Cecile Charpentier made trips to China several times in 2007 and 2008 to restore European paintings dating from the 16th to the 17th century for a traveling exhibition of masterpieces of European art, organized by the Society Euroasia Art.
This exhibition was first shown in Hong Kong, then in Shanghai and Beijing. She visited these last two cities to restore works damaged during transportation and by the changes in climate.
Urban Planning Museum in Shanghai
The older works, in particular paintings on wood panels, require a stable humidity and a moderately dry climate. In China, the climate varies greatly from one city to another. Hong Kong can be very humid (90% relative humidity) however in Beijing it can be very dry (40% relative humidity). Due to these extreme changes the paintings on wood had deteriorated. It is therefore imperative that the humidity in the different exhibition halls remains stable, relative humidity (at around 60% RH) to keep the works in good condition.
Subsequent to these trips, Julia Wang, a journalist and associate of Euroasia Art, wrote an article on the acquisitions and expertise of works of art, published in a newspaper on investment in works of Art in China.
Click here to download the article in Chinese (.pdf)
Julia Wang at the Museum of Fine Arts of Shanghai
Bust of a Woman, oil on canvas, 64 x 54 cm
- Reaffixing paint layer
- Filling in the lacunae
- Reintegrating the paint layer
- Harmonizing the varnish on the entire painting