Elizabeth Glander
Reconstruction Painting
Supervised by Brian Baade
Painting Conservator,
Associate Professor, Department of Art Conservation, University of Delaware
I took an elective class, under the supervision of Brian Baade, where I reconstructed a painting by Carlo Crivelli (c. 1435-c. 1495). This painting is titled Madonna and Child, c. 1490, is egg tempera paint and gilding on panel and is in the National Gallery of Art's collection. To help visually understand the layers of this painting, I have created seven different cut aways showing each step of the creation process. This reconstruction painting has helped me better understand the skills needed to create it while also gaining experience using historical materials.
Carlo Crivelli
There is little information pertaining to Carlo Crivelli's (c. 1435-c. 1495) life. Crivelli was born into a family of painters in Venice (Smith et al. 1989, 29; Lightbown 2004, 3) and was the son of a Venetian painter (Campbell 2015, 18). It is believed that Crivelli was born around 1435 because the first document to mention him (March 7, 1457) implies that Crivelli was a master (Lightbown 2004, 3). Crivelli may have been an apprentice in the workshops of Antonio Vivarini (c.1440-1480) (Campbell 2015, 18) as well as in Padua alongside Mantegna (Campbell and Cole 2012, 265). In 1457, Crivelli was first prosecuted and then imprisoned before becoming exiled from Venice for having an affair with Tarsia Cortese, the wife of sailor Francesco Cortese (Campbell 2015, 18; Lightbown 2004, 3). By 1463, there is documentation showing he was a citizen of Zara in Dalmatia. Crivelli continued to call himself a Venetian because when he signed his work, he signed it as "Carolus Crivellus Venetus" (Campbel 2015, 18, 23).
Crivelli was commissioned by wealthy lay people of the church to create art for the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians (Campbell 2015, 17). Many of the artworks were altarpieces with surfaces covered in patterns, ornament, and a sense of three-dimensionality (Campbell and Cole 2012, 265). Crivelli also incorporated various items to symbolize different ideas. For example, pears and peaches were accepted as the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge (Lightbown 2004, 21). Crivelli used fabrics to signal the relative importance of saints with the Virgin and Christ being above all others (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 2015a). However, he did use stock patterns when painting the luxury silks (Betts and Gates 2018, 67).
The Madonna and Child was commissioned on May 10, 1488 for the Duomo of Camerino. Christ wears an olive-green tunic with gold trim. He has a necklace of coral beads around his neck which indicates that he is very young and teething. He also wears a bracelet of coral beads which was commonly given to young children to wear as a charm to ward off disease. In this painting, Crivelli has depicted Christ wearing sandals, which is unusual (Lightbown 2004, 388-389). The Madonna's clothing is also decorated with gold. She wears a garland of pearls and a ruby on her forehead; a token of special honor because at the time of this painting, wearing ornate jewelry was prohibited by laws in Ascoli and other cities (Campbell 2015, 210).
There have been various technical analysis performed on different paintings by Crivelli. Infrared reflectography (IRR) imaging has revealed that carbon black was used in his underdrawings (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 2015b; Campbell 2015, 135-136). X-ray fluorescence (XRF) has shown that the pigments he used includes vermilion, azurite, verdigris, and indigo (Pocobene 2015, 139-140; Liang et al. 2005, 560; Smith et al. 1989, 34).
Madonna and Child
c. 1490
Carlo Crivelli
Egg tempera and gilding on panel
1939.1.264
Image Credit: National Gallery of Art
Creating the Panel
With the help of Rick Starr, retired wood worker and volunteer in the Winterthur wood shop, I created a panel with an engaged frame using Tulip Poplar wood. Because I have very limited experience using power tools in the wood shop, Rick instructed me how to use each tool and how to stay safe. The tools I used included the planer and joiner, table saw, miter saw, and Dremel tools.
Traditionally, wooden panels and engaged frames would have been shaped with hand tools. However, because this class was only a semester long, time did not permit me to use the traditional methods.
Tulip Poplar panel with engaged frame.
