Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1914-07-22
SAVING ART WORKS
How Paintings Hacked by Women
Are Restored.
Professionals Only Need Hot Iron,
Strong Fish Glue, Manila Paper
and New Canvas-Many Men
Are Experts.

London.-Although Mr.. Sargent's
portrait of Mr.. Henry James, the nov.
elist, was badly hacked by a cleaver
welded by a suffragette at the opening
of the Royal academy, it will not be an
over difficult task to repair it. The
work of restoration has been intrusted
to Maj. George C. Roller. says London
Tit-Bits
In restoring the portrait the canvas,
after the painted surface has been pro-
tected with tissue paper, will be placed
on slate table. The back will then be
covered with sticky fluid. which will
be pressed through to the surface OF
the picture with a heated iron. In this
way the canvas will contract, and the
cuts in 1t will close up. The canvas
will finally be refined, and many
spots where paint may be missing will
be filled in by the restorer with
special preparation.
There are men in London who fol
low the profession of picture restoring,
who are able to restore old paintings
of value which have large holes in
them, or the materials on which they
are executed hanging in threads.
Moreover, they can, when necessary,
transfer painting to new canvas.
If picture of which the canvas ls
cracked, torn or rotted with age Is
handed to a clever restorer, the hrst
thing he does is to purchase a new
canvas the same size as the old one.
Having obtained this, he CLUES sheet
of stout manila paper to the picture.
He then carefully scrapes away the old
canvas. This is a job that might &C"
cupy him for several days, or weeks
if the canvas is a large one. Having
removed every bit of canvas, the
grounds upon which paint lies are
taken away by solvents or gentle
scraping, until nothing remains but
the fragile shell of pigment adhering
to the paper.
The new canvas is then covered with
the strongest fish glue obtainable, and
pressed firmly down upon the paper
bearing the picture. AS soon as the
painting is firmly attached to its new
foundation nothing remains but to
take off the manila paper. This can
be done with hot water, and the sur
face of the painting has only to be
cleaned to look as bright. as 1t was
when the artist painted it.
We believe it was M. Haquin,
French artist of note, who first sue
cessfully transferred panel painting
to canvas He glued sheet of pa
per over the surface of the painting,
and afterward upon this fine layer of
muslin. When the glue was dry he
planed down the panel until it was OF
the thinness of match wood, when he
scraped off the remainder with a long,
flexible knife. This done, the mere
skin of color held together by the pa
per and muslin was left, and it was a
comparatively easy task to glue this to
a canvas and remove the paper and
muslin.
If an old picture has portion of its
pigment missing this may be replaced
nv an artist with co1ors from a brush,
but sometimes old but worthless paint
ings are used for the purpose.
When the coloring of the drapery,
flesh. foliage OF sky, as the case may
he Is found to match exactly the miss
ing portion it is cut out to size and
elued on the canvas, the edges Of the
Joint being made imperceptible By tha
aid of the brush.