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Article: Relined, Restored, Craquelure, Understanding Condition

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Home›How to collect antique paintings›Relined, Restored, Craquelure, Unders...

Relined, Restored, Craquelure, Understanding Condition

Three of the four paintings below have been relined. The fourth, painted about 1840, never has.

The back of a canvas tells more about its condition than the front.

A lady in a lace cap with pink ribbons, French, 18th century, in a gilt frame Relined A new canvas behind the old, a gallery stamp on it. Lady in a Lace Cap, French School, 1700s
A penitent Magdalene with a skull, Italian, 17th century, in a gilt frame New stretcher Relined onto a later pine stretcher. Penitent Magdalene, Italian School, 1600s
A bouquet with a rose and a butterfly on a dark ground, Dutch, 18th century Cracked Fine craquelure across the roses, lying flat. Bouquet with a Butterfly, Dutch School, 1700s
A young woman with a pearl necklace in pale blue gauze, French, about 1840, carved gilt frame Never relined Still unlined, on its keyed stretcher. Woman with a Pearl Necklace, about 1840

Relining means bonding a new canvas to the back of the original, usually with wax resin or glue paste, to support a weakened canvas.

What a Relined Canvas Means

Front
VarnishDarkens and yellows. Cleaning takes it off.
Paint layerCraquelure forms here as it ages.
Original canvasBecomes brittle with age.
Added at reliningWax resin or glue pasteBonds the new canvas to the old.
Added at reliningLining canvasPrevents tears and stabilizes the paint.
StretcherSometimes replaced. Old labels and inscriptions live here.
Back

A good relining lies flat and leaves the paint untouched. A crude one flattens the impasto. Look at the back as closely as the front.

This is the back of a relined canvas.

The back of a relined 17th-century canvas, numbered on the lining canvas, a corner key and the central crossbar123 Adoration of the Magi, Flemish School, 1600s. The reverse.
1
The lining canvasA plain, even weave. The original canvas is behind it, bonded to it and out of sight.
2
A keySmall wooden wedges at the joints. Tapped in, they open the stretcher and tighten the canvas.
3
The crossbarIt keeps a wide stretcher from twisting. This stretcher is later than the painting.

Craquelure on an Antique Oil Painting

The fine network of cracks that forms as oil paint dries and ages. It is not a defect. What matters is whether the paint lies flat.

Paint lying flat on the canvas, cracked but stable FlatStable. The picture is sound.Paint cupping and lifting at the edges of the cracks LiftingRaised edges, cupping, flaking. A job for a conservator.

How to Read Restoration on an Antique Painting

Cleaning
Done wellDarkened varnish and dirt come off. The original colors return.Gone too farGlazes and thin upper paint come off too. Irreversible.
Retouching
Done wellMinimal, reversible, confined to the loss.Gone too farOverpaint spreading beyond the damaged area.
UVUnder ultraviolet light, recent retouching shows darker than the original paint, and old varnish glows a milky green.

What to Accept When Buying an Antique Painting

NormalStable craquelureProfessional reliningSmall, careful retouchingA yellowed varnishFrame wear consistent with ageWorth examiningHeavy retouching on a face or a signatureLifting or flaking paintA tear or a punctureWax residue from an old reliningSeriousLarge losses in the center of the compositionOverpaint over large areasAn unstable support

We photograph the reverse of every painting we sell, and the condition field says what the photographs show.

Antique canvases for sale

The Virgin and Child at the left, the eldest king kneeling in yellow, a crowd of twelve behind, Flemish, 17th century Adoration of the Magi, 1600s $7,900See the painting Antique portrait of a lady with a pink ribbon hat, 18th century French oil on canvas, gilt frame Lady in a Lace Cap $4,400See the painting Large antique 17th century Italian penitent Magdalene with a skull, oil on canvas in gilded frame Penitent Mary Magdalene, 1600s $12,000See the painting Antique Dutch School floral still life with a rose, morning glories and a butterfly, oil on canvas in a gilt frame Bouquet with a Butterfly, 1700s $3,800See the painting
For sale
The Complete Collection The Complete Collection17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuriesBrowse the collection
Keep reading More in Learning to LookWhat a Genre Scene Was Really Saying Related guideHow to Read Signatures and Inscriptions on Antique Paintings Related guideReading the Frame on an Antique Painting Every guide, by subject

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Photographs and descriptions of the paintings in our collection by GalerieClub Fine Art.