The Jordaens Restoration
Title: The Apostle Peter Finding the Tribute Money in the Mouth of the Fish
Alternate Title: The Ferry Boat to Antwerp, circa 1623
Artist: Jacob Jordaens (Flemish 1593-1678)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 279.5 by 467 cm
Permanent Collection and Image Courtesy: Statens Museum for Kunst
Restoring a Masterpiece:
The Ferry Boat to Antwerp
Jacob Jordaens
Statens Museum for Kunst
through July 18, 2008
One of the largest paintings found at Copenhagen's Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK)
is the monumental Jacob Jordaens oil The Apostle Peter Finding the Tribute
Money in the Mouth of the Fish. It is alternately titled The Ferry Boat to Antwerp.
Currently the SMK is undertaking to restore this epic work. Critics are torn whether the benefits
outweigh the problems in restoring a masterpiece. The SMK's response is to use modern
technology to follow the full path of the painstaking work on this canvas.
Beginning on September 18 and continuing today this circa 1623
canvas has undergone extensive restoration. Visitors are able
to watch the process unfold as it occurs in an open
workshop located in one of the museum's exhibition rooms.
Expected to take ten months to complete will focus not
only on the work but the process of restoration.
Old varnish and discolorations caused by previous restoration work
will be removed and the original layers applied by Jordeans will be
more firmly anchored to the canvas. Then extensive retouching will begin
to return the colors and textures as close as possible to the original work.
Through infrared scans and X-rays the museums and it's researchers hope to learn
more about this epic artwork.
The theme comes from a biblical tale told in the Gospel according to Saint
Matthew. The story tells of Jesus's trust in God to provide for their financial needs.
Matthew: 17:24-27: Tribute Money
When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?"
He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house,
Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon?
From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax,
from their sons or from strangers?"
When Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him,
"Then the sons are exempt.
"However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth,
you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me."
Title: The Apostle Peter Finding the Tribute Money in the Mouth of the Fish (Detail)
Alternate Title: The Ferry Boat to Antwerp (Detail), circa 1623
Artist: Jacob Jordaens (Flemish 1593-1678)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 279.5 by 467 cm
Permanent Collection and Image Courtesy: Statens Museum for Kunst
Jordaens took liberty with the then conventional norms
of the biblical story of Tribute money. Usually
Peter, the Apostle was illustrated as an older, bearded man. In this
version Jordaens opted to dress the passengers in 17th Century clothing,
which would have been contemporary for the time it was painted, circa 1623.
The SMK purchased the work in 1912. Then SMK director Karl Madsen, bought
the Jordaens oil from a Dutch merchant family.
Results: Blue Hair and an Invisible Woman
The initial infrared scans and X-ray revealed some intriguing information
about the work. It was painted on at least eight pieces of canvas.
- Questions may be answered such as:
- Why did Jordaens paint blue hair on one of the figures?
- Who is the woman whom X-rays have revealed to be hiding behind the uppermost layer of paint?
- Did Jordaens actually paint the entire canvas?
The SMK's website will also Internet visitors to follow the
progress.
Restoring a Masterpiece:
Jacob Jordaen's The Ferry Boat to Antwerp
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen:
through July 18, 2008
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