As of September 21, Piero della Francesca’s Madonna and Child with Saints, Angels and Federico da Montefeltro, also known as the Montefeltro Altarpiece, among the greatest masterpieces housed in the Brera Art Gallery, in room XXIV, has also been placed in climaframe: an air-conditioned vitrine applied directly to the frame of the work, which guarantees the best conservation conditions for the painting without interfering with its viewing by visitors.
To ensure the microclimatic stability of the table, which despite the air conditioning of the rooms can be compromised by the flow of the public, an airtight display case with a metal frame and structure and a front cover of 3.3.1 laminated museum glass was designed for the Montefeltro Altarpiece that can guarantee a constant internal microclimate through the use of passive relative humidity stabilizers preconditioned at 55% RH. Particular care was taken during the design phase to minimize the visual impact of the vitrine by using the pre-extended frame. In fact, the final dimensions of the frame remain unchanged in height and width, while the total thickness is increased by only 100 millimeters to allow for the insertion of the glass and rear metal protection. The final dimensions thus turn out to be about 278 (H) x 201 (W) x 23.5 (D) centimeters.
Capable of combining effectiveness with aesthetics, the climaframe is a preferred tool also included by the Art Gallery in agreements regarding the loan of a work, where the condition of the painting or its destination location requires it, so as to equip an increasingly large part of the collection with this improvement.
Some of the museum’s masterpieces have already been placed in climaframe: from Mantegna’s Dead Christ to Bramante’s Christ at the Column, from Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Madonna and Child to Giovanni Bellini’s Pietà, from Titian’s Portrait of Antonio Porcia to Lorenzo Lotto’s Portrait of a Gentleman with Gloves.
On the occasion of GEP - European Heritage Days, an in-depth discussion for the public, curated by Andrea Carini, will be dedicated to the new climaframe of the Brera Altarpiece on Saturday, September 23 at 4 p.m.
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Pinacoteca di Brera, inserted in climaframe the Montefeltro Altarpiece by Piero della Francesca |
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