Apollo and Daphne - a painting restoration

A transformation myth from ancient Greek mythology. Let me tell you a bit about the resampling of this painting, but first, let's take a look at a few photos. In the first one, we see the painting as we would normally perceive it. Photography in visible spectrum, meaning daylight illumination. Following, we have raking illumination. Light source coming from one side, practically parallel to the painting. Showing texture, unevenness of the canvas and the spots with lots of paint layers. UV luminescence for varnish, overpaints and old retouchings. And a simple photo of the back side of the painting. Now, there's much more to assessing of the damage before actually starting the work, but let's keep that for this video. First, the canvas has to be taken off the strainer, for a number of reasons. The strainer is not providing an adequate support. The canvas has to be flattened and the owner also requested the painting to be returned to its original size, as can be seen in this photo. The edges also carry paint layer that had been disregarded in previous restoration treatment. One of the first steps we had to do here was removal of the lining. Lining means there was another piece of canvas stuck to the back of the original one, to provide support. Now, it has to be replaced with a new one. First though, we apply a solution through a Japanese paper to provide protection for the paint layer, or so called facing, since it will require a lot of mechanical action, which otherwise could endanger the painting itself. Now, we leave it to dry, so we can adjourn to the back. Here, we are using a rigid aqueous gel to soften the glue and gradually remove the lining canvas. It actually held very well, which also meant it took a considerable amount of time to remove it. But, as it would be incorrect to apply strip lining as the second additional layer, we had to do it. The gel limits the amount of moisture that goes inside of the canvas, and the weights here are used to make sure the canvas doesn't shrink or expand until the moisture evaporates. Now, we prepare a new lining canvas, which is slightly bigger, so that we can use the excess as edges for stretching the canvas later. We use a simple custom-made stretcher, which is temporary and is perfect for this sort of job. There is a number of steps which have to be followed to do the lining properly. The primary one is application of reversible adhesive, so that both pieces stick together well. Here, we use Biva solution, which is a heat-activated ethylene vinyl acetate. Simply, a special consolidant, glue. Then, we leave it to sit for a day. Having cleaned the backside of the painting, we can now remove the facing done before. Another step necessary here was to fill in the missing corners and edges of the original canvas. A spatula with an appropriate texture canvas are necessary here. Now, on to the lining. A vacuum-heated table could be used here to make the job easier, but unfortunately, we still don't possess one, as it is ridiculously expensive. So, hands with a normal iron and weights are used instead. After applying enough heat, we let it cool down under the weights, so that it adheres well. A new support had been prepared. Here, it has expandable corners and a proper distancing from the canvas. The difference between the old one and the new one is as seen in these two pictures. The new one provides space between canvas and frame, which is very important, as when there is none, it will definitely appear over time from the front of the painting as a straight line that disturbs the surface. And just for the comparison, this is the old strainer, which is not even original, just old with an appropriate quality. Now, we remove the lined canvas from the temporary stretcher, and we can start re-stretching it to the final one. First, a proper alignment is vital, as otherwise corners might not fit and re-stretching would be a huge waste of time. Tacks and hammer are used for this. Edges are cut so that they are not too long, and the rest is neatly secured to the back of the frame. I prefer stapler for this part. The most important thing here is inserting keys that will allow for final tuning of the stretching now or later on, when necessary. Now, on to dirt removal. This process differs the most in every project. There are different appropriate ways, and as every painting is unique, we have to work while keeping them in mind. Tests are done first, and only after having concluded the chosen way to be safe and efficient, do we proceed. When not only surface dirt, but also old and discolored varnish is removed, the painting looks as it has lost its luster at times. Which is natural, because a varnish plays a huge role in how the painting appears to us. So we have to reapply a new, clean one. And that's in two layers at least. First is an isolation layer, before filling in commences. Do you remember the raking photograph from the beginning? This is what it looks like at this stage. And this is in normal daylight. The layer of varnish has dried, and now we can proceed on to next step. Filling in the areas with lost ground layer. Not particularly interesting part, but inevitable one for sure. This will serve as the base for the retouching later on. At first it's applied in excess, left to sit and dry. Then we have to precisely adjust the surface, relevant to the original structure of the painting around that specific area. Small hand lamp used as raking light source is ideal to make sure it's done well. It's a repetitive work, but worth it, as any irregularities in surface would prove to be impossible to hide with retouching later on. The second layer of varnish, before the final part of the job, retouching. Different type of painting or damage, means different approach chosen. But the golden rule of reversibility has to be kept. Meaning, you only add material to the painting, that can be removed when necessary, without damaging the original. It is also important to use the highest quality of colors available, as it makes a great difference in the color stability over the years. And now, just brushing away. Working in layers, not trying to match the color right away, as in layered types of paintings, it would be nearly impossible to do a good retouching while working a la prima. And now, ta-da! The result. I really do hope you liked this little project. Like, comment, subscribe or any sort of feedback is greatly appreciated. See you soon!