Authentication, appraisal, condition report, full restoration of painting and frame
Painter
Unknown
Title of painting
Part of Halle Basilica miracle cycle
Date
17th Century
Location of painting
Belgium
Type of owner
Church
Project status
Completed
Restoration
The painting was still on its original 17th century frame upon which it was directly stretched and fixated with leather strips and iron nails. This made restoration substantially more complex as it could not be taken out of its frame. Restoration involved revealing the original stretching system, by stripping 19th Century additions. The original paint layers of the frame were fixated with gaps filled, and the frame was retouched, gilded and aged. A stratigraphic window with original 17th Century paint layers on the frame was revealed. The painting underwent surface cleaning, mending of tears, removal of old retouches and other small interventions to bring the painting in line with the other paintings of Maria Miracles in the Basilica of Halle.
This painting is part of a collection of paintings called the Virgin Mary miracle series, depicting miracles that have taken place throughout the centuries in and around the town of Halle. The Virgin Mary veneration in Halle dates back to at least the 8th Century. Justus Lipsius, one of the most renowned humanists in Renaissance Europe devoted a book to the miracle series.
Back of the painting covered with bitunous black paint
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