Search Site icon--logo-mobile Hartwick College
Home

Conserved Renaissance Masterwork returns to Hartwick’s Yager Museum

After five centuries, most everything needs a little tender loving care. And that’s something Hartwick College’s Yager Museum of Art & Culture is celebrating as it welcomes one of its Renaissance treasures back from a year’s conservation treatment at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in Massachusetts.

Painted in the early 16th century by Andrea Previtali (ca. 1480-1528), “Madonna and Child in a Landscape” was acquired by the Reverend Louis van Ess, rector of Saint James Episcopal Church in Oneonta and a Hartwick College professor, in the 1950s. When van Ess passed away in 1960, he left much of his art collection, including the Previtali, to Hartwick.

“Louis van Ess had collected American impressionist art before coming to Oneonta Museum. But in the 1950s, he traveled to Europe several times and purchased a number of Italian Renaissance paintings. Among them were two by Previtali, who was a student of Giovanni Bellini.”

Doug Kendall

Yager Museum of Art & Culture Coordinator

“Madonna and Child in a Landscape,” painted in oil on a wood panel, has been on display in the van Ess Gallery at the museum for several years. A survey funded with a Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services found that both the wood panel and a wooden cradle added in the 20th century had suffered woodworm damage. In addition, the painting’s surface had suffered some losses and showed the accumulated dirt and dust of the centuries.

In late 2023, the museum received a grant from the Greater Hudson Heritage Network (GHHN) and contracted with the Williamstown Art Conservation Center to treat and preserve the painting. A partnership between the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and Greater Hudson Heritage Network (GHHN), the conservation grant treatment program is made possible with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Over the next year, Williamstown conservators Maggie Barkovic and Tatiana Shannon painstakingly treated the painting, cleaned it, strengthened the wood panel and varnished it before returning it to the Yager Museum.

"Madonna and Child in a Landscape" - Before & After Conservation Treatment

The “after” image is prior to reframing but comparing the two, by using the interactive slider, you can clearly see where losses have been retouched.

“It’s great to be able to share “Madonna and Child in a Landscape” with the community once again,” Kendall stated. “We also acknowledge the vital support of both federal and state grants funding for the arts that made the conservation treatment possible that has ensured the preservation of this masterpiece.”

The museum will unveil the conserved Previtali painting on Wednesday, April 30, at 2:30 p.m. in the van Ess Gallery as part of the continuing exhibition, “Masterpieces of European and American Art: the Hartwick College Art Treasure Room.”

The Yager Museum’s galleries will also be open during the concert. Visitors can explore the museum’s current exhibits, including the new exhibition “Discovering Our Place: Working, Learning, and Playing Within These Hills,” curated by students in Hartwick’s Museum Studies program.

The museum’s regular hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. when the College is in session. The museum is closed on Sundays, Mondays, College holidays and when the College is not in session. Admission is free. More information is available on this and additional events through the museum’s Facebook page and webpage or by calling 607-431-4480 or emailing [email protected].

April 25, 2025
What's New

Learn More About Hartwick

Awards Aim To Support Environmental Study Students

Students must fill out an application, which includes a project proposal. The deadline for application is Tuesday, April 22.

Read More

Future Hawks Take Flight at Accepted Students’ Day

Events like this show future students what it means to be part of The Life Balance College—where learning, living and growing all go hand in hand. That feeling of connection makes all the difference.

Read More