Da Vinci Painting Was Overcleaned, Say Louvre Experts
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Top Photo Group/Thinkstock(PARIS) — Two top art experts in France have resigned from the Louvre advisory committee responsible for restoring the Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne,” the Guardian reports. The resignation stems from their protest concerning the artwork’s cleaning.
Segolene Bergeon Langle and Jean-Pierre Cuzin decided to disassociate themselves from the committee believing the restoration had gone too far and left the 500-year-old painting more luminous than da Vinci may have intended.
Bergeon Langle and Cuzin both declined to comment beyond confirming their resignation, but a Louvre source has also shared concerns the artwork may have been overcleaned, the Guardian reports. The sources says they will, however, wait to hear the decision after another expert viewing to take place Jan. 3. The museum itself maintains its restoration process has not harmed the artwork.
“Rarely has a restoration been as well prepared, discussed and effected, and never will it have benefited from such effective techniques,” Vincent Pomarede, the Louvre’s head of paintings, said, according to the Guardian. “The first assessment revealed the excellent state of conservation … comforting us in the choices made.”
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