Menu

Before treatment, the portrait has dirt and a thick discolored varnish, a network of raised cracks, a large canvas tear ...Read more

After treatment, the painting is cleaned, cracks are lowered and the canvas is repaired and strong. The frame was clean...Read more

Before, the painting is difficult to view with the distracting cracks and surface damages....Read more

After, the painting can be appreciated in a cohesive manner without distraction of condition. ...Read more

Before, in raking light the raised cracks, dirt and tear are highlighted. ...Read more

After, in raking light, the painting has regained original texture through a vapour treatment and consolidation to lower...Read more

Before, the verso of the canvas is torn....Read more

After, the painting is lined onto a laminate of a thin rigid board on linen, to keep the strong cracks in plane while ma...Read more

Before, the sitter, Mr. MacFie, is difficult to see with all of the painting damages....Read more

After, Mr. MacFie can be viewed with clarity....Read more

Before, detail of tear and large image loss. ...Read more

After, canvas repaired and the loss is infilled and inpainted. The newspaper was identified through research to aid in ...Read more

The canvas tear was aligned and repaired edge-to-edge on a suction platen. ...Read more

The conservator carefully textured the large fill to match the painting surface prior to retouching....Read more

Inpainting is done using reversible media exactly inside the area of loss, with no overpaint onto the artist’s paint, ...Read more

 

George Harvey: Portrait of Robert MacFie of Langhouse, 1827
oil on canvas, 18 1/4″ x 16″

Project Highlights

A family portrait had thick layers of dirt and discolored varnish.  The strong varnish was cleaned with aid of poultices to soften the layer.  The very lifted cracks were relaxed and lowered with a full edge to edge tear repair done, but the canvas was to weak to hold the paint in place and lining was also required.  The old damages were infilled and inpainted and the artwork provided with a lightly applied saturating conservation varnish.