The importance of the details: The curious dermatologic story of the Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele by van Eyck

摘要

The history of the restoration of the masterpiece the Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele by Jan van Eyck focuses on the expertise of an acute observer, a dermatologist, who noted the removal of an important clinical skin detail-a lesion on the lower lip. The author's re-evaluation of the historic images before and after the restoration confirms the observation made by Jules Desneux, a Belgian dermatologist, in 1951. The author read the book that Cesare Brandi, an Italian restorer, published in 1960 technically detailing the error and the inattentive restoration. In addition, the author found and read the book published in 1951 by Desneux, in which the dermatologist accurately and brilliantly reports the skin lesions of the aged canon and brings to life the absence of the nodule of the lip. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.