NAVARRO BALDEWEG CASE

REASON FOR THE INTERVENTION

The triptych, made up of three equal sections, has been part of the collection since 1996. It has been housed in different locations since it its creation in 1984, and its display at the Sao Paulo Biennial in 1985. These relocations, together with the consequent changes in the environmental conditions that this entailed, have led to a series of alterations being carried out on the work.

A decision to intervene was taken as these alterations put the stability of the work at risk: visitors were not seeing the artwork correctly due to the aesthetic distortions.

STATE OF CONSERVATION

The three canvases, each mounted individually on a frame, have become loose and deformed. Some of the tacks used to attach the canvases are missing and have been replaced with staples which leads us to believe that the artwork has undergone previous interventions in order to restore it and to re-stretch the canvases. The lower sections of all three canvases have suffered severe deterioration, and two tears on one of the canvases have been treated in a previous intervention. In addition, the paint layer – delicate, by nature – has disintegrated and there is paint loss especially in areas close to the lower edge.

TREATMENT CARRIED OUT

Following an interview with the artist and following the prior analysis of the artwork, the support has been stabilised with reinforcement strips, patches have been applied, and the canvas has been correctly stretched; the deformations have also been specifically treated.

A dry method was used to remove surface dirt in order to avoid damaging the paint layer or changing its appearance. The preparatory and paint layers were stabilised by consolidating them, and then reintegrated both physically and chromatically.

The various steps of the intervention made it possible to better understand the nature of the artwork and analyse its specificities for any future conservation to be carried out correctly.