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Conservation of works of graphic art from the
Museum of Porcelain Department The most significant and interesting work carried out by the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Works of Graphic Art (V.A. Kozyreva, director) in 2004 was the multifaceted study and restoration of a previously unknown collection of drawings in the Museum of Porcelain Department for display in the exhibition on The Imperial Glass Factory. 1777-1917 (State Hermitage) and the exhibition Circling the Square in the Hermitage Rooms, Somerset House (London, U.K.). Experienced specialists took part in this work: laboratory director V.A. Kozyreva, art restorers O.V. Mashneva, Ye.V. Rudakis, T.A. Sabyanina, Ye.F. Tatarnikova, V.I. Khovanova, and Ye.I. Shashkova. The unique collection of drawings from the Museum of Porcelain Department allows visitors to familiarize themselves with industrial graphics created over the course of the entire century - from the early 19th century until the 1920s. These include drawings and watercolours by Russian and foreign masters, works by artists of the porcelain factory, works submitted in competitions and works by students of the Baron Stieglitz School of Technical Design. The collection has works by such well-known masters as Ippolito Monighetti, Petr Krasovsky, Rudolph Wilde, Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Nikolai Suetin and Nathan Altman. Like any other art work produced on paper, drawings are subject to the inexorable effect of time. In this regard, a major and serious pre-restoration task involved preparatory study of the state of preservation of the works, their examination and implementation of an entire complex of scientific investigative and restoration measures. Practical work with the drawings began, as always is the case, with the removal of surface dirt. The sheets were cleaned of dense layers of dust and remains of dirt with the help of a soft squirrel-fur brush. Several of them were cleaned using granulated rubber and an abrasive pencil. Clear traces of fingerprints were attenuated by the restorers using a soft vinyl "Milan" eraser. The original paper base was tested for the presence of wood-pulp (especially paper from the early 20th century). The acidity of the paper and pH factor were tested, as well as water resistance of the pigment layer and ink. The firmness of the bond of the pastose pigment layer and the paper base was enhanced. By using an MZ-6 electron microscope with special setting, researchers were able to acquaint themselves with the techniques used to make the works of graphic art. When carrying out the restoration measures, the stage of reducing pigment spots from fungus, discoloration (damage of a biological nature) and rings of water damage, which pose a great threat to the paper base, called for very intensive labour. Such spots were carefully reduced using local application of a semi-dry solution and by using a low-pressure vacuum table. This operation was of a repeated and lengthy nature. It was the main and most complex task in the restoration of all the works of graphic art. The overwhelming majority of art works did not require full processing. In such circumstances, well-known and traditional methods were used, together with methods developed from long experience with modern materials - hortex, holitex, lavsan paper. Depending on the degree of damage and the quality of the paper base, various means were used to wash the drawings: on a vacuum table, on a holitex mat, on a filter bed. In cases where the paint and ink had run and they were unable to resist water, washing was carried out in semi-dry conditions on the vacuum table. For a small group of works dating from the 1920s - sketches of a mug and plate - Suprematism by Nikolai Suetin (1922) and Suprematist Decoration by Kazimir Malevich (1923) - methods oriented towards preventive conservation were applied. Lost elements of the paper (mainly in the corners and at the edges of the works) were recreated in such a way that the colour, quality, texture and thickness were all very close to the original foundation used by the artist. Using Japanese paper and glue from wheat starch prepared in accordance with the traditional Japanese recipe, torn parts were glued together, fragments were reassembled and breaks, punctures, fractures and creases were strengthened. Smoothing out was done very carefully, under a weight and without changing the structure and dimensions of the paper. Serious deformation of the foundation paper was corrected. The drawings became flat and free of tension. Tinting to match the general colour of the original paper was done in places of tears, breaks, scratches and areas of peeling of the pigment layer, as well as on the recreated parts of the foundation paper, in places where it was missing. The successful execution of the conservation work on the pieces of graphic art was largely due to the mastery and professionalism of the specialists, their experience and ability to discern and understand the subtleties of one or another artist's work and to assign the degree of delicate intervention accordingly. |
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