CONSERVATION REPORT

Sir John Rennie Portrait

Institution of Civil Engineers

Lucía Muñoz-Barrena
Fine art restorer

16th August 2014 London

Conservation report of the portrait Sir John Rennie (1794-1874) 16th August 2014 Lucía Muñoz-Barrena Fine Art Restorer

INDEX

I. INTRODUCTION____________________________________________________PAGE 3

II. IDENTIFICATION DETAILS ____________________________________________PAGE 3

III. CONDITION REPORT________________________________________________PAGE 4

IV. TREATMENT RECORD_______________________________________________PAGE 5

V. REFERENCES______________________________________________________PAGE 7

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Conservation report of the portrait Sir John Rennie (1794-1874) 16th August 2014 Lucía Muñoz-Barrena Fine Art Restorer

I. INTRODUCTION

Restoration of oil on canvas portrait of Sir John Rennie (1794-1874) from the Institution of Civil
Engineers in London.

Sir John Rennie is represented sitting in a chair facing forward while the body turns to the
diagonal. He is holding in his right hand a paper, probably related to his work in Civil
Engineering. The background shows vaguely an interior. Predominantly dark palette in the
noble robes and in the background. Some light spots in the face’s skin and hands. Red used in
the velvet of the chair.

II. IDENTIFICATION DETAILS

Painting technique: Oil on canvas

Artist: Sir Henry Raeburn (1956-1823)

Title: Portrait of Sir John Rennie (1794-1874)

Date: 19th Century

Owner: Institution of Civil Engineers. 1 Great George St, London SW1P 3AA

Dimensions: Height: 127,5 cm Width: 102,2 cm

Frame: It is water gilded and moulded frame made of wood and plaster

Inscriptions and label on the frame: `SIR JOHN RENNIE. PRESIDENT. 1845 TO 1848´ on the
upper part and: Born, 1794. PAINTED FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE INSTITUTION. DIED, 1874. BY
JAMES ANDREWS on the lower part of the frame. It bears a small label with the number 2 on
the lower left corner.

Frame dimensions: Height: 164,5 cm Width: 139,2 cm Depth: 4,5 cm

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Conservation report of the portrait Sir John Rennie (1794-1874) 16th August 2014 Lucía Muñoz-Barrena Fine Art Restorer

III. CONTITION REPORT

The painting is in a very good condition, probably due to a

previous intervention. The treatment is typical from the
Sixties; when it was very common attach a new canvas from
the verso of the painting to provide strength. However the
poor adhesion between the old and the new canvas is
generating the flaking of the top layer. (Plate 1)

Plate 1. New canvas attached to

the original
The main problem was a milky appearance on the
surface of the painting plus several cloth marks
caused by a cleaning attempt with a damp cloth.

Plate 2. Cloth marks shown under raking light

Another kind of damages that the

painting shows are:

- Accumulation of dust

- Slack canvas due to the loose state of

the stretcher keys

- Abrasion mark (in blue on the map)

- Scratches on the varnish layer (yellow

on the map)

- Dent with lost of painting (green circle

on the map)

- Big run or dried rivulet of a foreign

liquid (red vertical line on the map)

- Yellowed and dark varnish because of

Plate 3. Damages map the oxidation of the resin, aggravated
by the deposited nicotine from
cigarettes and cigars when it was
allowed to smoke in public places.

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Conservation report of the portrait Sir John Rennie (1794-1874) 16th August 2014 Lucía Muñoz-Barrena Fine Art Restorer

- The varnish is also micro cracked presumably due to the different movement of the two
canvas attached caused by the reaction to the temperature cycling.

- Small retouching on the face from the old restoration. (Pink spot on the map)

IV. TREATMENT RECORD

IV. 1. Raking light examination

Using this kind of lighting, shining almost parallel to the

paint surface, shadows of the relief of the painting are
magnified, and some surface damages are more visible.

We can observe the `pentimenti´ (repentance in Italian)

which is a change in the artist’s intention during the process
of painting. The artist changed the position of the pinky
finger slightly backwards. (Plate 4)

We can also see that the artist used the paint in a very thin
layer. Even the texture of the canvas shows through the
painting.
Plate 4. Pentimenti

IV. 2. Elimination of the accumulated dust from the recto and the verso with a brush and a
hoover. Is essential to keep the dust out of the painting because it absorbs humidity, which
sets up a perfect climate for a wide range of biologic individuals. (Plate 5)

Plate 5. Dusting the verso Plate 6. Adjusting

keys

IV. 3. Adjusting the stretcher keys (Plate 6)

IV. 4. Cleaning of the superficial dirt with a swab

dumped in deionized water. (Plate 7)
Plate 7. Half cleaning

IV. 5. Retouching the abrasion mark with pigments bound with varnish. (Plate 8)

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Conservation report of the portrait Sir John Rennie (1794-1874) 16th August 2014 Lucía Muñoz-Barrena Fine Art Restorer

IV. 6. Protection of the painting surface with a low molecular weight varnish applied by brush.
(Plate 9)

IV. 7. Cleaning of the water gilded frame with swabs slightly damped in deionized water.

Plate 8. Retouching Plate 9. Protection coat

Plate 10. Cleaning the mouldings with small swabs damped in deionized water

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Conservation report of the portrait Sir John Rennie (1794-1874) 16th August 2014 Lucía Muñoz-Barrena Fine Art Restorer

V. REFERENCES

http://www.icon.org.uk/images/stories/CareConFRAMESGilDINGA4%20version.pdf

http://www.icon.org.uk/images/stories/care_and_conservation_of_oil_paintings6.pdf

http://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Paintings

http://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/
Paintings#Varnishes_and_Surface_Coatings_.281998.29

http://cool.conservation-us.org/waac/wn/wn27/wn27-2/wn27-205.pdf

http://www.e-conservationline.com: Article from e_conservation, the online magazine. No. 1,

October 2007, pp. 42-51/124

http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/behind_the_scenes/