Cleaning Donatello's David

Laser technology has revealed that Donatello's David, one of the most important statues of the Italian Renaissance, was once decorated with gold leaf. . .

The work has been opened to the public, who can watch the restorers using a medical-grade laser to clean off the residue that has built up on the statue. . .

The restorers have been using lasers that are customised to shoot a "longer pulse" than the ones used by surgeons. . .

The gold had been buried under a thick layer of wax that was applied to the statue in the 18th century. Ms Nicolai said that when David was kept at the Uffizi Gallery he was covered in a "mixture of wax, oils and pigment".

The Uffizi wanted to darken the statue's colour so it would match the other sculptures in its collection.

Posted by David on March 17, 2008 8:44 PM