Describe the characteristics of the Restoration in Il Perdono di Gesualdo's History.
The painting had suffered other damages before the 1980 earthquake. During his first visit to Santa Maria delle Grazie, in 1961, Glenn Watkins noticed “that the altarpiece had been transferred to the wall at the left of the main altar but also that it had a prominent tear at the lower left-hand side.” It was reproduced with this tear on the cover of the first edition of Watkins's book Gesualdo, The Man and his Music in 1973.After the earthquake, which destroyed a large portion of the church, the painting remained stored on its side on the ground for many years. Restorative work was decided on at the end of the 1990s, and the canvas was remounted in its original location on June 6, 2004.This work led to a number of discoveries concerning the state of the original painting. The restoration uncovered several pentimenti, such as Mary Magdalene's originally more open décolleté. But the influence of the Counter-Reformation affected more than the painting's modesty: the most impressive alteration was done to the figure of Eleonora d’Este, entirely covered by a Capuchin Poor Clare nun in a monastic robe.The identification of the princess of Venosa put an end to a controversy that had agitated the community of historians and musicologist up to that point. Among interpretations suggested for this figure in the Perdono, Glenn Watkins mentions Sister Corona, the sister of Cardinal Borromeo, as well as the wife of the duke Gesualdo assinated. The restored figure's court dress and collarless ruff are in keeping with the grandee attire worn by the Duke of Andria.
Mary Magdalene grandee Capuchin Glenn Watkins Poor Clare altarpiece Gesualdo Counter-Reformation Eleonora d’Este left Venosa