Broken Petals Never Fade
Tussen Kunst en Kitsch, the popular Dutch television programme on antiques, was recorded on 10 June 1996 in the Open Air Museum in Arnhem. From the many paintings that he saw that day, John Hoogsteder, the resident expert on old master paintings selected for the broadcast a panel showing the Madonna and Child surrounded by a garland of flowers. This Flemish work was painted on an oak panel by Andries Daniels in the mid-seventeenth century. Daniels (born c. 1580 in Antwerp) was a pupil of Jan Brueghel the Elder and mainly painted wreaths of flowers in oval cartouches. In general, these paintings contain a central niche depicting a religious scene. These groups of figures were usually executed by another painter. In this floral painting by Daniels, the central niche shows a Madonna and Child by an unidentified master.
It was obvious that the condition of the picture was poor. In many places the paint stood up from the panel and in several instances small pieces of paint had come loose. These blisters are caused by dehydration and are commonly found in Flemish paintings. Modern central heating can have a damaging effect on pictures sensitive to blistering, but in fact dehydration can be easily solved by installing a low-cost humidifier. What causes these paint blisters? Before an artist starts to paint a panel, he prepares it by applying a proper ground. This means that a layer of chalk and glue is applied onto the surface, which is then scoured smooth. Unfortunately, dehydration over an extended period can cause the wood to shrink. If this happens, the layer of chalk and glue can break loose, taking with it any subsequent layers of paint.
It is not always easy to fix these loose layers of paint. In some instances it may even be impossible to fix the paint from the front of the painting. Then the only solution is a very radical and risky one: the picture has to be transferred onto a new board. This is done by carefully shaving away the back of the panel and gluing the remaining thin layer of paint onto a new shrink-resistant panel.
On Tussen Kunst & Kitsch questions are often asked about cleaning and restoration. Many of the paintings brought in are in poor shape. But in each case the cost of restoration has to be weighed up against the value of the work. This means that every painting in need of restoration has to be assessed carefully by an expert. At Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder we offer complementary advice on restoration.
In the case of the painting shown on Tussen Kunst & Kitsch it was decided that the blisters could be fixed back onto the panel with wax. Since this kind of restoration is not exorbitantly expensive, the painting Garland with Madonna and Child will soon be restored to its original splendour.