Conservation-restoration work on the genealogy of the Ohmučević family

Abstract

Na poleđini slike Krist i donator iz Strossmayerove galerije u Zagrebu, koja se pripisuje Lovri Dobričeviću (Kotor, oko 1420. – Dubrovnik, 1478.), do nedavnih je konzervatorsko-restauratorskih radova bio nalijepljen dokument s prikazom genealoškog stabla velikaške obitelji Ohmučević. Važnost povelje koju povjesničari smatraju krivotvorinom 16. stoljeća i njezina povezanost sa slikom, kao i sam izgled dokumenta odredili su specifčan tijek konzervatorsko-restauratorskih radova.Prior to the recent conservation-restoration works on the painting entitled Christ and the Donor, by Lovro Dobričević (Kotor, c. 1420–Dubrovnik, 1478), a document was attached to the back of the painting bearing a representation of the genealogical tree of the aristocratic family Ohmučević. According to the documentation in the possession of the painting’s owner, the Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb, this document on parchment was written by Petar of Istia (Ivelia?) in the 16th c. The significance of the document – considered by historians to be a 16th c. forgery – and its connection to the painting, as well as the appearance of the document itself, determined the specific course of conservation-restoration interventions. Investigation established that the document was written not on parchment, but rather on paper coated with a layer of gelatine. After the document was separated from the facing back of the painting using the technique, its front and back sides were cleaned using a carefully selected method, with the aim of preserving the gelatine layer. Numerous items of mechanical damage, tears, creases and missing parts were restored by gluing it onto a new paper base and, upon completion of the works, the charter was placed in a suitable storage folder