PICTURE SURGERY

Hokitika Guardian, 25 June 1921, Page 1

PICTURE SURGERY

(By one who does it.) A picture must be very far gone nowadays for the restorer to pronounce it incurable. The cherished portrait ot an ancestor which has stood neglected in the box-room and is dirty, cracke and torn will in most cases return from the picture surgeon with no signs ot its former decrepitude. The picture surgeon has many, cures of famous pictures to his credit, mi most of his patients are old family petures which, though they would fetch only a poor price in the auction room, have a sentimental value to their ottn-

The treatment most common y . required is cleaning and revarnishing. The oil tarnish generally found on ol * pictures becomes darkened with age until the painting is bardlv visible, am. the removal of old varnish will often restore the freshness of the original colours. The first step is to discover the composition of the original varnish. Tuts done the restorer must make nut Ins prescription for a solvent which will dissolve the varnish without injuring the paint beneath. The composition of these solvents is a closely guarded secTho solvent is usually applied with a soft brush, and when the old vanish Ims been removed the picture is revarnished —generally with a pure mastic varnish which is an equally >mcd preservative hut does not change colour. ***** A torn picture is, usually cured by re-lining. The picture is laid flat, the edges or the tear placed together, and a piece of linen pasted over the face of the “i-* tlim . Tt is th?n laid face downward on a ditto bed, and a new canvas is fixed 1„ ihe hack with a special composition and pressed with a hot iron. The operation is completed by damping off tht linen from tbe face of the pictuie. Cracks in the paiqt are filled with, a special “filling” and painted over, so that only the most practised eye could detect them. -t , The most delicate operation winch the picture surgeon is called upon »to perform is that of transferring a picture from one canvas to another, oi from wood to canvas. A painted wooden panel has perhaps been split, and the only method of preserving the painting is to transfer it from the wood. The picture surgeon will undertake to do it. After fitting together the pieces ot the broken panel he pastes a piece o linen over the picture and turns the panel painted side downwards. Tie then proceeds to cut away the wood from behind the painting until nothing remains hut tbe actual paint pasted to the strip of linen. The canvas is then ironed on and the linen damped off, leaving the picture transferred to he canvas. .

This is a difficult operation, requiring great delicacy of touch, but-it has,frequently been performed with complete success.