136 The painting “Purgatory” of the Mary retable sive restoration work had also been carried out in the past. This included harsh cleaning and varnish removal, retouching, and overpainting as well as the mounting on the strange “strainer construction”, including the cutting off the edges of the canvas. Dirt, wax, inappropriate overpainting, the brownish varnish, and the deformations contributed to an overall neglected and unpleasant appearance, severely impairing the legibility of the scene. (Fig. 203) Textile support Generally, the canvas appeared to be in good condition in the lower part. In the upper part, the canvas was quite brittle. The increased brittleness as well as the brown discoloration resulted from the accelerated ageing of the fibres, caused by the impregnation with varnish. A check of the pH value of the canvas revealed high levels of acidity, further suggesting a weakening. Some small tears and holes along the edges, particularly close to the upper edge, were observed. Another tear of 3 cm in length at the lower left edge was gaping. The tension of the textile support was too low due to relaxation and creep over time. Therefore, the canvas was bulging heavily at the bottom. The back of the canvas was covered with dust. After removing the dirt, many brown stained areas, where varnish and dirt had migrated from the surface during former cleaning and/or varnishing procedures, became more prominent. All original tacking margins are lost: the painting was cut all around to an unknown extend. The nails that were used to fix the painting were completely corroded and the fabric underneath the nail heads was deteriorated. Paint layer The paint layer exhibits a fine and delicate craquelure pattern. The adhesion between the textile support and the priming had evidently been very weak for decades already. The detachments, tenting, and cupping of the paint layer appear to be the result of ongoing issues caused by the high shear forces between canvas and paint layers. Many small paint losses, as along with cupping and flaking, were present throughout the painting,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5NTQ=