30 The Annunciation retable To date, complete reconstruction of all missing and damaged elements has been regarded the norm by most professionals involved in the treatment of retables in Croatia, as well as by local authorities. Refraining from reconstruction is an unusual position. The damaged work of art is perceived as unattractive or blemished, and there is a desire to remedy it, to cover up or reverse the damage. The notion of the unrepeatable authentic original was introduced into the discussion.35 The aesthetic qualities of the retable can be brought to the fore through targeted retouching without complete reconstruction. At the same time, the substance is conserved by minimising intervention and reducing the amount of additional material added to the existing old substance. Formal reconstruction only took place in two areas, one of which is the upper corner of the right-hand gable segment, where there was a gap in the contour. The line of the structure is enhanced using the technique of supplementing with wooden sticks (Fig.35, 36). The second place is the lower profile of the predella. This is so close to the viewer and to the mensa, which is still in liturgical use, that it was necessary to fill the worn and fragile surface of the profile with filler material to add strength. Fig. 35: Predella, reconstruction of moulding with subsequently added wood-sticks, before shaping and retouching
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