News & Stories

In 1595, Jacopo Palma il Giovane (1544–1628) painted a depiction the martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria for an altar on the right side of the nave in the Basilica dei Frari. Shown in the moment the saint is spared from torture at the wheel, a cast of characters in unnatural poses fall away from Catherine in disorderly disbelief, awed by the breaking wheel that shattered at her touch.

The last documented conservation treatment of the painting dates to 1821. After 200 years, the brilliant colors of the artist’s palette had been distorted by layers of dust and debris, darkened varnishes, and chromatically altered overpainting from previous interventions. Conservator Giulio Bono and his team are now working to restore the painting and have just completed the cleaning phase of treatment by meticulously thinning and removing these non-original surface layers and residues with innovative solvents. Small losses to the pictorial surface will be filled and integrated with removable conservation paint, and a final coat of protective varnish will be applied.