After 40 years, new critical and diagnostic studies on the Ambrosiana's Saint John the Baptist

Through its artistic direction, Banca Patrimoni Sella & C. has carried out, in collaboration with the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, new historical-critical and diagnostic studies of the Saint John the Baptist from which new details on the execution technique, materials and its state of preservation have emerged. Long the focus of scholars’ attentions because of the complex attributive problem that affects most of the paintings referable to Leonardo’s circle, the work has been analyzed, almost forty years after the last studies, with the latest technologies of scientific diagnostics for art; it has been examined with non-invasive techniques, which do not require any kind of sampling and do not alter in any way the material analyzed. In addition, the instrumentation used allows the analysis to be carried out in situ, avoiding the handling of the work outside the exhibition hall. In particular, the painting was subjected to ultraviolet fluorescence (UV), pigment analysis by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and infrared false color fluorescence (IRFC), macrophotography and digital microscope, multispectral infrared reflectography (IR) and digital radiography (RX).

The work was carried out by a team of art historians, diagnostics experts, conservators and restorers-Edoardo Villata and Thierry Radelet, along with professionals from the Ambrosiana and Banca Patrimoni Sella & C. Art Management. - and consisted of several stages: from the review on previous studies, to the verification of research and critical and diagnostic comparisons, to the analysis of the painting by Professor Thierry Radelet with the experts of the project.

“Banca Patrimoni Sella & C. has always considered culture as one of the keys to the development of territories and communities, and considers scientific diagnostics for art one of its main interests. For this reason, it collaborates with rino mati scholars and national and international institutions, as in the recent project with the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana,” said Daniela Magnetti, Artistic Director of Banca Patrimoni Sella & C.

“The due gratitude of the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana to Banca Patrimoni Sella & C. extends to all those who signed the individual contributions to this publication. But with gratitude it is equally proper to bear witness and to remember that it is thanks to patronage initiatives such as this that museum institutions can find the necessary cultural enrichment for the promotion of their heritage,” said Monsignor Marco Navoni, prefect of the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

The results obtained on the execution technique, materials and state of conservation of the work offer new opportunities for study also from a comparative point of view: the project has found its natural completion in subjecting to the same analyses also the Head of Christ the Redeemer, a work purchased by the entrepreneur and collector Bernardo Caprotti - namesake of Leonardo’s famous pupil, Gian Giacomo Caprotti, known as “il Salaino” - in a Sotheby’s auction and donated to the Pinacoteca. The painting, signed “Salai,” is the only known work that clearly bears this signature, once also attributed to St. John the Baptist, while today critics speak of a generic Leonardo painter of the first quarter of the 16th century.

Initial evidence from the comparative study has revealed that the artist’s hand of the St. John does not match that of the Christ the Redeemer, confirming the complexity of this attributional affair. One of the aspects of greatest interest to the experts involved concerns the quality of the materials used in the painting at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana: through the analysis of the pigment, in fact, it was discovered that the background of the painting was made with lapis lazuli, a valuable and expensive material usually reserved for works commissioned by high-level patrons. Subsequently, a study was launched on the outcomes of the analyses carried out, which were not limited to a simple technical evaluation of the work, but also included a broader critical reflection, which highlighted the need to go beyond scientific analysis to interpret the data considering art history. This approach allowed for the development of new perspectives and insights, thanks to the contributions of the various professionals who participated in the study campaign.

The outcomes of the preliminary research on the painting’s state of affairs, the diagnostic analyses, and the resulting new studies are published in a volume complete with the new images researched, and containing research contributions by Edoardo Villata (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan and Northeastern University, China), Daniela Magnetti and Filippo Timo (Artistic Management of Banca Patrimoni Sella & C.), Roberto Giustetto (University of Turin), and Antonio Forcellino (Accademia Nazionale del Lincei). The volume will be intended both for the scientific and academic community and for the public of enthusiasts, the curious and collectors, and distributed by Banca Patrimoni Sella & C. to major national and international art libraries.

After 40 years, new critical and diagnostic studies on the Ambrosiana's Saint John the Baptist

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.