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  • Conservation and Restoration of easel paintings on canvas & board

  • Conservation of frames 

  • Conservation of artefacts

COSTS

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Recommendations for treatment and cost estimates or quotations  can only be made after initial examination of the artwork. This will not be charged for.

In conservation the main costs are usually due to the time involved and the used products.

EXAMINATION and REPORT

 

All clients will receive a detailed report about the painting/frame initial condition and any treatment carried out, as well as any images taken during the process, free of additional charge.

Painting details seen under UV light

Reconstruction of the hole and tears of the original canvas with inlays of new canvas and pulp material.

STRUCTURAL REPAIR

 

The Structural repair is the process that involves any step necessary to stabilize the support of a painting/object. This might be the canvas, the stretcher, a wooden panel or any other material serving as support of the painted/decorated surface. Repairs are carried out with a preference towards minimal interference and reversibility whenever possible.

CONSOLIDATION

 

Paint and ground layers can loose adhesion or cohesion for several reasons. Consolidation is the reattachment of those layers to the support or to each other. A wide range of stable adhesives and consolidants are available at the moment in conservation and they will be chosen according to the requirements of each case. 

Consolidation along tears, through the injection of glue underneath the paintend surface.

Half-cleaned painted surface seen under UV light. The darker part is where the old varnish is still present,the lighter part has been cleaned by solvents.

SURFACE CLEANING

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The appearance as well as the readability of an artwork can be deeply altered by the dirt deposits on the surface, by aged varnishes or by any previous restorations in the form of discoloured retouching or over-paint. The possibility to remove any of those disturbing layers will be carefully tested through cleaning agents, solvents or mechanical methods to minimise the risks and preserve the original painted layer.

FILLING AND RETOUCHING

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Filling and retouching operations  improve the aesthetic appearance of the artwork through the detailed reconstruction of lost material. Typically this includes the filling of ground losses and the optical re-integration of those areas by pictorial retouching. Retouching can be kept minimal or it can be carried out to a high level making it almost invisible to the naked eye. The process will be followed by the application of a new varnish layer as a protective layer.

The encircled parts of the painted surface have been retouching through mimetic reintegration.

FRAMES RESTORATION

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Frame conservation and restoration includes the general cleaning of the frame as well as any preventive treatments, in depth processes such as the consolidation of loose pieces and the replacing of damaged ornamentation, gilding, toning and retouching where necessary. For more specific treatments of a structural nature, help might be enlisted from specialised colleagues.

Gilded frame after surface cleaning and retouching.

PACKING

 

Packing and transport to and from the conservation studio can be provided depending on the size of the artwork. Alternatively it can be arranged for by  using a professional art logistics company.

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