When this charming mural fragment arrived at The Center, it was rolled up, brittle, and very dirty. Found in an attic, the owner wanted to see what treatment might be possible, and our Painting Department was happy to oblige.
The back of the canvas had evidence of adhesive remnants, indicating that the piece was most likely originally a mural that was adhered directly onto a wall. Unframed and unstretched - and then rolled - the canvas was brittle with many areas of tears and loss around the edges and deformations throughout the painting.
The piece exhibited small scattered areas of flaking and loss that appear to be a result of removal from the wall and subsequent rolling.
The thinly-applied oil paint layer was unvarnished and had a heavy layer of grime. After testing various solvents, the conservator proceeded with slowly surface cleaning the grime from the paint layer, which garnered remarkable results.
Once cleaned, the painting was flattened on the suction table to address the deformations caused by the tears and from being previously rolled. Using conservation adhesives and materials, the tears were realigned before the painting was lined with a prepared linen canvas.
Because of the edge losses, the canvas was no longer square. This was addressed with the canvas lining, which remains visible along the edges after treatment. Sympathetic in color, the linen lining canvas does not detract from the image yet also allows the viewer to admire the treatment and preservation of this mural.
For the final treatment step, the painting was sprayed with a protective matte varnish before being framed in a gold-tone frame with a protective backing board. This mural fragment is now ready to take its place back on the wall!
