After eight years of study and conservation treatment the Wawel Royal Castle’s prized
Cranach goes on view for the first time in over 40 years in a new exhibition – “Restoring
Beauty: The Conservation of Christ Blessing the Children by Lucas Cranach the Elder”
On view November 6, 2012 – February 5, 2013 at the Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow
The exhibition Restoring Beauty presents the Wawel Royal Castle’s Christ Blessing the Children (after
1537, tempera on panel) by Lucas Cranach the Elder in the context of the very complex and
innovative conservation treatment that saved it. A team of scientists from various institutions in
Poland and abroad supported the Wawel conservators. The full spectrum of analytical techniques—
some of which had previously only been used to study the Louvre’s Mona Lisa by Leonardo da
Vinci—was used to study the severely damaged picture.
The conservation treatment has been financed by a “National Heritage – Support for Museums”
grant from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
The main sponsor of the exhibition is Tauron Polska Energia.
The Exhibition has been made possible by financial support from the Consulate General of the
Federal Republic of Germany in Krakow.
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The publication “Christ Blessing the Children” by Lucas Cranach the Elder in the Collection of the
Wawel Royal Castle: Study and Conservation has been made possible by Robert Bosch Stiftung,
Deutschland.
Lucas Cranach the Elder (German, 1472–1553) was court painter to the Saxon electors in Wittenberg,
where he also ran a large and influential painting workshop. He also owned a printing house, was
a city council member, and served three terms as mayor. A close friend and collaborator of Martin
Luther, Cranach helped to spread the reformer’s ideas through art. This significant German
Renaissance painting represents an important theme in both Cranach’s oeuvre and the iconography
of the Protestant Reformation.
Acquired by the Castle in 1928, Christ Blessing the Children shared the fate of so many works of art in
European collections during World War II. Looted by the Nazis, it was restituted in 1947, and finally
returned to the Wawel Castle in 1968. The picture was briefly exhibited after its return, but because
of its poor condition, it was taken down for conservation treatment. The treatment begun in the
1970s was interrupted. No further treatment was attempted until the recently completed
comprehensive study and conservation program was initiated in by Dr. Ewa Wiłkojć, Chief
Conservator, Wawel Royal Castle, 2004.
Exhibition
The restored painting is exhibited on an easel on a raised dais. Photographs documenting various
stages of the conservation, such as UV fluorescence microscopy of samples from the wooden
support, analysis of the painting in UV and IR illumination, X-radiography, ultrasonic tests,
quantitative computer analysis, and 3-D laser scanning take the viewer through the complicated
process. A large touch screen displaying GigaPan images of the recto and verso of the painting taken
before conservation treatment allows visitors to select and study details of the painting in 10x
magnification. A documentary film about the picture and its conservation is screened in the
exhibition.
Conservation
For centuries artists favored wood as a support for its strength, durability, and availability. However,
its structure and inherent sensitivity to physical, chemical, and biological agents also make it one of
the most challenging materials for conservators to treat. Several factors contributed to the picture’s
poor condition: the natural processes of aging, severe woodworm damage to the wooden support,
and the effects of earlier conservation treatments. The badly damaged panel Christ Blessing the
Children presented numerous challenges, but provided opportunities as well.
The conservation program led by Dr. Wiłkojć, was carried out in two stages—structural and aesthetic
treatment. The first and indispensible stage addressed the badly deformed woodworm-damaged
linden wood support. Prior to treatment the panel was subjected to the full spectrum of routinely
employed methods of physical and chemical analysis such as X-radiography, analysis in UV and IR
illumination, “black light” techniques, etc. In this particular case these turned out to be insufficient.
To fully analyze the and understand the extent and nature of the damage, the conservators turned to
digital techniques such as quantitative computer analysis, 3-D laser scanning, microscopic
fluorescence, and ultrasound tests. A conservation treatment program was drawn up based on the
results of the tests.
The structural conservation successfully arrested the deterioration of the painting. Losses to the
wooden support, as well as the paint and ground layers were filled. The support was straightened
without disturbing the technological layers of the painting, which were preventively stabilized.
A support system of moveable wood struts was applied to the verso of the panel. The aesthetic
treatment restored the form and color of the painting as closely as possible to the original. The
painting was placed in a custom-made Renaissance-style frame which not only highlights its restored
beauty, but also stabilizes the movement of the wooden support
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Publication
An interdisciplinary monograph (in Polish and English) that
documents the conservation process accompanies the exhibition.
One of the most significant works of German Renaissance
painting in Polish collections, this picture is virtually unknown in
the literature on Lucas Cranach the Elder. The book situates the
Wawel panel in the context of Cranach’s oeuvre, with emphasis
on the iconographic subject of Christ and the children. The
volume also addresses the history of the Wawel picture. (Author:
Ewa Wiłkojć; Soft cover, 215 pages, richly illustrated; ISBN 97883-61-866-25-1).
Visitor Information:
On view November 6, 2012 – February 5, 2013
Exhibition hours: Tues.–Sat.: 9:30 a.m–4:00 p.m.; Sun.: 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; Monday – closed
Last entry one hour before closing time.
Free admission in November!
Admission 3 PLN (December 2012–February 2013); tickets available at the ticket offices and at the
entrance to the exhibition; free admission with valid ticket to the “State Rooms” exhibition
Press contact:
tel. 12 421 26 27, 12 422 51 55 ext. 380, 341
Sabina Potaczek-Jasionowicz, tel. 604 581 695 spotaczek@wawel.org.pl
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