Public Commissions

Cecile Charpentier restores the paint layers of works for French Public Institutions including many National Museums and Historic Monuments.


Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2006

Michele Pagano.
Landscape, Rencontre galante près d'une fabrique

Oil on canvas, size: 98 x 126 cm, (formerly oval)
Figures painted by Michele Pagano and Francesco de Mura
(Italian 18th-century School)

Pagano restauré
General view after restoration.


Lacunae before restoration and reconstruction of two women by Cecile Charpentier, details.


Interventions by Cecile Charpentier

- Partial removal of the paint layer
- Removal of repainted areas
- Filling in lacunae
- Retouching worn areas
- Harmonizing of the enlargements added in the 19th century
- Pictorial illusionist rehabilitation and reconstruction of lacunae


Work Methodology

Initially, to harmonize the angles added to the original oval in the 19th century, it was necessary to even out the varnish over the entire work. In the past, in addition to the enlargements, the painting had undergone several restoration interventions. This is why the additions were very dissimilar. Classified into four types, they each required a specific approach.

1. The overpainted area located above the fabrique and the mountains in the background had been reduced.
2. The clouds painted in the corner to the left, when placed into the rectangular format that overlapped the original oval of the sky, had been blended together.
3. In the rest of the sky, the gray-green clouds, which had been overpainted, were eliminated.
4. The oily overpainting, top right in the foliage of the tall tree and above the bushes at the bottom of the oval, which had been painted in a green lacquer and an earth tone, were removed.


After the elimination and harmonization of the overpainting, the work was varnished and putty filler added before undertaking the final phase of restoration: the re-introduction of missing elements.

Adding the missing elements

Two of the female figures showed significant lacunae and a reconstruction was required. Part of the arm and shoulder and a large part of the face of the first woman had disappeared entirely. With regard to the other female figure, only a foot and a piece of drapery could be distinguished; part of her body was hidden behind a bush; nothing remained of her face.



The reconstruction was carried out with the help of a black and white photograph dating from 1975, printed before the accident that had caused the loss of material. However, the resolution of this photograph gives barely enough information to explain how the painter had depicted these characters.


See other reconstructions by clicking here...

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