Arcángeles Museo Nacional de Colombia

Arcángeles

Museo Nacional de Colombia

These paintings are considered part of the colonial masterpieces in the collection of the Museo Nacional de Colombia, and as such they are part of its permanent collection.

The conservation treatment of these paintings took place between May and July of 2013 in Cecilia Bagés' Conservation Studio, where I worked as an associate conservator. The project was funded by the government of Switzerland and was audited by the Ministry of Culture and the Fundación Escuela Taller de Bogotá.

Gamaliel and Salamiel Pax Dei

by the workshop of Zurbarán

Oil on Canavas (c.1750)

Both paintings showed evidence of previous treatments, which included the adhesion of the canvas to a wooden support, oversized wax fills and widespread overpainting. Due to the instability of the canvases, it was decided, in coordination with the Museum's conservation department, to remove all previous treatments except for the wooden auxiliary support as the risk of the treatment exceeded the overall benefits.

The conservation treatment performed was complicated and time-consuming due to difficulties in the removal of the wax fills and because of the large extension of the lacunae underneath the losses in both paintings. In the end, the result was very satisfactory and the paintings recovered their aesthetic characteristics as a set.