Marouflage

We have recently had two family portraits restored. These appeared
to be straightforward oils but actually consisted of oil painted on
very thin paper glued on to thin linen canvas. This technique made
reduction of various deformations more difficult but was achieved
with great success.

Most references to marouflage relate to painting on to canvas then
adhered to walls but the paper on canvas method seems to be
undergoing some revival currently and appears to have been fairly
popular at the time of these portraits (late 18th century). One
advantage seems to have been the portability of the paper when
sketching the subjects with attachment to canvas being a fairly late
stage (ie after the painting with oil) just prior to framing.

As a papermaker, people quite often asked me to recommend a paper
suitable of oil painting who I did not feel competent to advise on
although fairly hard gelatine sized paper seemed to be the
preference. Obviously Daler Board is designed and processed for the
purpose and remains very popular. However in that case the artist
paints on the surface coating rather than directly on to the paper
itself.

I would be interested to find out more information on the technique.
Type of paper used; benefits and drawbacks compared to painting on
primed canvas.

Simon


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 20:13
                 Distributed: Friday, September 8, 2006
                       Message Id: cdl-20-13-011
                                  ***