Filling a large Loss

I am working on a portrait painting with 85cm by 65cm, that has a
8cm height by 65cm long strip missing in the bottom.  This painting
had been relined so the only thing left in that area is the lining
fabric badly damaged due to water exposure.  Since this portrait has
a companion piece, it is necessary to fill that large area missing,
and for that we have been thinking about making a strong fill
(continuous film) with Beva 371 and a bulking agent and apply it
onto a strip of canvas similar to the original canvas.  The main
idea of using Beva 371 is the strength and the stability that this
material can give in such a large area.  I would like to know if
anyone has ever come across a situation like this (with a large area
to fill that is not surrounded by anything in some sides), which
material have you used, and if you could share the experience?

Raquel Marques,
Masters Student


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 27:20
                 Distributed: Friday, November 1, 2013
                       Message Id: cdl-27-20-005
                                  ***