Archive documents give no indication of the circumstances in which the sculpture was repainted, between the 16th and the end of the 18th Centuries. This type of intervention may have been linked, as was often the case, to an architectural renovation of the building in which the work was situated or its removal to a new location.
As was often the case, the repaints moved progressively further away from the original chromatic design. By and large, the colours of the first repaint were identical to the original, while those following became less and less faithful. However, over the centuries, blue has always been used solely for the Virgin’s robe.
Recreation of first repaint.
Réalisation : realFusio
No doubt intended to revive the original polychrome, the first repaint was partial and kept to the same range of colours. The blue of the Virgin’s robe, worn out by cleaning, was covered by a layer of azurite blue, but the star motifs were not reapplied. The miniver lining lost its naturalistic appearance by being treated in the same spirit as the lining of the mantle, with a red glaze over gold leaf gilding. The flesh was repainted, and its tonality remained very pale, although with more marked highlights. The red of the Virgin’s lips was more intense and her lower eyelids were underlined with a stronger brown line. The white mantle and pressed brocade on the sleeve of the book were not repainted.
The techniques used in this repaint, which kept to the original chromatic palette, would seem to indicate a date during the 16th Century.
Recreation of second repaint.
Réalisation : realFusio
It is probable that a fairly long period separated this repaint from the earlier one. In fact, large deposits of dust had accumulated in the hollows of the sculpted forms and the underlying layers were already showing lacunae.
Moreover, in the choice of colours, this intervention marks a stylistic break with the original polychrome and the first repaint. The Virgin’s mantle became red and the Child’s tunic, pale yellow. There was almost certainly less money available, because the gold on the revers of the mantle was replaced by tin, and a gold / silver alloy was applied to the Virgin’s hair, her crown and the border of the Child’s tunic. The book and its sleeve were no longer seen as a whole but as two separate elements: the upper part was treated as a book, the fabric of the sleeve was treated as a sort of dust cover; this incorrect medieval interpretation of the accessory was to persist. The Virgin’s face lost its pallor, the flesh tints became more orange.
The pigments used (lead-tin yellow) and the use of alloys or tin to replace the gold would seem to indicate that this repaint took place during the 17th Century.