Portrait of a Man, before treatment
Portrait of a Man, after treatment
Portrait painting is a form of art practiced by artists for centuries. People have always wanted to preserve the essence of their loved ones tangibly, and portraiture is the art of representing a person or figure in paint. From the cave paintings of early man to masterpieces by the greatest artists throughout history, painted portraits were the only way to commemorate an individual until the advent of photography in the mid-1800s. Now, with access to digital photography at the tip of our fingers, the sheer number of photographs that exist today is a testament to how significant portraits are.
Portrait of a Woman, before treatment, unframed
These two portraits showcase the time, energy, cost, and thought that went into commissioning and creating portraits. Margaret found these two portraits in an old box in her parent's attic after they passed away. "I have always loved portraits. I had never seen the portraits before that but knew, once I found them, I really wanted to have them conserved and preserved."
Portrait of a Man, before treatment, unframed
These diminutive portraits only stand 6 inches high outside of their frames. The paintings are executed on metal, and both have an inscription on the back that appears to read "G. Harris / No. 31 Shoe Lane / London".
Verso of Portrait of a Woman, before treatment, unframed
Verso of Portrait of a Man, before treatment, framed
The Portrait of a Woman painting had several pinpoint losses in the figure's hair. There were abrasions on all sides of the painting where the frame came into contact with the painted surface. The painting's surface was covered with a layer of natural varnish that had become discolored over time, with scratches throughout the varnish. The painting was coated with a heavy layer of surface grime, with accretions in the lower left quadrant and above the figure's head.
Detail of Portrait of a Woman, before treatment
Examination of Portrait of a Man showed losses throughout the bottom half of the painting, with approximately 40% of the paint layer lost. There were also numerous pinpoint losses in the hair. Like the Portrait of a Woman, frame abrasions were present on all sides of the painting. The painting's surface was covered with a layer of natural varnish that had become discolored over time and testing showed would be tenacious to remove. The painting was coated with a heavy layer of surface grime as well.
Detail of Portrait of a Man, before treatment
The frame for Portrait of a Woman exhibited moderate abrasions throughout the finish layer, with moderate gesso and gilding losses. There were also minimal losses to the wood at the top right and bottom left miters. Like the painting, the frame was covered in a layer of surface grime, with accretions at the bottom right cove. The frame appeared to have been previously partially regilded and toned.
Frame for Portrait of a Woman, before treatment
The frame for the Portrait of a Man exhibited open miters at the top right and bottom left, with moderate abrasions to the finish. There were moderate losses throughout the gesso and gilding, with a loss to the wood molding at the upper section of the bottom rail. Like the other, this frame was covered in a layer of surface grime, with accretions at the bottom right cove. The frame appeared to have been previously partially regilded and toned.
Portrait of a Man, before treatment framed
Senior Paintings Conservator Amber Schabdach treated both paintings. Using conservation adhesives, Amber began treatment by consolidating the flaking paint on Portrait of a Man. Then, both paintings were surface cleaned to remove grime using an aqueous solution determined after testing the surface of the painting. Attention was also paid to reducing the accretions on the surface of Portrait of a Woman.
Portrait of a Woman, during treatment under UV light
Next, the varnish layer was removed from both paintings using appropriate solvents. Additional cleaning was then conducted to reduce the grime that was present beneath the varnish layer before a new, isolating layer of varnish was applied to the surface. Amber then began inpainting, using reversible conservation paints to integrate the loss areas on the painted surface. Last, a final coat of varnish was applied to the painting to protect the surface and integrate the impainting.
Portrait of a Woman, during treatment under UV light
Treatment of the frames began with stabilization. First, the damaged corner and loss at the bottom rail were addressed by replicating the lost components with carved wood inserts. Once the miters were stabilized, the surfaces were cleaned of grime, and the flaking gesso and gilding were consolidated with conservation adhesives by Josh McCauley, Senior Conservator of Objects and Frames. Losses to the gesso were filled with traditional rabbit skin glue gesso, which was also applied to the new wood insert and molding. Once the bole - a clay used as an underlayer before the application of gold leaf - was matched, the areas of loss were either water-gilded and burnished, oil gilded, or in-gilded with mica powders and pigments as Josh determined appropriate to emulate the original finish throughout the frame. The last step was to wax the surface to ensure its protection.
Portrait of a Woman, after treatment
Portrait of a Man, after treatment
Once both paintings were reinstalled into their frames with new backing boards and hanging hardware, these charming portraits were returned to Margaret. "I know very little about the people pictured in these two portraits except that they are French relatives of my mother. I wish I knew exactly who they are but in some ways that doesn't matter to me. They hang in my dining room along with portraits of my grandparents and my great, great, grandparents. Seeing them and being with them makes me extremely happy." It's a privilege to revive such paintings and see portraiture artistry continue to be cherished by those like Margaret and her family.
