Restaurar una obra restaurada
he work had been stored in the Foundation’s reserves and had a large tear dating from years before at the top centre of the canvas, next to the head of the depicted figure. In a much earlier restoration, the tear had been repaired by applying a piece of canvas to the back, but the results were lacklustre: the piece had come unstuck and was causing deformations in the canvas. Furthermore, strips had been placed along the perimeter of the work to reinforce the sides of the painting and tension them onto the frame. Bits of adhesive and paper were stuck to the edges of the painting, probably from self-adhesive paper used in the framing process, and all four corners of the canvas had come loose and were fraying. There was also the odd small patch showing losses in the pictorial layer on the figure’s face and red leg.
Following an examination of the work under various types of light, the conservation and restoration process started with an overall surface cleaning and removal of the semi-unglued bit of canvas. The deformations in the zone of the patch were then flattened out using controlled weight and moisture, and all the loose textile fibres around the tear were re-attached one by one, using a suitable glue, to strengthen them.
The edges of the painting were reinforced and cleaned, removing the remains of paper and glue. Finally, the small losses in the pictorial layer, both in the zone of the tear and at the edges, were filled and chromatically reintegrated to restore the work’s aesthetic unity.
