Dare Great Things: Questions on the Restoration of a Series of Colonial Paintings
The fourth talk, Dare Great Things: Questions on the Restoration of a Series of Colonial Paintings, was presented by Conservation Scientist Federico Eisner-Sagüés and co-authored by Carolina Ossa-Izquierdo, Painting Conservator, Centro Nacional de Conservación y Restauración, Santiago de Chile
Eisner- Sagüés is a scientist who participated in the conservation of 17 large scale colonial paintings from the 17th century known as the Serie Grande de Santa Teresa. Owned by the Monasterio del Carmen de San José in Santiago Chile it is one of the few complete colonial series in Chile based on a previously conserved series of pictures painted by Espinoza de los Monteros. Inspired by Flemish engravings the paintings have been and continue to be very important to the religious mission in Chile. While many religious paintings and sculptures are seen as art today, these paintings still serve to indoctrinate the public when they visit the convent where they are located.
The author discussed the different actors that participated during the course of the major conservation project: owners, financiers, curators, conservators, and historians. The restoration took 20 months with a team of over 20 people with an objective to restore mechanical stability and original aesthetic, as well as to learn more about colonial painting. He briefly discussed his role as a scientist, to provide missing pieces that history could not. Before and after images were striking and the treatment process was observed by many art historians throughout the process.
An exhibition was held from August – September 2009 at the National Fine Arts Museum where the public expressed great interest in the paintings as well as videos displaying stages of the treatment. A book accompanied the exhibition and the press showed great interest in the show.
Today there are 17 colonial paintings in the Mother Teresa Monastery in Santiago, Chile. Before the exhibition three were in private hands, but the group has been united. As a result of the project there is now a new trained group of young conservation professionals in Chile. Those who financed the project received a copy of the publication and additional copies have been disbursed to libraries and institutions in Chile and around the world. One of the nuns at the monastery was somewhat skeptical at the beginning of the project, but now sees the purpose as the faithful enjoy praying in front of the paintings, while history lovers enjoy the imagery and the materials.
Eisner-Sagüés concluded by emphasizing how important the interdisciplinary approach was for this project and for Chile and left us with the words below.
Dare Great Things because often our actions begin with dreams and thoughts.
– Santa Teresa de Jesus
Flexible Thermal Blanket and Low Pressure Envelope System in the Structural Treatment of Paintings on Canvas
Nina Olsson a Conservator in Private Practice from Portland, Oregon presented her paper, co-authored by Thomas Markevicius of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, on the development and use of a Flexible Thermal Blanket and Low-Pressure Envelope System in the Structural Treatment of Paintings on Canvas.
Olsson opened by asking what if you could roll up your device like a blanket and take it to a work site when treating a large format painting? She discussed the history of the hot tables and its use for lining while explaining her search for a 20th century heating device. She stressed that the key issues were minimal intervention when lining and relining and trying to replace existing methods with more selective approaches. There are currently hot tables of various sizes and models, but for the most part they have not changed since the 1980s. They are often so large that they can only be used in a fixed location.
Olsson then introduced the flexible silicone rubber thermal blanket from Instrumentors Supply located in Oregon City, Oregon. She has been using the blanket on paintings owned by her and colleagues since 2003. She explained that it essentially has shorter heating and cooling times and overall uniform heat as compared to hot tables.
She explained that the concept of a heated blanket was not new and showed an advertisement for a conductive rubber heated blanket by the US Electric Co. in 1944. Originally designed for military use the electric blanket was eventually available to the general public and has gone on to be utilized in the aerospace/space craft industry. Its use has included wrapping any number of objects to warm them, such as blood, and can even be found inside laser printers. Electric blankets are not new to conservation and are known to have been used as early as 1959.
The device Olsson was presenting was developed in conjunction with Instrumentors Supply. The blanket is made of silicone on the outside and is resistant to moisture. Internally there are etched wound wire foil heaters that are thin and lightweight with a total thickness of 1.4 mm allowing for great flexibility and the strength of fiberglass. The pads can be purchased at custom sized and shapes. A solid-state relay switch with a thermocouple can be used to operate the pad allowing for precise and steady temperature within .1% accuracy. It can be used at 120V or 240V determined by watt density requirements. The temperature parameters will not exceed a maximum temperature. It can be used with a solid state dimmer but with less accuracy.
Olsson went on to show thermal images to illustrate the overall even heating of the thermal blanket. While the hot table from the 1950s showed fairly stable heating IR thermography of the blanket was definitely more even with minimal fluctuations in temperature. The blanket hits target temperature in 12 minutes, while the table takes 20. She explained that engineers are currently working on advancements to the wound wire elements by laminating them with copper mesh which grounds them for improved safety and will provide for and overall even current.
Additional selling points included that the blanket can be used locally or overall, with suction, vertically, and with an envelope system. Sample treatments were then shown which included on site treatment of two large-scale murals. Olsson concluded by recapping that the blanket is easily transportable, easy to store, and low cost. And in the future there is potential for the elimination of the internal wiring. Scientists in Tokyo are working on an ultrathin, stretchable, transparent mat with a rubber like matrix that can conduct electricity and stretch up to 7%!
The silicone blankets are about $1000.00 for 36″ x 66″. Again custom sizes can be made and the control unit/box is separate but I believe it came in under $1000.00. This blogger thinks that overall this blanket seems like a great alternative for anyone with a small studio, who needs to do work in situ, and/or who can’t afford a more traditional hot table.
The author was distributing contact cards during the Paintings Luncheon so that those interested in the blanket could contact her with questions. She can be reached at ninaolsson@earthlink.net
[Bloggers Note: Prices and product specifications may not be exact. Please contact author for more information]