The Varnish

Black and white photograph reveals cloudy appearance of painting before treatment
Varnishing a painting serves two purposes. The primary one is aesthetic as it enhances or "saturates" the colors of the painting. The varnish also protects the paint layer from environmental factors as well as slight damage caused by touch or light abrasions. In dark pictures such as Christ and the Virgin in the House at Nazareth a varnish that properly saturates the picture so compositional elements can be discerned is essential. The synthetic varnish that coated the painting before treatment had deteriorated to the point where it was extremely cloudy in appearance. Old retouches appeared dark by comparison, giving the surface an overall blotchy appearance. After removing the old surface coating, the decision was made to revarnish the picture with a low molecular weight natural resin varnish. Damar, a resin product of trees in Malaysia and Indonesia, was chosen for its ability to saturate the picture with an even gloss, and for its reversibility. The latter is important if the varnish needs to be removed at some future date. A coat of varnish is applied before the retouching commences and then a final spray varnish of a less viscous composition is applied after the retouching is complete.
Detail: Black and white photograph of Mary before treatment		Black and white photograph after treatment

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