In the Works at Winterthur……..

It is not uncommon for the large works that come into the painting conservation department at Winterthur to require extended periods of time for research and treatment. Large and badly deteriorated works such as the Maxfield Parrish mural for Granogue, a mural by Ralph Pallen Coleman painted for the Zion Lutheran Church in Wilmington, and the portrait of Varina Anne “Winnie” Davis, discussed in a previous installment of this series have experienced extended stays at the Winterthur conservation facilities. As a result, 2nd-year paintings majors often inherit projects begun by students preceeding them by a year or more.
One of the projects carried over from a previous class is a ¼-scale copy of Theodore Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa attributed to American artist George Cooke painted sometime between 1826 and 1830. Thanks to UD professor Nina Kallmyer, the art historian responsible for its discovery and the path of Cooke’s version of Raft of the Medusa from New York to Winterthur, the history of the painting was written about in a previous article on UDaily (http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2007/nov/medusa111406.html). It has now been almost a year since the Cooke version of this Parisian masterpiece arrived at Winterthur, and paintings majors of both of the Classes of 2008 and 2009 have been working on the technical research and treatment of the piece. Examination and technical analysis of this work was first conducted last year by Lauren Cox as part of her 2nd-year studies, and Cynthia Schwarz examined the painting and proposed the treatment during her first-year paintings “block.” Now in her second year, Cynthia Schwarz has almost completed the varnish removal stage of treatment revealing blue sky from beneath the dull and darkened varnish layer that formerly covered the image. Cindy has also consolidated the lifting and flaking paint and used a hot-table and humidity-tent treatment to bring the curled areas of paint back into plane. In preparation for the treatment of this work, Schwarz and classmate Erica Cooney were able to visit the Louvre Museum in Paris to see the 16 x 23’ Géricault original while traveling in France as a part of their summer internship spent at the Chateau de Parentignat in D’Auvergne. The comparison of the two works once the treatment of the Cooke version is completed is greatly anticipated. The inpainting will be completed by next year’s painting majors.