In 2016, conservation-restoration interventions were carried out on the Marededéu that is exhibited in room 2 of the Museum, on the occasion of its presentation at the exhibition:  THE PILLARS OF EUROPE. The Middle Ages in the collection of the British Museum  (Caixa Fòrum Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza, October 2016 - October 2017)

Marededéu with the Child

Second half of the twelfth century

Polychrome wood carving

76 x 40 x 25 cm

MFM 665

A preliminary examination of the polychromy has been carried out using level light, ultraviolet light and observation under the stereoscopic microscope, as well as a radiographic study of the piece using X-rays to see the state of conservation of the wooden structure. Various samples of polychromy have also been analyzed in order to determine the pigments used in the different layers of polychromy and to know the succession of pictorial layers applied over time, as well as the reconstructions and touch-ups carried out in old restoration interventions.

The conservation-restoration interventions have been the following:

• Punctual consolidation of weak elements of the wooden support.

• Fixation of the polychromy in danger of detachment.

• Cleaning of surface dirt.

• Punctual pictorial reintegration, with an archaeological type of presentation criterion leaving the remains of pictorial layers from various periods.