In preparation for the exhibition Dürer to Matisse: 400 Years of European Prints, I had the task of assessing and treating prints from the Ackland’s collection. The object with the most need of treatment was The Large Cat, a small 1657 engraving by Dutch artist Cornelis Visscher. There were brown drip stains in the bottom of the print which were unsightly and distracting.
I could see that the print had been treated previously because there was an expertly filled loss in the lower right corner. One of the first things I do when assessing artwork for conservation is look through our records to see its history, and I was happy to find a prior treatment report. My Ackland predecessor Lyn Koehnline had treated the print in 1994 and had created the beautiful fill inpainted with pen and ink copied from an undamaged print. She had washed the print as well, so I knew that any possible aqueous stain reduction had already happened, as I could also see by her before and after photos. There was no reason for me to wash the print again and risk disrupting the filled corner.
Using a microscope I could see that the “stains” were actually deposits of physical residue embedded in the paper fibers. Rather than being a stain like red wine spilled on a shirt, they were particles of dirt like sand in a beach towel. No amount of water or bleaching agent will make sand dissolve.
And so, working under the microscope, I performed tests to find a suitable way to physically remove the specks of dirt. The best tool ended up being a small pointed scalpel blade. I was able to use the fine point to pick the dirt flecks out from the fibers, and then I used a Teflon folder to press the disturbed fibers back into position. It was a slow, meticulous process, but the outcome was satisfying. The bottom of the print no longer has dirty lines to distract the eye.
I kept wondering what the stains might have been, but we will probably never know. The previous treatment report mentioned that the print had smelled like thymol, a chemical formerly used for treating mold on artwork. The stains had reminded me of objects I had treated after Hurricane Katrina when dirty flood waters damaged a memorabilia collection, leaving the papers stained, soiled and moldy. Perhaps The Large Cat survived a similar watery disaster, but it no longer has the stains to show for it.
Cornelis Visscher, Dutch, c. 1629-1658, The Large Cat, 1657, engraving, 5 1/2 x 7 3/16 in. (14 x 18.3 cm) Burton Emmett Collection, 58.1.837.
