This painting came in with a dry canvas which we re-lined with archival linen to improve the foundational strength. Careful cleaning removed surface contaminates and white splatter marks, and conservation varnish finished the restoration.
The original frame suffered from many areas of loss and broken composition. It was carefully cleaning and re-gilt where necessary with new silver, and a back-up given to allow proper spacing for the stretcher bar.
In the restored version it’s so nice to see how the cleaning revealed the tones of the sky with more clarity and contrast, and how the pink tones are much more impactful, not to mention the reflections in the water. And the frame has been elevated to something that now compliments the artwork. This restoration exemplifies the kind of transformation that is possible even without really adding anything.
Six chairs dating back to 1815 came in with compromised caning, poor wood condition, loose joinery, and deep-seated dirt.
The caning was completely replaced, a slow process that was done with the technique that was originally used to make them. Careful cleaning along all of the wood including hydration to strengthen was carried out. At the joinery, a restorer’s adhesive was incorporated to return integrity and further conditioning was applied to the wood.
These prints by Georges Braque (1882-1963) had been glued onto the reverse of their top mat and had suffered from heavy foxing. The print with the white bird also has fungal and mold invasions, and is also peculiar in that a shellac-like material was applied to the surface but not the back. This means that water will absorb on the reverse and not the front, and these different absorptions rates are notorious for causing wrinkles.
Restoration is ongoing with the white bird print, technically known as L’oiseau de feu (Oiseau XIII). Each bird received its own water (chemistry) bath, and soon they’ll be able to migrate back home with new mats and archival hinging.
Note the watermark top-left.
Georges Braque was born on May 13, 1882, in Argenteuil-sur-Seine, France. He grew up in Le Havre and studied evenings at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts from about 1897 to 1899. He left for Paris to study under a master decorator to receive his craftsman certificate in 1901.
After World War I, Braque’s work became freer and less schematic. His fame grew in 1922 as a result of an exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in Paris. In the mid-1920s Braque designed the decor for two Sergei Diaghilev ballets. By the end of the decade, he had returned to a more realistic interpretation of nature, although certain aspects of Cubism always remained present in his work. In 1931 Braque made his first engraved plasters and began to portray mythological subjects. His first important retrospective took place in 1933 at the Kunsthalle Basel. He won first prize at the Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, in 1937.
During World War II, Braque remained in Paris. His paintings at that time, primarily still lifes and interiors, became more somber. In addition to paintings, Braque also made lithographs, engravings, and sculptures. From the late 1940s he treated various recurring themes such as birds, ateliers, landscapes, and seascapes. In 1954 he designed stained-glass windows for the church of Varengeville. During the last few years of his life, Braque had ill health which prevented him from undertaking further large-scale commissions, but he continued to paint, make lithographs, and design jewelry.
This painting suffered a few small tears and a dry canvas with dirt particulates over the surface and reverse. After de-fitting it was carefully cleaned on the front and reverse and then re-lined with Pe-cap to increase the foundational strength. In-fill and in-painting concealed the holes and matched the colors to the originals.
A new custom hand carved frame was prepared in the American Cove style with lamb’s tongue carvings, a black liner, 22 karat gold, and an archival fit.
