TECHNICAL EXAMINATION AND CONSERVATION OF THE PAINTING “THE DEATH OF SAPPHIRA” BY AMBROSIUS FRANCKEN II: CONTRIBUTION TO THE ARTIST TECHNIQUE Damian Lizun AMBROSIUS FRANCKEN II Technical examination and conservation of the painting “The Death of Sapphira” by Ambrosius Francken II: contribution to the artist technique Damian Lizun ABSTRACT This paper focuses on a technical examination and structural treatment of the 17th century Flemish panel painting “The Death of Sapphira” by Ambrosius Francken II. The panel belongs to the Office of Public Works and is displayed in Dublin Castle, Ireland. The technical and stylistic examination and conservation of the painting were carried out in 2012 by the author. According to the author’s current information there is no similar technical study of other paintings by Ambrosius Francken II so that this paper may be a contribution to the artist technique. The results of the research work were compared to the current knowledge of the 17th century panel paintings. A significant result of the examination process was the discovery of the Antwerp brand on the back of the panel that clearly defines that panel was created after 1617. The panel’s damage problems concerned the open joins caused by a contraction of the planks and extreme concave warping of the surface caused by the later addition of two glued crossbeams. The main aim of the challenging conservation process was to eliminate warping and this was conducted by the removal of the crossbeams, further gentle moisture treatment of the painting to correct the deformations and rejoining. 1. Introduction caused by the past treatments were disturbing to the viewer and made it unacceptable for display The panel painting “The Death of Sapphira” (Fig‐ purposes. The conservation project, started in ure 1) belongs to the Office of Public Works (OPW) May 2012 and completed four months later, pre‐ and is part of the collection of Dublin Castle. The sented complex conservation problems due to OPW is responsible for the management of the natural deterioration of the panel and its subse‐ State art collection, which now comprises almost quent restoration. Discussion with the owner 7,000 works by over 1,250 artists, located in Govern‐ showed that no technical analysis of the painting ment buildings and public spaces throughout had been carried out to his knowledge. Hence, the Ireland and in some of the Irish embassies. Dublin conservation intervention was a great opportunity Castle is one of the most popular tourist attractions to gather technical information of the painting and in Ireland and houses an impressive collection of of the artist. The initial technical examination was paintings and sculpture, particularly from the 18th prompted by the painting’s conservation issues and 19th centuries. Before the treatments, the but its study gradually progressed when a survey painting was on display at Dublin Castle but the of technical literature revealed two similar panel exacerbated instability and distortions of the panel paintings painted around the same time. e‐conservation 87 DAMIAN LIZUN Figure 1. State before intervention of “The death of Sapphira” Figure 2.“The Death of Sapphira” by unknown Antwerp painter by Ambrosius Francken II, Dublin Castle, Ireland. from the circle of Ambrosius Francken I, National Museum in Krakow, Poland. 2. Iconography general. The elongated figures of Peter and the woman in the left foreground corner are stock The painting represents a biblical scene from the Mannerist figures, elegant and self‐conscious. Acts of the Apostles (Acts 5: 1‐11) depicting Ana‐ They are set‐pieces showing off the artist’s sense nias and his wife Sapphira, who were members of of style and knowledge of classical art. The cos‐ the early Christian community in Jerusalem. At tumes are a strange combination of contemporary the time, it was a custom to contribute charity for and classical dress, with an emphasis on sump‐ the poorest people. According to the 'Acts of the tuous fabrics and colours. Another feature of this Apostles', Ananias sold a possession and lied to style is the claustrophobic sense of space which the Apostles about the proportion of wealth he the figures occupy [1]. was presenting to the Church. Ananias was struck down by God for his dishonesty and Sapphire, The scene is attributed in the collection catalogue three hours later, suffered the same fate, she too to an unknown painter from the circle or follower lied to the apostles about her husband’s gift. In of Flemish artist Ambrosius Francken I (1544–1618) the foreground, a group of figures are gathered [1, p. 69] while a comprehensive study of the around the dead body of Sapphire. Three men lift Francken family conducted by Natasja Peeters it up, as in an entombment or lamentation scene, attributes the work to Ambrosius Francken II while the others