A tear in a canvas can affect both the appearance and the structural stability of a painting. Careful treatment is therefore needed to stabilise the damaged area while preserving as much of the original paint as possible. A particularly challenging aspect of conserving a portrait is treating damage that directly affects the sitter’s face. In this case, a tear ran across the face of the portrait.
The first stage of the treatment was to carefully align and stabilise the torn canvas edges. The tear was then stabilised from the reverse, using conservation materials and methods appropriate to the canvas, while avoiding unnecessary stress to the surrounding fabric. Where the paint layer had lifted or become fragile, it was gently consolidated with a suitable conservation adhesive.
Before repairing the tear, the painting was carefully cleaned to remove dust and other accumulated grime. This step revealed the original colours and details, so the treatment then followed by filling the losses and by retouching.
Once the work was complete, a new protective varnish was applied, to protect the painting from dust, while providing a more even appearance and allowing the colours to appear with greater clarity, saturation and depth.
