La venue de l'aube à Fosset

The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CONDITION REPORT WAS PREPARED BY HAMISH DEWAR, AN
INDEPENDENT PAINTINGS CONSERVATOR UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE
Structural condition
The canvas is unlined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher with one vertical
cross-baton. There is a small repair to the canvas in the lower right as seen from the reverse.
The repair is covered by the stretcher-key.
There is a pattern of faint lines of drying craquelure, which is as to be expected on an unlined
canvas of this period. There are also a few horizontal lines of lifting and unstable paint, just to
the right of the signature, in the lower right of the composition. This area would benefit from
localised consolidation.
Paint surface
The paint surface has a rather uneven and discoloured varnish layer and should benefit
considerably from cleaning and revarnishing.
Inspection under ultraviolet light shows extensive retouchings, some of which have discoloured
and are therefore visible in natural light. The most notable area of discoloured retouching is in
the lower left corner. The retouchings are undoubtedly excessive and could be reduced
should they be removed during the cleaning process and replaced with more minimal
inpainting. It is, however, really only possibly to know the extent of underlying losses or
damages once the retouchings have been removed, and I would expect to find a number of
historic losses beneath the retouchings.
Summary
The painting therefore does have an area of unstable paint which should be treated and has
been extensively retouched in the past. I would be confident that the painting would respond
very well to cleaning, restoration and revarnishing.