The Executive Committee of The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) has awarded a funds to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA, to support the restoration of Portrait of the Woman with the Gold Chain, by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606 – 1669), one half of a pair of oval paintings gifted to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in the late 19th century.
The painting has not had any treatment for around 50 years, and there are now multiple uneven layers of varnish and passages of clumsy retouching which are obscuring the paint surface. In addition to being unevenly cleaned in the past, there is also a recently applied thick layer of a synthetic (PVA) varnish that has become very gray and under-saturated over time, further obscuring the portrait. The work will be cleaned to remove the old discolored layers of varnish and retouching that currently distort the work’s appearance. The work will be then restored with the aim of returning the portrait’s appearance to a state closer to that originally intended by the artist.
Throughout the month of February 2018, visitors at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), are able to witness firsthand the restoration of two portraits by Rembrandt van Rijn in the “Conservation in Action” gallery.
For more information: https://www.tefaf.com/press/press-releases/tefaf-museum-restoration-fund-awards-2018
On the Rembrandt paintings at the MFA see: http://www.mfa.org/collections/europe/tour/rembrandt
