Repairing a tear in a painting is an important part of conservation and restoration

Marjan de Visser restoration workshop specializes in tear mending . She has followed several workshops specializing different techniques. For example at the Doerner Institute. Tear mending a painting is possible with tears of different sizes and origins. The conservator uses various repair techniques for this. And all of these give the painting its original appearance. A brief explanation is in order here. Namely in an old painting, the canvas is often brittle and the fibers break easily. That is why there is a hard tear in the linen here. But in young paintings, the linen is still flexible. So after damage, the linen is often stretched. This creates a frayed tear. So tear mending a painting is never dull.

A tear in a painting is unfortunately a regularly occurring damage. Of course this is very unfortunate for the owner. 

Usually, a tear is an accident. For example, a painting has fallen or an object has fallen against a painting. Of course, this affect the experience of the painting. Unfortunately, this has also reduced the appreciation for the painting. A tear in a painting is often a reason for conservation and restoration. For this, you come to the right place at the Marjan de Visser restoration studio. Because we have extensive professional knowledge and practical experience. And with the use of the right materials and techniques, your painting will be beautifully restored.

Marjan de Visser uses various techniques to repair a tear in a painting.

To have a tear in a painting repaired:

Repairing a small tear of about 1 cm is usually done with a flexible adhesive film and a non-woven tissue. Thus a flexible and strong repair has been created. However, large frayed tears where the canvas is stretched are first planed under pressure. Sometimes moisture can help to relax the fibers and the textile. The pressure can consist of a weight or a vacuum table. But in case of large tears, the treatment usually consists of re-weaving the textile structure. Obviously, it is a time-consuming job that requires a lot of patience. In order to obtain a strong repair, threads are glued over the tear in the canvas. This restoration can be performed under the microscope.  Understandably an invisible restoration is a major challenge for the conservator. Especially when it comes to repairing a tear in a painting.