National Gallery Technical Bulletin

National Gallery Technical Bulletin 32
Leonardo: da Vinci: Pupil, Painter and Master

National Gallery Technical Bulletin Volume 32
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The National Gallery Technical Bulletin is a unique record of
research carried out at the National Gallery. Drawing on the
combined expertise of curators, conservators, and scientists, it
brings together a wealth of information about artists' materials,
practices, and techniques.

Volume 32 of the Technical Bulletin is a special issue devoted to
the work of Leonardo da Vinci, his training in the workshop of
Verrocchio, and his followers and associates. Its publication in
print coincides with the National Gallery exhibition Leonardo da
Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan (9 November 2011 - 5 February
2012).

Series Editor: Ashok Roy

Contents

    Leonardo in Verrocchio's Workshop: Re-examining the Technical
    Evidence
    Jill Dunkerton

        Recent studies of Verrocchio's painting technique and
        workshop practice have implications for our understanding of
        Leonardo's. Many aspects of Leonardo's technique, including
        his underdrawing procedure and use of monochrome
        undermodelling, appear to originate with his master.
        However, since Verrocchio seems to have remained primarily a
        tempera painter, it is proposed that Leonardo may also have
        spent time with the Pollaiuolo brothers in order to learn to
        paint in oils.

        This article discusses the technique of Leonardo's earliest
        works, and also the extent of his contribution to The
        Baptism of Christ (Uffizi, Florence), which he finished many
        years after it was begun by Verrocchio. The proposal that
        Leonardo executed parts of Tobias and the Angel (NG 781) is
        also considered.

    Leonardo da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks: Treatment, Technique
    and Display
    Larry Keith, Ashok Roy, Rachel Morrison and Peter Schade

        After several years of research into the feasibility and
        safety of a possible conservation treatment, in 2008-9
        Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks (NG 1093) was cleaned and
        restored. The treatment was undertaken primarily for
        aesthetic reasons, since the picture had become increasingly
        difficult to 'read' as the result of the severe degradation
        of the oil and mastic varnish applied in 1949. Analytical
        study of the picture was carried out before treatment was
        begun, and at various times during cleaning, to clarify the
        status of surface layers, to provide information on layer
        structure and materials and to help interpret condition.

        As a result, our knowledge of Leonardo's painting practice
        has been greatly enlarged. The details of the treatment are
        documented here with a full description of the materials and
        method used in making the picture. The article concludes
        with an account of the painting's reframing and redisplay.

    Painting Practice in Milan in the 1490s: The Influence of
    Leonardo
    Marika Spring, Antonio Mazzotta, Ashok Roy, Rachel Billinge and
    David Peggie

        This article considers the practice of painters working in
        Milan in the 1490s, through technical examination of nine
        works of the period in the National Gallery by artists
        including the Master of the Pala Sforzesca, Ambrogio de
        Predis, Marco d'Oggiono, Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio and a
        follower known as 'Pseudo-Boltraffio'.

        They are all connected by an association with Leonardo's
        sphere, either as the products of direct pupils, or as cases
        showing some clear contemporary Leonardesque style. The
        panels, preparatory layers, underdrawing, painting technique
        and materials are described, placed in the art-historical
        context of each work, and compared to what is known about
        the technique of paintings by Leonardo himself.

    Altered Angels: Two Panels from the Immaculate Conception
    Altarpiece once in San Francesco Grande, Milan
    Rachel Billinge, Luke Syson and Marika Spring

        It has never been doubted that the National Gallery's two
        panels depicting musician angels, An Angel in Green with a
        Vielle (NG 1661) and An Angel in Red with a Lute (NG 1662),
        were part of the carved altarpiece created for the chapel of
        the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception abutting the
        church of San Francesco Grande in Milan, for which Leonardo
        da Vinci was commissioned to work on the gilding and
        painting in partnership with the brothers Giovanni Ambrogio
        and Evangelista de Predis. Yet the story of this commission
        and the subsequent history of the altarpiece (including the
        angels' place in it) are extremely complicated. Both panels
        have undergone significant alterations in the five centuries
        since they were painted. The results of technical
        examinations are described in detail, and ideas about what
        the panels might have looked like before they were
        overpainted and cut down are also presented.

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