ST.PETER SENDS ST.DOMNIUS TO DALMATIA, A PAINTING BY PIETRO FERRARI FROM THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. DOMNIUS IN SPLIT: A CONSERVATION-RESTORATION INTERVENTION

U Hrvatskom restauratorskom zavodu u Splitu u razdoblju od 2009. do sredine 2010. godine izveden je konzervatorskorestauratorski zahvat na jednoj od šest slika iz ciklusa Pietra Ferrarija koje se nalaze u koru splitske katedrale. Izrazito veliki problem bile su natprosječne dimenzije slike te velike količine voska koji se koristio prilikom restauratorskog zahvata šezdesetih godina prošlog stoljeća. Nakon izvedenih pokusa čišćenja zahvat je u potpunosti uspješno izveden. Konzervatorskorestauratorski tim činili su voditelj projekta Stanko Alajbeg i suradnici Julija Baćak, Ratka Kalilić, Branka Martinac, Sandra Šustić i Alen Škomrlj.In the chourus of the Split Cathedral, there are six big canvases by Pietro Ferrari featuring the life of St. Domnius. (St. Duje in Croatian) Little is known about the master and his work in this area, but it is presumed that he was from the Italian province of Emilia. It is highly likely that he was a wandering artist. The paintings, including St.Peter sends St.Domnius to Dalmatia, were commissioned in the late 17th century by Bishop Stjepan Cosmi. The painting was in an extremely poor condition, due to previous interventions, that were carried out in 1929 and 1962, by means of unsuitable agents. Since the surface of the painted layer was severely damaged, the decision was made on yet another conservation-restoration intervention. The intervention was carried out in the period 2009-mid-2010, at the Croatian Restoration Institute. The conservation team encountered problems in the early stages of the conservationrestoration work, due to the dimensions of the painting. After the stabilization procedure, the painting was taken to the restoration-conservation workshop. First it was photographed and then the stratigraphic analysis was carried out. The restoration procedures that followed included surface cleaning, the removal of the layers applied during previous interventions, retouching and underpainting. Finally, a protective layer of acrylic lacquer was applied on the surface of the painting. Thus the conservation-restoration intervention was finished and the painting was returned to the chorus of the Cathedral in late April