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Conserving the Past for the Future
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Conserving the Past for the Future

Conservation in Action


Conservator Marta Oriola examines tooling marks in halo area of <I>Bishop Saint with Donor</I>
Conservator Marta Oriola examines tooling marks in halo area of Bishop Saint with Donor

Schedule of Conservation Events and Progress Reports

As this conservation project develops links to Progress Reports will be added below.
View Marta Oriola's Introduction

Week One

Consolidation of Paint

The first step when conserving a painting, is to make sure that the paint layer is secure.

The paint layer along the check was consolidated with animal glue.

View the Progress Report
Week Two

Varnish Removal: Solubility Tests

The layer of varnish has discolored. To remove it, "solubility tests" of the varnish and paint layer were done with different organic solvents.

View the Progress Report
Week Three

Cleaning: Green Areas

By removing the varnish layer and some of the old repaints, old damages are made visible. The green areas on the Bishop were cleaned.

View the Progress Report
Week Four

Cleaning: the Bishop's Throne: oil paint removal (Solvent gel)

The Bishop's throne has many old repaints made with oil paint. These were removed with "solvent gels".

View the Progress Report
Week Five

Cleaning: The Donor

The figure of the donor has many areas of loss, one of them right across his face. Old repaint on this area might not be removed.

View the Progress Report
Week Six

Cleaning: Gilded Areas

Gilded areas are very sensitive to water and to organic solvents. Therefore, the varnish layer might not be able to be fully removed but only thinned down.

View the Progress Report

Week Seven

Cleaning: The Bishop's Face

The Bishop's face has been extremely abraded in previous conservation treatments. A sensitive approach to clean this area will have to be decided.

View the Progress Report
Week Eight

Summary

Description of the conservation process up to present and of what else will be done in the following months (varnishing, infilling and retouching).

View the Progress Report
Video progress reports to date:

Marta Oriola's Introduction

Week One: Varnish Removal

Week Two: Solubility tests

Week Three: Old Repaints

Week Four: Oil Paint Removal

Week Five: Cleaning the Donor

Week Six: Cleaning Gilded Areas

Week Seven: Cleaning the Bishop's Face

Week Eight: Summary of the Cleaning Process

Page 4 of 6 | On the next page: The Latest Progress Report