2 CONDITION PRIOR TO TREATMENT

The painting was received secured in felt-lined grooves of a wooden rack (see raking light, Figure 1), both being thickly covered with dried mud. Tests determined that the paint medium was oil. The support was a 0.4 cm thick fiberboard. Vertical and horizontal warping from shrinkage of the support had resulted in a very rigid 2.6 cm convex distortion in the picture plane. In a 1.0 cm bulge beyond this general warp, at upper center, mechanical force from the reverse had ruptured both fiberboard and paint layers in an area measuring approximately 4.0 cm � 5.0 cm. In and around the rupture and bulge, mechanical cracks, blisters, and cupping existed in the paint layers. There was also cleavage and cupping in many sections around the edge of the support.

Fig. 1. Painting in wood rack before treatment and photographed under raking light.