Restauration d'une peinture murale française du Xve siècle déposée, provenant du logis abbatial de Clermont en Mayenne (Louvre) : étude de la technique et des différentes campagnes d'intervention

Conservation of a detached French mural painting of the 15th century, formerly in the House of the Abbot of Clermont in Mayenne (Musée du Louvre). Examination of techniques and past conservation. Le Cerf, a fragment of wall painting is one of seven pieces currently stored by the Musée du Louvre. They were originally painted in the 15th century for the House of the Abbot of Clermont (Mayenne). In 1911, they were detached by an art dealer and sold to a private collector who had them inserted in the walls of his house. When they were donated to the Louvre in 1954, the paintings were again removed from the walls.
The primary aim of the study was to gain better understanding of the original technique used. It was attempted to differentiate between the numerous past conservation interventions which the fragments, and specially Le Cerf, had undergone. It appeared that the fragment had been considerably altered, but these changes are now considered to be an important aspect of the fragment's history and had to be preserved.
The support was not treated in the course of our intervention. Conservation focused on an overall consolidation of the flakes and clefts in the limewash. Discrete retouching improved the visual appearance of the many losses.