2 examples
of restoration:
Before restoration
Residence of the Ambassador
of the United States, Paris
Friendship, Love, Fortune,
Three paintings by William Bouguereau (1825-1905)
Last year, the State Department's Office of the "Overseas Buildings Operation" created a Cultural Heritage Program whose mission is to maintain and enhance the collection of historical objects and decors which they own in each of the countries where there is an embassy or American diplomatic presence. In France, the collection is composed of more than 2000 objects and decors located in 16 buildings.
« Frienship, (l'Amitié) », painted by French artist William Bouguereau, has been part of the American heritage in Paris since 1974. Initiated by the Embassy, a restoration workshop was recently created in the basement of the residence of Ambassador Charles H. Rivkin and the restoration was commissioned to Cecile Charpentier.
Three paintings by Bouguereau that hang in the residence have been restored in the workshop.
L'amitié had been damaged by water, necessitating the transposition of the paint layer across the entire lower section of the canvas.
A continuous flow of water had run down from the top of the painting and stagnated in the lower part. This accumulation of moisture was not able to dry out because the crosspiece of the frame created a barrier. The flood had damaged the surface requiring the transposition of the paint layer across the entire bottom.
Work on the support
Carried out by Guillaume Bénard-Tertrais:
- Removing the painting from the frame
- Removing the canvas from the stretcher
- Reaffixing the paint layer in the lower part
- Installing tension bands
- Reassembly of the canvas on the chassis
- Border protection
Work on the paint layer
Carried out by Cecile Charpentier:
- Cleaning the paint layer
- Reducing the varnish
- Filling in the lacuna
- Repainting the surface layer
- Harmonizing the varnish of the entire painting
- Writing up a report for all the procedures
1. Bottom of the painting, peeling and falling paint layer material.
2. The original canvas had shrunk because of the moisture and the paint layer had retracted.
1. During cleaning and reaffixing. 2. Installation of protective paper.
1. Reaffixing. 2. Using a made-to-measure expandable frame to loosen the original canvas
so that the paint layer could be flattened.
Guillaume Bénard-Tertrais and Cécile Charpentier conducting the final touch.