Jacobus Benignus Bossuet 

Identification and bibliographical details

Title/descriptive signifier: Jacobus Benignus Bossuet 

Artist: Not known

Date of work: 1723

Technique:  Etching

Dimensions (mm): 480 (w) x 330 (h) (Portrait)

Composite materials: off-white, medium-weight machine-made woven paper

Provenance: City and Guilds of London Art School Archive

Historical context and details of research: 

This is an etching of Jacobus Benignus Bossuet (1627-1704), who was a French Roman Catholic prelate, and Bishop of Meaux by Hyacinthe Rigaud. Hyacinthe Rigaud was a French painter who specialised in portraits.

Before treatment photodocumentation:

Description

This is an etching, rectangular in shape, and has a maximum approximate size of 480 x 330 (mm). The material is a medium-weight machine-made woven paper, lined with linen. 

Condition

Fair - conservation needed (it may deteriorate further without any conservation interventions)

• The linen lining of the object that is adhered to by animal glue is highly degraded and frayed out along the edges of the print. The lining is particularly degraded around the bottom of the artwork and severely discoloured. 

• It was previously water damaged, as a tideline is observed on the verso of the object.

• The edges of the object are largely chipped and lost. 

• Some loss and cracks are seen around the bottom right corner. 

• The object is very acidic and discoloured overall. 

Treatment description

1. Dry surface cleaning 

Initially, the print was dry-cleaned using a soft Japanese brush to remove loose particles on the surface. Then smoke sponge was used to remove any further surface dirt. This was done very gently to avoid any more tears and it was done until the dirt didn’t stain the sponge both on the recto and verso.

2. Lining removal

The old linen lining was removed mechanically by making small sections of slits on the edges using a scalpel and gently peeling them off by hand.   

3. Blotter humidifying 

To remove the animal glue residue, three layers of wet blotter were placed on the verso of the object and humidified to carefully introduce moisture. When the substrate was sufficiently moistened, the animal glue was scraped off by a bamboo spatula.  

4.  Wet surface cleaning

• The print was immersed in warm water supported by a blotter to reduce soluble deterioration products and flatten it before the lining process.

• After washing, the object was control dried and then pressed overnight. 

5. Partial facing 

The bottom part of the object was largely cracked and chipped, therefore, the fragile part was faced with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste so it could be safely lined. 

6. Traditional Japanese drop lining 

• The object was too fragile to be directly pasted, so Japanese-style drop lining was chosen as it does not require the object to be lifted. First, the object was placed face down on a smooth flexible surface, and the water was introduced (spraying) into the object to the extent the medium allowed.

• The choice of lining material (Japanese paper) that is larger than the art by 50 mm on all sides was wetted by spraying to relax tissue without saturating it with water. Then, starch paste that is diluted to the consistency of skim milk was applied with a Japanese paste brush beginning at the centre and pasted out toward the margins. 

• The lining was applied with the grain direction parallel to the grain direction of the artwork. 

• The pasted lining was lifted by hand beginning at a short edge, a wooden stick was slipped beneath the lifted edge. Using the stick as a support the tissue was lifted and carried to the verso of the art object. One end of the tissue was positioned so that the entire lining once lowered will overlap the art evenly on all sides. The tissue was slowly lowered onto the art. 

• Once in place, smooth out using a brush to ensure uniform contact beginning from the centre towards the edges. 

• A small amount of paste was applied to the edges of the lining tissue and two Japanese tissue tabs were adhered to the edges of the lining, then the object was adhered to the Karibari board. From beneath the tabs, the air was blown so that it allows air circulation.

• Let the object air dry for more than 24 hours. 

7. Infill 

Machine-made woven paper that has the same thickness as the object was colour matched to the object using watercolour. Then, the facing was removed and the loss was infilled with toned Western paper.

8. Retouch

Retouching the infilled area using a pencil and watercolour. 

Requirements/ future recommendations

The print should be stored in the Melinex pocket for safe storage and display. The print should be kept away from direct sunlight to prevent fading or discolouration. The relative humidity should be between 45-55% RH.