Three Brothers1938
Project description:
Rudolf Kiss, Hollywood, 1938
oil on canvas, 31 x 37 inches
CONDITION PRIOR TO TREATMENT
The painting, Three Brothers, had been restored in the past, and consequently over- cleaned. This caused a multitude of inevitable abrasions and pin sized losses of the thin paint layer. The paint layer developed cracking and cupping. Disfiguring cracks, caused by such aggressive cleaning imparted a texture to the surface, never intended by the artist. While drying cracks (cracquelure) are considered a natural phenomenon in aging paintings, visual prominence of excessive cracks, such as these, is not desirable.
TREATMENT
The paint layer was consolidated overall. Discolored restoration varnish and residual old varnish were removed using organic solvents and/or solvent gels, as safely possible. A thin layer of conservation and UV protective varnish was applied by brush. All of the pin-sizes losses and abrasions throughout were carefully inpainted to reintegrate the individual figures. This method effectively restored the visual integrity of the composition.