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Portrait of a Young Man,
before treatment, raking
light from top |
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This drawing is from
the collection of the Nelson-Atkins
Museum. Examination
of the drawing revealed that the
support, multiple sheets of paper glued
together, a technique typical of Holbein,
was pulling away from the mount
at its lower edge. Red chalk, apparently
from another drawing, was visible
on the lower edge of the verso in the
released area. The action of the lifting
support was tearing the drawing on the
verso into fragments as portions
remained adhered to the mount.
The mount was incised along the edges of
the drawing. The drawing and
the attached portion of the mount were
released. The drawing was placed
face down and the mount remnant was
thinned using a scalpel. The mount
remnants were released using agar
poultices to soften the adhesive. The
fragments of the exposed drawing
remnants were reattached using wheat
starch paste.
The drawing on the lower edge of the
verso proved to be the cap of
St. James with a cockle shell (his
attribute) attached. A new core was
created for the mount
using four ply museum board. Mulberry
paper strips
were attached to the right, top and left
edges of the verso of the drawing.
The drawing was attached to the new core
and the core was secured into
the frame of the original mount. A
window cut into the new core, glazed
with Mylar, offers visual access to the
drawing on the verso. |
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