The Louvre has a history of both successfully and unsuccessfully restoring art. The example of the 2013 restoration of The Virgin and Child with St. Anne proved that restoration could alter an artist’s work. The disagreement among conservators led to the painting becoming too light with significant changes to the details of the work. As a result, both critics and conservators protested any more restorations of da Vinci’s work, including the 2016 restoration of John the Baptist (Lewis, 2016). However, it was this restoration that proved that accurate and careful cleaning could truly return the work to some of its initial quality without altering it in unintended ways.
Fifteen layers of varnish were removed from the John the Baptist piece during restoration. This was done because the chemicals in it had oxidized and darkened the image as a result, with many details becoming unnoticeable. The removal of the varnish lightened the piece, illustrating the sfumato technique in greater detail. Though it is impossible to say that the restoration left the artist’s work completely untouched, the intervention left minimal changes to the piece.
The layers of varnish had been added over the lifetime of the painting and have been untouched since 1802. The oxidation process not only darkened the overall imagery but had left vital elements such as the saint’s curly hair or fur pelt most hidden. As such, the varnish itself was also interfering with the original appearance of the work. Despite the early protests, the Louvre continued with the restoration with positive results. It seemed that most who experienced the piece were not distracted by obvious interventions like in the previous Louvre restoration. While art viewers understand that zero alterations to art are impossible, minimal interference can enhance the experience of observing art.
Reference
Lewis, D. (2016). The Louvre Has Restored “St. John the Baptist”. The Smithsonian. Web.