look on in surprise and horror. (after 1590‐1632) and dates it to 1615‐1620. According to the Acts of the Apostles, after Sap‐ She points out that the artist was active from phira’s death “great fear came upon all the church 1610 onwards [2]. and upon all who heard these things”. The figures of Peter and the Christ‐like John are in the back‐ The painted scene seems to have been very popu‐ ground of the painting accepting gifts for the lar around 1620s as two similar versions still exist. church from the assembled crowd. One is exhibited in the National Museum in Krakow, Poland (inventory number MNK XII‐A‐873) (Figure The work combines Northern Realism with a famili‐ 2). According to the museum’s online catalogue arity with current Italian art and with classicism in [3], the artwork is attributed to the unknown 88 e‐conservation AMBROSIUS FRANCKEN II Figure 3. “The Death of Sapphira” by Ambrosius Francken. Saint‐ Figure 4. Back of the painting and frame before intervention. Jean cathedral in Besancon, France. Photo by Yves Sancey, Franche‐ Comté region, Inventory and Heritage, ADAGP, 1998. Antwerp painter from the circle of Ambrosius position. The foreground group of people tightly Francken I and was created around 1600. The surrounds a dead Sapphira. Some of them are panel consists of single board and measures 48 x frightened or curious. The number of crowd 64 cm and it was executed in grisaille technique participants differs but three figures always with oil paints. The other painting whose icono‐ support the dead body of Sapphira in all three graphy is very similar is displayed in the Saint‐ paintings. The position of her legs and the twist Jean cathedral in Besançon, France (Figure 3). of her left hand are similar in the paintings from According to the General Inventory of Cultural Dublin and Krakow while the very characteristic Heritage [4], the painting was first attributed to tilt of her head can be found in the paintings from Tintoretto, then to Jacob de Backer and finally to Krakow and Besançon. In all three paintings, the Ambrosius Francken. Unfortunately the catalogue foreground crowd is separated from the group doesn’t specify if the painting is attributed to assembled around St Peter and John standing on Ambrosius Francken I or II. This panel painting the steps. The architectural background is indis‐ executed in oil technique is much bigger than the tinct and flat in the scenes from Krakow and Dublin two others and measures 212 x 255 cm. while the artist of the French panel painted the arches giving more depth to the three dimensional It is evident from the design of these three paint‐ illusion of the scene. In the last panel, a view of ings that the artists were looking at or taking an the far mountainous landscape was created behind inspiration from an unknown engraving source. It the architecture. is difficult to speculate how closely the prepara‐ tory drawings follow the source but some compari‐ son can be made among the paintings to trace 3. Materials and Technique similarities and differences. The paintings from Krakow and Dublin have a vertical format while The painted panel measures 94 x 124 cm and it is the French painting is almost square. The scene made of four oak planks cut radially (Figure 4). takes place in a monumental architectural They have solid and relatively straight grain ori‐ framework which fills the right side of the com‐ ented in a horizontal direction. The oak was the e‐conservation 89 DAMIAN LIZUN Figures 5 and 6. Close‐up of the face of the join. The images show incisions made on the face in order to improve the bond of the natural skin glue. The floating dowel was inserted in the carved housing without glue. most common support used by painters of the the northern countries became thinner toward Northern school. The planks vary in width and are the end of the 16th century (8‐30 mm thick) dowels 22‐27.5 cm wide which was common in the Northern replaced the butterfly keys for stabilizing and countries [5]. The thickness of the planks is 7‐10 aligning the joins during gluing [5, p. 155]. There‐ mm. No knots or defects nor cut‐marks were found fore, the butterfly keys on the back of the panel on the panel which suggests that the panel’s painting “The Death of Sapphira” can be a later planks were carefully sourced, and after assembly addition. Probably early in its history the original their surface was planed until completely smooth. butt joins broke and the oak butterfly keys were The assembly of the planks was achieved by hori‐ inserted into the boards as deep as one‐half of zontal butt‐joining and accurate planing of the the board thickness, with their grain running faces to be united and then making incisions to crosswise to the board’s grain, to hold the adja‐ improve the bond of the natural skin glue what cent boards tightly together (Figure 7).