PAINTING RESTORATION

Portrait of a Young Woman was executed with oil paint on linen canvas. The painting came to our studio in very bad condition. The canvas support was warped and cracked. Several areas of the painting were overpainted in the past (i.e., the collar and the dress). It was also covered with layers of dirt and varnish. When the painting was restored, the owner was Beard Art Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As per the art experts of the gallery, in accordance with the style of the painting, it was assumed that the artist was American and the approximate time of execution was in the mid-19th century.

RESTORATION CONSISTED OF:

• Consolidating the paint layers
• Cleaning
• Removing overpaints
• Lining the painting on linen canvas, using a heat/vacuum table
• Filling cracks and missing areas of paint
• Inpainting, using reversible conservation materials
• Varnishing with a reversible and UV protective synthetic varnish