Dürer’s masterpiece was painted in Venice, where the master studied the intricacies of Italian painting craft. The painting appeared in Rudolph II’s collection as late as in the 17th century, when it was purchased for the Emperor by Hans von Aachen for the sum of 900 ducats. It was also probably at this time when it underwent its first restoration.
“Karel Škréta was one of the restorers,” pointed out Vít Vlnas, director of the National Gallery Collection of Classical Art. “It seems highly probable that the picture wasn’t damaged in Prague, but the damage actually occurred earlier on in Venice,” said Vlnas.
Škréta’s repairs weren’t found
The research was carried out directly at the place where the picture is exhibited – in Šternberk Palace – and it revealed many new points of contention; for example, the enigma surrounding the layer restored by Škréta which wasn’t found.
“There are several suppositions. Either Škréta renovated the picture just in places where it is covered by its frame, or his work disappeared during later restoration measures, mainly in the 19th century,” said Olga Kotková, the curator of NG Collection of Old Masters Collection. We can’t rule out the option that Škréta didn’t work on the Rosary Celebration at all, but on some other picture. What is known is that Škréta was rewarded by 25 thaler, which was quite a substantial sum of money at that time.
How much was left from the original
The detective work involved with the Rosary Celebration research took quite long, and we can now say that the amount of repaints was higher than originally thought. The most drastic intervention was done by the little-known painter from Litoměřice, Johann Gruss. What disappeared is the fly painted by Dürer, which was sitting on Virgin Mary’s knee and looked just like a real one.
We know that the fly existed from people who copied the painting between 1839 and 1841, before the conservation. The research is by means concluded, but there is already an option being considered, that the picture will be restored to its original version, which means that the repaints, mainly from the 19th century, would be removed.
Who damaged the painting?
The research indicates that the painting wasn’t damaged during the demanding crossing of the Alps, as originally thought, but mainly the damage was already done in Venice, where it was painted.
“We can’t rule out the theory that the painting suffered due to technological depreciation caused by the fact that Dürer possibly hadn’t completely mastered Italian painting technology,” said restorer Adam Pokorný, who pointed out that a document recently discovered in Venice mentions the damage. On the other hand, Mr. Pokorny says that we can’t say for sure that the painting was in bad shape already in Venice. How it was in reality can be proved by other research.
Another joke of Dürer
If you decide to visit Šternberk Palace, we recommend taking a good long look at the picture. In the right-hand corner you will see a young man with curly hair, holding a paper with Albrecht Dürer’s signature. This is the painter himself, he was worshiped at his time. When he died, Germans nominated his successor in a quite unusual way. They exhumed his body, cut his lock of hair and sent it to Dürer’s most favourite pupil Hans Baldung Grien. Grien’s painting – The Beheading of St. Dorothea – can also be found in Prague.
