84 The sculpture of the crucified Christ tory of the retable and sculpture. Although having been added with good intentions, the performance of the new polychromy stands in stark contrast to the stylistic quality of the sculpture and the preserved authentic surface of the retable. As the investigation validated a well-preserved original polychromy underneath the overpaint – with good chance for a restoration treatment – it was decided to remove the overpaint with the aim to re-establish as much as authenticity as possible. Regarding the liturgical function of the sculpture, it was decided to reconstruct losses in the three-dimensional form like the eye and the missing fingers. For demounting, a specially designed wooden frame construction was placed around the sculpture. Once the sculpture had been fixed to that padded construction, the three fixing nails at hands and feet were removed and the sculpture lowered to the working table. Removal of the overpaint Given the poor artistic quality of the modern overpaint and the good state of preservation of the original polychromy underneath, it was decided to remove the overpaint, re-exposing the original paint layer. After testing and comparing the effect of different solvents and solvent gels on the overpaint, Klucel G gel (70/30 ethanol/acetone) was chosen as the most appropriate. The gel was applied over Japanese paper and covered with Melinex to halt the evaporation of the solvent. After five or more minutes, the compress was removed and the swollen overpaint removed with a scalpel. The surface was then cleaned with a mixture of ethanol and acetone (70/30) (Fig. 131, 132) No safe way was found to remove the white overpaint from the perizonium without harming the original white paint layer. It was decided to retain the overpaint layer in order to preserve the original polychromy underneath. To improve the aesthetic appearance of the perizonium and bring it into balance with the restored original surface of the incarnate, a reversible reconstruction of the polychromy was carried out on an intermediate layer of Japanese paper which will be described later. The removal of the dark brown overpaint on the hair and the beard required a mixture of DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxyde) and ethyl acetate (30/70) in Klucel G. In some areas of the hair, the removal of the overpaint was very difficult
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