The oil painting "Father" is a well-known work. The image of a simple and honest farmer in the picture has deeply moved the hearts of countless people and has become a classic in the history of contemporary Chinese art.
Attentive audiences noticed that the original "Father" hasn't appeared for a long time. The most recent appearance was in the 2019 "Magnificent Scroll of Great Journey-Art Exhibition Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China".
Even in 2020, the 80th anniversary of the founding of Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, "Father" only appeared in print edition.
The reporter learned from the National Art Museum of China that the original "Father" is being restored.
This is the first system restoration of this work since its birth.
Recently, the reporter came to the Art Restoration Department of the National Art Museum of China to visit the restoration process of the oil painting "Father".
New findings of "Comprehensive Physical Examination"
As soon as I entered the restoration room, I saw the oil painting "Father" lying quietly on the restoration equipment, surrounded by polyester mesh and stretched over the temporary work frame, with temperature and humidity monitors, light monitors, and painting There are blue, green, and yellow labels on the surface, which indicate different times of reinforcement.
This large-scale painting with a height of 220 cm and a width of 154.5 cm occupies almost half of the restoration room.
“We are now stabilizing the paint layer.” said Kong Yan, an oil painting restorer at the Art Restoration Department of the National Art Museum of China. The general procedure for repairing oil paintings is to repair the structure first, such as repairing the canvas and strengthening the paint to stabilize the structure of the painting. Come down, and then deal with the aesthetics of the picture, such as decontamination, color restoration, etc.
The oil painting "Father" was created by contemporary painter Luo Zhongli in 1980. It is one of the "Treasures of the Town Hall" of the National Art Museum of China, and is also a "popularity" in major exhibitions.
According to statistics, since 2000 alone, there have been more than 30 exhibition records of "Father", which ranks in the forefront of all works in the collection of the National Art Museum of China.
Due to frequent use, always undergoing environmental changes, and the material itself is relatively prone to decay, there are some potential problems in "Father" that need to be repaired.
"As early as September 2019, we judged through observation that the condition of this work is not too stable, and a'comprehensive physical examination' is required," said Kong Yan.
"Comprehensive physical examination" not only includes multispectral inspection, instrument analysis and testing, but also includes a comprehensive analysis of the condition of the painting, and even in-depth communication with the creator.
"We specially invited Mr. Luo Zhongli to come to Beijing to discuss with him some of the doubts encountered during the test, and to further understand the creative background, creative techniques and materials used." Kong Yan said.
This exchange indeed brought new discoveries.
The white turban of the characters in the picture is full of texture and not flat.
In the early years, professionals judged that it was mixed with something that was not oil paint, and initially thought it was organic.
During the exchange, Luo Zhongli said frankly that when he was creating, he mixed the dregs of steamed bread from the ground with oil paints to make the picture more colorful.
"Only by clarifying similar details can the repair process be more secure." Kong Yan said.
Repair is also a research process
In the restoration room, Kong Yan showed reporters a thick file folder, which contained all relevant materials for the restoration of the oil painting "Father".
In the "Collection Inspection Report", you can see the specific tests that "Father" has done, such as the fiber identification of the canvas and the slice analysis of the paint layer sample.
The report also includes a detailed inspection report, repair plan, repair target, etc.
One of the pictures shows the covered label found under the label on the back of the canvas.
From this we can understand the name change of this painting: at the beginning, Luo Zhongli named the oil painting "Everything is hard," later changed to "My Father", and finally named "Father" during the review stage of the Second National Youth Art Exhibition ".
"We will provide this report to researchers in the humanities. This is the first-hand data for research." Kong Yan said.
“The restoration itself provides an opportunity to observe the work up close, and restoration is also a process of research.” Li Bo, the oil painting restorer who repaired the oil painting "Father" with Kong Yan, said that not only can you observe closely, you can also go through the restoration process. Observation of technical means should make good use of this opportunity for further research.
Therefore, the restoration cycle of a work not only includes the restoration itself, but also includes a series of work that is carried out together such as observation, testing, and research of the work.
"The restoration plan of each work is unique, and there is no universal formula that can solve the problems of all works. Some works may only require some partial adjustments and corrections, while some works require comprehensive renovation from the outside to the inside. Kong Yan said that the restoration cycle of each work is different.
The restoration of the oil painting "Father" will probably take more than a year, and it is more likely to be exhibited in 2021.
Let human civilization continue
According to Wu Weishan, director of the National Art Museum of China, the National Art Museum of China attaches great importance to the preservation and restoration of its collections. Since 2016, it has implemented important projects such as the "National Art Collection Protection and Restoration International Conference" and "National Art Collection Protection and Restoration Professional Training". The restoration work of national art museums was carried out.
These projects are not only a grand event for international exchanges in the field of art preservation and restoration, but also an important opportunity for the Chinese Art Museum to improve research on collection protection.
In recent years, with the support of domestic and foreign experts, the National Art Museum of China has achieved gratifying results, restoring more than 300 pieces of different kinds of collections, including Su Shi's "Xiaoxiang Bamboo and Rock", Picasso's "Man with a Pipe", Situ Qiao's "Let Down Your Whip" "Father" and other Chinese and foreign art classics by Luo Zhongli.
Compared with museums, China's art gallery system started late in restoration.
The restoration work of the National Art Museum of China began with the restoration of some ancient Chinese works in its collection.
“In 2010, we started the restoration project of the Chinese painting collection donated by Deng Tuo. It took nearly 3 years to restore 120 pieces (sets) of the collection, and 25 pieces (sets) were treated with preservation technology.” said Deng Feng, research librarian of the National Art Museum of China. Said that during this period, the National Art Museum of China began to build its own restoration team and standardize the restoration process.
In fact, repairing works is only one part of the protection.
Protection is a big concept, including preventive protection, daily maintenance, repair, etc.
Wu Weishan said that repair work is as sacred and important as medical work. Preventive protection and daily maintenance are just like our body needs exercise and maintenance. Once sick, we need to go to the hospital for treatment and even surgery.
Therefore, professionals engaged in collection protection and restoration work are the "health doctors" and "surgeons" of artworks.
From the perspective of protection, cultural relics and works of art are composed of materials.
All material bodies have a life cycle, and it is impossible to maintain their original appearance forever, nor can they exist forever.
"It is often that we know that we can't do it, so that we can better reflect the importance of protection for cultural heritage." Deng Feng said.
In Kong Yan's view, protection is to intervene in various ways to try to maintain the original appearance of cultural relics and artworks and extend their existence.
Therefore, in essence, all protection behaviors are to send human civilization that has been changed or difficult to continue to the far future.
Wu Weishan said that in the face of art collections, we need to build a "collection hospital" with well-equipped facilities, well-staffed personnel, and excellent technology, so that these works can be displayed to the public in the healthiest appearance, so that they can truly play the role of "activation" and aesthetic education. effect.
Lai Rui