16/02/2026
Not every restoration is about what you see at first glance. Sometimes, the most important work happens beneath the surface.
In this post, we’re sharing a canvas repair through a case study. Slide by slide, you’ll see how we carefully addressed each issue to ensure its preservation for the future.
1. Canvas repair: before any aesthetical treatment, we need to stabilize the canvas.
2. Here we can see what the loss looked like before treatment from the front of the canvas. With the help of X-ray imaging, we discovered that the damaged area had been heavily overfilled.
3. From the back, the old patch covering the loss becomes visible. You can also see how excessive the previous fill was.
4. Using controlled moisture, we carefully removed the old patch.
5. Next, we removed all the previous filling material (from both the front and back), corrected deformations, and consolidated any lifting paint to prevent further loss.
6. Once the area was clean and stable, we inserted a new piece of canvas to replace the missing section. This particular loss affected the lining canvas (not the original). We carefully interwove original threads with new ones to integrate the insert.
7. We then reattached paint flakes that were loose and we had separated to protect them during the insert adhesion. Finally, we added a second insert corresponding to the original canvas, which also performs as a patch for the previous repair.
8. After filling and retouching, you can see the before and after; a stable, secure artwork ready to continue its life.
