26 The Annunciation retable the period depicting laid tables show such fabrics as tablecloths, as can for example be seen in the painting “Last Supper” by Bartolomeo Schedoni (1578 to 1615)(Fig. 30).31 The wide, seamless canvas could well have been particularly valuable and could also be interpreted as a special gift to the altar. The canvas was nailed to the front of a simple, non-wedgeable frame and coated with a very thin brownish preparation layer.32 The paint layer is also very thin. Impasto is only found in a few areas, such as the bishop’s mitre. In most of the surface areas, it has an even and smooth character, but nevertheless shows the relief of the woven structure. Condition - general observations The retable had remained virtually untouched to this point except for the pedestal zone which had been clad with modern-day tongue and groove boards. The only traces of restoration work could be found on the painting. An earthquake in 1996 probably caused the entablature to shift, subsequently collapsing during a church service, after which it was re-erected and secured by local labour. Fig. :30 “Ultima Cena” by Bartolomeo Schedoni (1578 to 1615) Galleria Nazionale, Parma; GN 132. (by concession of Ministero della Cultura - Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta - Galleria Nazionale, Parma), The depicted tablecloth shows a comparable pattern.
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