Craquelure are fine hairline cracks that appear in an old oil painting. Some art restorers may not decide to treat it, for is the normal process of ageing and adds charm to the appearance of the artwork.
This old oil landscape painting shows cracks in the paint layer called craquelure. This is caused by the aging process of the oil paint that has dried out over time. The proper preparation of gesso will minimize the appearance of these cracks.
A close up of this painting showing craquelure.
Image right shows distortion in the canvas due to botched restoration. Masking tape had been stuck onto the back of the canvas to hide a hole. Sadly, the resultant stresses in the canvas have exacerbated the cracks.
Any restoration work would now require extra care.
The image shows the painting after I had removed the offending masking tape and repaired the holes in the canvas. I had also tensioned the resultant flabbiness in the canvas by adjusting canvas keys in the back of the painting. My other article explains how I had restored the surface of this painting.
This article is about how I patched up an area of craquelure.
Cracks in the Oil Paint
The images show the oil paint flaking off after I had removed the sticking tape from the back of the canvas and repaired the holes.
My aim isn’t to hide all the cracks in the oil painting, but to restore only this particular area. As can be seen, bare canvas is exposed. This painting hadn’t been prepared properly and the oil paint has dried out over time.
Fortunately, the neighbouring oil paint remained sound and I could work into the area concerned. But any loose paint should be removed. The bare canvas beneath can be prepared with gesso primer before restoration.
Any large pieces of flaked-off oil paint can be glued back on with impasto medium if possible, but this could be a lengthy process.
The bare canvas showing beneath the paint. Image right: applying gesso.
First, I applied a little acrylic gesso primer onto the bare canvas. A fine sable is needed for careful application. The gesso provides a stable surface onto which to apply the oil paint on top.
The oil painting prepared for restoration.
All the areas of bare canvas have been touched up with the acrylic gesso primer. I can now apply the oil paint onto the areas where the oil paint had flaked off.
Treating the Craquelure.
Once the gesso primer is dry, I will place onto a palette the required oil paints and a little impasto medium.
Impasto medium is an alkyd resin that thickens the oil paint and accelerates its drying time. It’s great for impasto effects and works like Polyfilla for oil paintings. Any indentations can be smoothed out for an even finish.
For this painting, I used ultramarine, olive green, burnt sienna and a little cadmium yellow.
I mixed a little of the impasto medium into my paint mixture and applied it over the damaged area.
A vast array of neutral hues can be achieved with just a few oil colors.
I will work over the damaged area a little at a time with soft sables for a smooth finish. Work the paint in various directions to create evenness in the paint layer.
Images show how I worked over the cracked areas of an oil painting.
The images show how I worked over the damaged area in stages to bring the paint layer in line with the surrounding area.
Scars in the oil paint layer will show at first until smoothing it over in stages. Any ridges can be smoothed over to bring a more consistent finish.
At first, the scars beneath will be evident. Thin layers of paint on top will add integrity to the paint layer.
Images showing restoration in stages. The scars in the paint layer will eventually fade with careful blending.
Image left shows touching up on a damaged area near the corner of the painting. Image right shows an area of matt on the area worked on. Varnishing will bring the finish in line with the rest of the painting.
The image shows the unsightly lump caused by the masking tape is gone and the painting correctly tensioned. The craquelure has also been treated locally.
Images shows the painting restoration complete.
Relevant articles
Repair a hole in an oil painting
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