This portrait of a Gentleman (dated 1637) had been relined in a previous restoration work, and had many areas of apparent overpaint - especially the green bow and the hair on the shoulders. The painting also had deep cracks and undulations on the surface, caused during the relining process.

Details - Before Treatment & After Treatment

On this case it wasn't possible to remove the relining as the canvas was too fragile, which restricted the possible treatments for the cracks and undulations.

Painting before, during & after treatment

After removing a thick layer of oxidised varnish it was possible to see that there was also a thick layer of overpaint on the background. The careful removal of this overpaint showed that the painting had been resized during the relining process.

The treatment involved dry cleaning, wet cleaning and adjusting the canvas to new stretchers in the original size. It was also important to minimise the appearance of cracks, which was achieved by filling up the deep cracks and retouching to match the surrounding colours. A very interesting project, that shows how sometimes it is necessary to readjust treatment plans according to what the painting reveals once the work starts.