The microscopic view of soot deposits on a fire damaged painting shows areas of potential damage not visible to the naked eye. Where prolonged heat exposure has caused a bubbling of the paint layer, there is a risk of secondary damage during cleaning.
Conservation and Philosophy: Narcissus Admiring His Reflection
Color Matching and Retouching
In cases where there has been a partial loss to the paint layers, the loss is filled and retouched using reversible fills and retouching pigments. In order to keep the viewer’s eye from being drawn to the repaired areas of loss, the conservator uses a retouching technique referred to as mimetic retouching.