THEORY OF RECONSTRUCTION
Every work of art has a definite shelf life and once past that, it begins to be marred by certain obvious signs of decay. At this point, the only thing that can save it from further deterioration is a thorough restoration job. Luckily, there are enough fu
One of the works-inprogress at the Art Life Restoration Studio in Delhi’s Defence Colony dates back to 1887, and it is marred with a multitude of white lines. “This painting came to us in about 40 pieces,” says Priya Khanna, who runs this facility. “The white lines are the fillers used by art restorers that help in rectifying the damage,” she says.
Three people are simultaneously working on the painting, a portrait, to re- turn it to its original state. They began by cleaning the various fragments. After which they did something seriously daring: they themselves painted the bits that were irrevocably damaged or missing from the original work, which was composed by the British artist William Henry Margetson.
Finally, the restored work was touched up by the fillers done in white that will soon be coloured with pure pigments so that the portrait is returned to its original finish. The value of Margetson’s painting had depreciated by a huge margin due to the many forms of natural deterioration it suffered over the years. But after Khanna’s team is done restoring it, the painting is likely to fetch a good amount on the market.
And such could be the fate of the thousands of damaged artworks — paintings, sketches, sculptures, manuscripts and so on — that are currently being given elaborate facelifts at art restoration laboratories across the country. For someone working in this field, it’s imperative to have a good command over two seemingly unrelated subjects: fine arts and chemistry. In fact, it’s almost a branch of forensic science — the restorer first establishes the nature of the crime (the kind of damage the work shows) and then goes about finding plausible solutions to the problem (the kind of restoration measures best suited to revive the artwork).
No sooner an artwork is created than it starts counting down its days. Much like life, art too has to face up to the ravages of time. A painting, for instance, faces wear and tear due to many reasons and if not taken good care of, it can die a slow death. However, unlike life art can be infused with a regenerative elixir and can, to all intents and purposes, be brought back to life. And that’s exactly what art restorers aim for.
Preservation of artworks anyhow hasn’t been given its due importance in this country. But art restorers, as they emerge as part of a professional class, may soon change that. Anupam Sah is the head of art conservation at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai. “The field of art restoration