The restorer began the paint cleaning in January 2025, which took about two months. The restoration procedures comprehended:

• To remove the damaged protective layers 
• To use an ultraviolet lamp on selected areas that need to be repainted and treated

After cleaning, diffuse abrasions appeared on the pictorial layer previously covered by retouching. The gaps were small, except for a wide gap on the right of the figure's sleeve, where the conservator found two different types of plaster from previous restorations. The Painting Restoration Laboratory decided to remove the plaster and the heavy repainting visible on it and to apply a new plaster retouched with recognizable linear tones.

The corresponding mosaic image was used to determine the correct arrangement of the drapery folds. In some areas, the restorer intervened on the original detached fabric and tapestry, performing a specific intervention with injections of adhesive and subsequent pressure on the surface using magnets placed on the front and back of the artwork.

The reintegration phases are currently underway.

In July and August, the Equilibrarte company, under the supervision of the Painting and Wood Laboratory, carried out the intervention to facilitate the future handling of the work, which consisted of designing and building a specific frame.

The delicate process involved modifying just a few parts of the frame and transforming it into a structure that could be folded if necessary. The canvas wasn't removed from its support except for the areas affected by the modification, which minimized the stress on the work.

This is the first time the Painting Laboratory has experimented with this technique, as, on other occasions, the wooden frame has been replaced with a steel one.

The successful outcome of this intervention offers the possibility of simplifying the transport and installation of the big artworks for temporary exhibitions without affecting the painting and the original support structures during both the construction and transport phases.

While waiting to transport the painting to the laboratory and begin the conservation process, the restorers are documenting its condition.

For the restoration of this large painting, an ad hoc laboratory has been set up in a space outside the Painting Restoration Laboratory, which already housed another large canvas, Mattathias' Wrath Against the Idolater, also made as a model for the mosaics of St. Peter's Basilica.

The painting of the Cumaean Sibyl, attributed to Ciro Ferri, arrived at the Vatican Museums in 1926 and was restored and placed as a decoration in the long corridor in front of the Restoration Laboratories in 1934.

Subsequent structural modifications to the building now prevent the painting from leaving its location; some wall structures block the passage of the large work (3.97 x 3.60 m).

Resolving this problem became a priority for transport to the laboratory for restoration and future handling of exhibitions and displays.

The restoration company Equilibrarte, which specializes in supports and structures for works on canvas, was consulted. Together with them, the Painting and Wood Laboratory of the Vatican Museums designed a frame modification that will allow the work to be folded into two parts and thus easily moved.

A similar intervention has already been performed on Simon Hantaϊ's large painting, Le Manteau de la Vierge. The following photographs give an idea of the work that will be performed in July 2024. During the planning stages of this particular intervention, the Photographic Laboratory took photographs of the front and back of the work before restoration, and the Scientific Research Laboratory will carry out non-destructive studies. Restorers performed an initial cleaning test to determine the proper cleaning methodology for this artwork.