Restauración retrato de Juan Martorell y Squella

As the painting had not been previously professionally restored, an
exhaustive evaluation and analysis was carried out to determine the true
condition and treatment plan. Despite the cuts and tears on the edges of the fabric, the decision was
made to adhere linen strips and patches to the cuts from the back.

The priority was to place strips in order to tension the fabric on a new frame
with a skirt system and central crossbar and thus stabilize the fabric. Once the canvas had been stretched on the new stretcher, the painting layer was cleaned.

A dense layer of old lacquer was removed, which over time had oxidized
giving a yellowish tone to the entire surface. In some areas this layer was of
a significant thickness, so this process was slow as each of the layers was
removed in the least aggressive way so as not to damage the paint layer.

Cleaning was carried out with various concentrations of
dimethylformamide in solvents such as Chilean or White spirit. Once the entire surface was cleaned, a light layer of touch-up varnish was applied, before treating the preparation layer.

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It was necessary to apply gesso to the areas of loss of the paint layer,
especially at the edges of the canvas where cuts and tears and damage
from the nails had caused losses of original support.

Following the gesso fills another application of retouching varnish was
applied, followed by retouching to these areas. In addition to retouching the gesso fills, two areas located in the subject’s clothing were retouched where the original preparation layer was preserved and the paint layer had been lost.

Application of a second layer of the same varnish to seal the stuccoed areas.

On the back of the frame, the clamping anchors were
changed. .

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