable conservation paints to areas of loss and abrasion. (Pictured Here: Project intern Serena Vella)

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Date: 2015-01-16