The Crucifixion

After the fall of Constantinople, the Island of Crete, which had been part of the Republic of Venice since 1206 became increasingly important as a centre between Venice and the East. It became a place of intense religious and cultural life, and a post-Byzantine school of icon painting was established, which became very active.

The subject depicted on this icon is the Biblical scene of the Crucifixion. Christ on the cross is the central figure of the composition, and the cross is planted on Golgotha, symbolically represented as a hillock. Around the cross are the traditional themes of the Virgin of Sorrows, St Mary Madeleine, St John, and the Roman centurion. This representation’s rigorous composition was a part of Byzantine tradition: the background is divided horizontally into two areas of equal height, with a golden sky in the upper part and the greenish wall of Jerusalem in the lower part. Christ is nailed to the Orthodox cross, and occupies the centre of the icon. However, the soft modelling of the complexions and the flexible postures of the figures betray the influence of the Italian paintings that inspired the work.

During the icon’s restoration for the exhibition on Byzantium (the Louvre, November 1992), analyses were carried out in the Centre for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France (C2RMF) to ascertain the painting methods used[1]. X-ray microfluorescence analyses were carried out directly on the icon to determine the nature of the main pigments. Other samples were taken to determine the stratigraphy of the pictorial layers. They were observed with an optic microscope and then analyzed with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) coupled with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX).

The technological study of this icon shows that the preparatory layer on the support made up of two planks of wood was typical of Byzantine preparations. This involved the application of calcium sulphate combined with glue. The presence of a sizeable and dense preparatory drawing was revealed by infrared reflectography and confirmed with the observation of a micro-sample taken from the tunic of St John. These drawings, which were often sketched freehand, helped to indicate shadows or establish the work’s composition. In this case, we can see that the silhouettes have been lightly incised to define the gold background, while the drawing is present in the coloured surface to give the drapery structure or define the figures. On the level of St John’s foot, we can see an alteration: the foot’s final position was to the right of that in the initial drawing.

This icon’s gold background was applied over a yellow-orange filler composed of clay (silico-aluminates) coloured with iron oxides. The pigments identified are those traditionally used in this region at the time: lead white, vermilion (the soldier’s clothes), and Green Earth (Mary Madeleine’s cloak and the earth). The brown for the cross was obtained by mixing ochre and vermilion; the red-brown cloak of the Virgin was made from ochre or hematite. The analysis also revealed the presence of a very rare and precious blue used for St John’s clothes: lapis lazuli. Colour tests identified the egg binding medium used in the pictorial layers.

The study of the superposition of the various pictorial layers (stratigraphy) is also very important for understanding the work’s technique and the symbolism. Indeed, with icons, the pictorial layers are established using clearly defined successive phases that progress from dark to light. These stages symbolize the path each Christian must take in order to transform darkness into light. The dark foundation colours are laid over the entire icon. On these layers, which will form the shadows, the icon is then defined, by going over the underlying drawing to indicate the facial features and the folds in the clothing.

Two samples were taken from the flesh tints, one from the face of the holy woman, and the other from Christ’s torso, both from areas of highlight. Three layers can be observed: a first, brown layer, which contains a mixture of pigments that could be earth green, vermilion, ivory black, and lead white. The second beige-pink layer contains lead white with a little vermilion and ochre, and the very light highlight is achieved with lead white. The flesh tint used for Christ has no intermediary pink layer, and emphasizes the crucified Christ’s livid appearance.

Traces of the work’s historical and cultural life were observed in various places: candle burn marks, nail holes used to hang metal ornaments, vertical breaks in the panel, altered repainting, the presence of mastic, and so on.

During the work’s restoration, these traces were revealed under the repainted areas that hid them and were then left apparent. St John’s right knee, a patch on his cloak, the right side of the mountains and part of his foot, which had been badly repainted, were eliminated. However, the Centurion’s head, which had been repainted many years ago, after being burned by a candle, was conserved. When no iconographic element remained, no arbitrary reconstitution was carried out. Thus, the lower part of the large empty space was left flat to avoid imposing a personal interpretation as a substitute for the original.

This icon of The Crucifixion, which was added fairly recently to the Louvre’s collections  (1988), was the subject of a major study conducted by the Direction des Musées de France at the end of the 1980s into the specific problems relating to the restoration and conservation of icon paintings. Indeed, the twofold artistic and religious value of these objects raises many questions about the principles of restoration of these works.