Chapter 452 Restoration
Before turning the cleaned silk painting to the mounting table, it is necessary to put paper on the screen. Then roll up the silk painting and the supporting paper, put it on the mounting table, and remove the supporting paper. Let the painting core face up, prepare water-oil paper and paste, and paste water-oil paper on the painting.
The function of this step is to prevent the broken silk painting core from moving and facilitate repair. The key is to master the thickness of the slurry used for painting the water and oil paper. It must be based on the degree of wear and tear of the painting. It must be just right.
In addition, the colors of ancient paintings are commonly used such as azurite and stone green. Because these are mineral pigments, they will float on the surface of the silk after they penetrate into the silk. Over time, the pigments will The gel degeneration will cause the color to easily fall off the silk.
Therefore, these color blocks must be lined with some smooth rice paper and then covered with water-oiled paper to prevent the colors from sticking.
However, laying water-oiled paper will bring about a new problem, that is, the shrinkage force of the silk painting core is generally much greater than that of the paper painting core. In addition, the water-oiled paper is brittle and lacks the toughness to stretch, so it is attached to the mounting platform. Or the paintings on the wall may crack due to different shrinkage ratios.
In order to prevent this phenomenon from happening, after pasting the oil paper, two layers of rice paper must be added as a protective layer. The mounting table must also be wiped clean with a damp towel. The entire silk painting must be turned over and backed with paper. Face it upward, brush it flat on the mounting table, and then peel off the two layers of old backing paper on the surface.
It sounds complicated enough, but the actual operation is even more complicated and difficult.
Because this painting was already "brittle and sticky again" in the Northern Song Dynasty, it was only possible to restore it thanks to Wang Zhu's exquisite restoration skills. Today, it has already become brittle and aged again, with severe cracks and core defects. Most of them were stripped out and empty, making people afraid to open them.
Therefore, it can only be operated directly on the mounting table. Before cleaning, line the mounting table with thin paper or fine mesh silk, line it with a water brush and blot it dry.
Then put the scroll and slowly open it, with the picture facing upwards, use water to line up the brush with gentle and even movements, and slowly and slowly pour over the fixed meaning of the painting, and then find other scattered fragments of the painting for splicing.
This step requires careful observation of the meaning of the painting, careful splicing, and accuracy. No mistakes can be made.
Then you can use a towel to gradually and carefully dry and fix it part by part, then use slurry water-oil paper to brush it flat on the painting, and brush two layers of rice paper protective layer on top of the water-oil paper, and then slowly and slowly Move the lining silk on the mounting table to another mounting table, turn it over, and brush the side with the water-oil paper and protective layer flat on the mounting table.
At this point, the original painting has completed the process of cleaning and turning the back side up, and then enters the second step, the key process, the process of uncovering the core of the painting.
“The life of calligraphy and painting lies in uncovering.” This step of work is to remove the backing paper of the painting core.
If this step is not performed properly, the life of the painting will be ruined. You must be careful, patient and meticulous when operating, and be highly focused.
Use your fingers and tweezers together. First, carefully peel off the two layers of backing paper on the surface. When peeling off, make an opening in the blank area of the picture or an easy-to-pee place. Follow the rules and follow the direction step by step.
Peel it off if you can, and rub it if you can't. Keep your fingers flat when rubbing, and gently rub the thick parts back and forth. If there are any fragments of paper, use a small brush to clean them gradually with water. In short, don't rush it. It must be revealed.
If the original patch on the painting core is close in color, the silk warp and weft are correct, and the brush connection is still good, the original patch can be left intact. If there is any defect, the patch should be removed and reapplied.
Fortunately, "Shu Mountain Pictures" still uses "thick silk". If it is thin silk, the mesh count is lower, so the silk and the supporting paper are common components of the drawing paper, and even the supporting paper cannot be used. Remove it, otherwise the core of the painting will lose color and become more difficult.
During the process of the painting core gradually becoming hollow, it is also reinforced by rolling paste method, that is, applying some thin paste on the front side to make the silk and the base paper bond firmly.
