Department Chair
Patrick Ravines
Date of Award
8-2025
Access Control
Open Access
Degree Name
Art Conservation, M.A., C.A.S.
Department
Art Conservation Department
Advisor
Fiona Beckett
First Reader
Jiuan Jiuan Chen
Second Reader
Rebecca Ploeger
Third Reader
Patrick Ravines
Abstract
A technical analysis and conservation treatment were conducted on the Ex-voto with Saints, an oil painting on wood panel, dated 1752 and crafted by an unknown artist. Originating from the Spanish colonial period in Caracas, Venezuela, the artwork is part of the Art of the Spanish Americas collection curated by the Carl & Marilynn Thomas Foundation. The project's primary objectives were to identify the artist's materials and techniques, establish the most suitable treatment protocol, and conduct treatment on the painting. The study was complicated by a few factors, including that the panel had previously undergone several invasive conservation campaigns, and there is limited information on the materials and painting techniques employed by artists in Caracas, Venezuela, during the Spanish colonial period. Ex-voto with Saints underwent multimodal imaging including ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence, reflected ultraviolet, reflected infrared, infrared luminescence and x-radiography. Materials analysis was executed with several analytical techniques, including microscope transmission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, cross-sectional analysis, and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The results of the technical analysis provided a better understanding of the painting’s materials and history. The confirmed palette used in Ex-voto with Saints includes vermilion, orpiment, Prussian blue, lead carbonate (lead white or cerussite), hematite along with other earthen pigments. Aesthetic and structural treatments were conducted, including varnish and overpaint removal, adjustments to the fills, varnishing and inpainting, as well as addressing the separated frame fragment. The treatment was successful and the painting is in exhibitable condition.
Recommended Citation
Gumkowska, Renata, "Ex-Voto with Saints Technical Study and Conservation of an 18th Century Ex-voto Panel Painting with Saints from Caracas, Venezuela" (2025). Art Conservation Master's Projects. 54.
https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/art_con_projects/54
