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15th c. monumental door restored at Louvre
The Stanga Palace door, a masterpiece of the Lombard Renaissance architecture now in the Louvre, has been restored, stripping it of a brown layer that obscured its decorative details and original accents. It is now much more readable, thanks also to a new lighting system that enhances the depth of the reliefs.
It was built in 1490 for the Palazzo Stanga di Castelnuovo in Cremona, a massive structure over 23 feet high inspired by the triumphal arches of antiquity. It is decorated with mythological iconography, primarily scenes and characters from the stories of Hercules and Perseus. Under the half columns are depictions of four of the Labors of Hercules — Antaeus, the Lernaean Hydra, the Nemean Lion, and the Stymphalian Birds. The seven heads of the Hydra are figures in a medallion in the center of the portal. The three heads of the Gorgons and the head of Pegasus are in a medallion on the right. Hercules wielding his club is one side; Perseus in armor is on the other. Above the arch on the entablature are reliefs of battles alternating with busts of Roman emperors. Scrolling foliage and fantastical animals intertwine squeeze in between the main scenes.
The design is attributed to Milanese sculptor Giovanni Pietro da Rho who was active in Cremona between 1480 and 1508. First built by Marquis Cristoforo Stanga, faithful adherent of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the first duke of Milan, in the early 18th century it was bought by Scipione I de’ Rossi, who restructured the palace in Baroque style. In 1870, the palace was sold to an engineer who completely rebuilt the façade, dismantling da Rho’s monumental portal. He sold the whole thing to an antiquarian banker from Marseilles in 1875, and the banker then sold it to the Louvre for twice what he paid for it.
The door has been displayed in the in the Michelangelo Gallery since 1877. It serves as the dramatic setting for masterpieces of Italian sculpture from the 16th to the 19th century, including the two unfinished Slaves by Michelangelo intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II.
The material used in the construction of the portal is Candoglia marble, the same material from which Milan Cathedral was built. During the 19th century, however, the surface of the door had been covered with a layer of dark brown paint, accompanied by subsequent applications of wax. These treatments, while probably having a protective function, had progressively altered the legibility of the work, flattening volumes and obscuring details. […]
Numerous tests were conducted by Hubert Boursier and Jennifer Vatelot, along with Hélène Susini and Azzurra Palazzo of the C2RMF sculpture restoration service, in order to identify the most effective and least invasive method. The team in charge of the intervention, under the direction of restorers Adèle Cambon and Annabelle Sansalone, then proceeded to remove the dark layer using lasers, supplementing the operation with a light chemical treatment to remove the waxes, all while fully respecting the original material.
The layer of nineteenth-century painting left a slight golden hue in the marble. A more intense use of the laser could have attenuated it further, but it would have carried the risk of affecting the original surface of the material. The conservative choice adopted made it possible to restore the quality of the reliefs, the modulation of the volumes, and the clarity of the profiles, draperies, and medallions, while also allowing the rediscovery of the black stone incrustations that emphasize and enhance the ornamental course.
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