At the same time, apply some thin paste on the hole where the old supporting paper was removed to prevent it from warping. Only after the picture is completely dry can the hole be filled.
At this point, no action that could damage the original painting has occurred, the subtraction has been completed, and the back of the painting is completely exposed.
The addition process begins, and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The third step is to repair the hole. It is necessary to carefully repair all the large and small holes and damage that are revealed on the painting core after removing the supporting paper.
The requirement for this step is precision, precision, and precision.
Before filling the holes, first use the tip of a sharpened knife to scrape off the excess monofilament and miscellaneous yarn next to the hole. Use a small brush to apply thick slurry on the oil paper at the hole before repairing the silk. The silk must be aligned according to the warp and weft of the painting core and cannot be bent. After repairing the silk, use a small brush to apply a thick paste of water, and then gently smooth it with your fingers. After it dries, use a sharp knife to flatten the excess repair silk around the hole and gently scrape it off. Use a small brush to apply the patching water until it feels smooth to the touch, so that the patching silk adheres to the surrounding area of the hole.
After filling up the big and small holes, the remaining cracks and small sesame holes should be pasted on with fine-mesh silk dyed with a small brush and water strips bit by bit. Can't be missed.
This step of the project is complicated and requires meticulous attention. It can be said to be extremely tiring. After completing this step, the most tedious process of repair is completed.
Up to now, the restoration of "Shushan Picture" has only been completed. What needs to be done today is the step of "supporting the core of the painting", which is also known as "mounting the wall" in the jargon.
Wall-mounting means covering the heart of the painting with the backing paper, turning it over and removing the protective rice paper and water-oil paper on the front to expose the heart of the painting, then attaching it to the wall and waiting for it to dry before mounting it in full color.
It sounds so simple to say, but so complicated to do.
First, put the painting core with the hole repaired intact on the mounting table, and cut the painting core neatly as usual.
When cutting the core, pay attention to the stamp and inscription, and also match the size of the supporting paper.
Since the silk painting has been stretched flat for a period of time, it has already stretched a lot, so after stepping off the stage, you should first put it down to allow it to shrink naturally, and then moisten the support core to prevent the silk from overstretching and affecting the future shrinkage of the framed piece. Deformation, or cracking or cracking during the mounting process.
After that, you can use clean water to evenly apply water to the supporting paper with a row of brushes, and then use a row of clean water brushes to evenly apply the water and oil paper on the side of the painting core.
Then brush the moderately adjusted grout directly on the back of the painting core.
Finally, brush the supporting paper flat on the mounting table, brush the painting core flat on the supporting paper, turn it over and brush it flat again, and cover it with white supporting paper.
In this way, the water-oiled paper with paste and the two layers of protective rice paper have completed their mission and can be removed.
You have to be careful in this step. If there is insufficient water or if you encounter a broken painting core, it will be easy to peel off the fragments of the original painting when peeling off the oil paper.
Therefore, the movements must be flexible and careful. If you find that the painting core silk is stuck to the water-oil paper, stop immediately and change the direction of removal.
If this doesn't work, you can only tear the water-oil paper into small pieces and peel it off bit by bit.
Then use a small pen with clear water to straighten the warped silk to reveal the painting core on the front.
Compared with paper, silk requires one more step - depulping.
There is still a residue of water-oiled paper on the front. It needs to be wiped off gently when the core of the painting is half dry. The action is to use the palm of your hand facing down and gently rub it back and forth along the silk with the flat surface of your fingers.
This is an essential process. If the remaining slurry on the surface of the picture is not removed, it will affect the next full-color process at the entrance of the hole, and there will be a color inversion phenomenon, making the repaired part unable to match the color. The original painting blends into one, or appears abrupt, without a soft and waxy feel.
Similarly, in order to prevent the silk painting core from cracking, the back of the painting core also needs to be supported and flattened by two layers of rice paper.
Today it was all directed by my fourth cousin, and the operation was thorough.
(End of this chapter)