Art Restoration
We had the privilege of spending some time with Ms. Catherine Rogers, an art conservator from the Charleston area. She is part of a select group of individuals in the world who restore paintings and other artistic media. The process that is performed on a painting brings out the vibrant colors of the original art. One of her largest projects was in Boston. This was a ceiling painting that had to be brought down and restored. This project lasted approximately nine months with a field of 10 people. Each person chose a part of the painting for that day and began work.
The difficulty in the job is the materials used in the painting. Each type of paint and lacquer used on a painting has a different effect on the painting, so when having to clean the painting, plenty can go wrong. To test for this, each conservator chooses a small area to test the cleaning agents. By testing a small area, little will be lost if damage occurs. If they just started to clean then the painting could be ruined.
Some things that can affect a painting are air and its components (carbon and oxygen), heat, chemicals used to clean surrounding areas, dust, water, etc. Each has a different effect. Heat can make the painting fade or even the lacquer change colors. Water can make the painting mold, which cause black areas on the painting, shrinkage of the canvas, cracking of the painting, or even waves in the painting. Storage of the painting can also affect it. Keeping the painting in a moist area or in a hot area can have an adverse effect. Oil paints have a tendency to have a longer drying time (between 10-20 years) pending on the thickness of the paint.
Now to restoration:
The two paintings featured below are the finished products of many hours and months of work. They are the property of The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The photographs below are linked to the site that explains the restoration process used.
Guercino's "Erminia and the Shepherds"
Castiglione's "The Immaculate Conception"
This page was created by Joe Moore, Sermpum Lhamlhak, Melissa Fridinger 3/14/05 (modified 3/28/05).
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