Preparing the Surface
Once the panel had been constructed, two coats of animal glue was applied to the wood (recto, verso, and all sides). Strips of fabric were not adhered to the joints because technical studies of panel paintings by Crivelli showed that they were not present. Strips of fabric were applied over top of joints in panels and engaged frames to help support these naturally weaker areas.
Gesso was made using hide glue and and natural gypsum (from Kremer). The hide glue was warmed using a double boiler before adding in the gypsum. About ten layers of gesso was applied to the recto and sides. Each layer was applied perpendicular to the layer below and allowed to fully dry before another layer was applied on top. Once completed, the gesso was allowed to completely dry for several days before it was sanded. All brushstrokes and imperfections were removed with sanding.
An underdrawing (using charcoal) of where bole needed to be to applied and incised lines was completed. Bole is a mixture of clay and animal glue. I applied six layers of bole where there would be gilding. Once dried, a horsehair cloth was used to smooth the surface.
Panel covered with gesso, before sanding.
Panel with underdrawing for gilding.
Panel covered with bole, after burnishing.
Gilding
Gilding was a multiday process for me. The first day was when the first layer of gold leaf was applied. Gilder's liquor (animal glue, water, and a little ethanol) was applied to the bole and then a piece of gold leaf (23.75K double gold leaf) was applied onto that area. Once the bole had dried, the excess gold leaf was gently brushed away.
The second day of gilding was a much longer day. A second layer of gold leaf was applied using gilder's liquor. As it was drying, I burnished the gold with an agate shaped like a dog's tooth and I completed the punch work surrounding Jesus and Mary's heads using punches and a hammer.
During the first layer of gold leaf.
After burnishing and punchwork had been completed.
Egg Tempera Paint
Egg tempera paint is a 1:1 mixture of egg yolk:water as the binder and then equal parts of ground pigment and binder are mixed together. The paint is applied to the surface in small lines. Egg tempera paint is built up in layers to achieve the color, shading, and gradation.
Based off of published technical studies mentioned above, I am using pigments that Crivelli utilized as well as other period appropriate pigments. These pigments include lead white (2PbCO3-Pb(OH)2), vermilion (HgS), verdigris (copper II acetate), Venetian red (iron oxide), bone black, madder lake, indigo, and lemon ochre.
Applying the egg tempera paint.
During painting.
Referencing the photo while painting.
Image Credit: Emma Reuther
Oil Gilding
Oil gilding is different from water gilding in that it uses an oil sizing to adhere the gold leaf to the painting. Oil gilding cannot be burnished.
Oil gilding applied.
Excess gold leaf brushed away.
Oil gilding completed.
Sgraffito
Sgraffito was by far the most nerve racking part of this process. I applied azurite egg tempera paint onto the panel and allowed it to dry for about 2 days. To scrape away the paint, I found that a bamboo skewer provided me with enough control where I could remove paint without scratching the gilding below.
Before azurite was applied.
After azurite was applied.
After sqraffito.
The Completed Piece
Photographs include:
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Normal Light
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Ultraviolet Light Induced Luminescence
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X-Ray Radiograph (25kV, 4mA, 30sec), courtesy of Dr. Roxanne Radpour
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Infrared Reflectography (10ms, no filter)
Works Cited
Campbell, Stephen J. 2015. "On the Importance of Crivelli." In Ornament & Illusion: Carlo Crivelli of Venice, edited by Stephen J. Campbell, 11-37. Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Campbell, Stephen John, and Michael Wayne Cole. 2012. Italian Renaissance Art. New York: Thames & Hudson Inc.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 2015a. "Crivelli's Style." Accessed September 28, 2025. http://crivelli.gardnermuseum.org/crivellis-style#-fabrics.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 2015b. "Crivelli's Underdrawings." Accessed September 28, 2025. http://crivelli.gardnermuseum.org/beneath-the-surface?underdrawing.
Lightbown, Ronald. 2004. Carlo Crivelli. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Pocobene, Gianfranco. 2015. "Carlo Crivelli's St. George Slaying the Dragon: Materialit, Facture, and Restoration." In Ornament & Illusion: Carlo Crivelli of Venice, edited by Stephen J. Campbell, 133-144. Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.