Removal of varnish and old retouchings

Cleaning tests had revealed that the old varnish - applied by Horace Buttery in 1960 - could be removed using standard cleaning solutions without risking Poussin's paint surface. So what do we mean by a standard cleaning solution?

Previous restorations

Has the   Crossing of the Red Sea   been restored before? Certainly. You could say that most Old Master paintings have been cleaned at least once during each century of their existence, so it is quite possible that our painting has been cleaned at least four times.

Do we know when and how it was cleaned? Not entirely. The thorough documentation of conservation treatments is a rather recent phenomenon. Only a handful of art museums around the world have concise records of treatments carried out before World War II, and many do not have much in the way of reporting before the 1960s. For works in private collections, conservation records have been almost non-existent.

The revelations of UV photography

As we draw closer to the cleaning of the  Crossing of the Red Sea   we turn our attention to UV photography. A quick glance at an image of the painting under ultraviolet light is enough for a conservator to learn some of the critical issues regarding its surface, especially the condition of the old varnish and the previous restorer's work.

An introduction to the project

Welcome to the online conservation treatment diary for Nicolas Poussin’s   Crossing of the Red Sea  . This is the first instalment of a series of informal updates designed to keep the public informed about the restoration of one of the NGV’s most prized paintings.

The main aim of this diary is to provide you with the opportunity to look in on the many steps required to bring such a treatment to completion. Large scale conservation treatments can take months, sometimes even years. They require patience, discipline and planning. We hope the real-time release of news about this treatment while it is in progress will enable you to experience something of the journey the painting and the conservator take as the treatment unfolds.

What does the term “conservation treatment” mean? Broadly speaking, the treatment of paintings falls into two main categories: structural and superficial. Structural work involves the repair of components of the picture which can no longer properly serve their physical function, such as a canvas that is torn, a panel which is split, or paint layer which is flaking.

Superficial treatment concerns work to the surface of the painting, for example the removal of old varnish and restorer’s overpaints, the application of a new varnish, and the retouching of lost or worn areas of paint. Both structural and superficial treatments are time-consuming and demand a ongoing process of adjustment and decision-making to reach the best balance between the demands of the artwork and its material condition. The Poussin treatment will mainly involve surface work.
Any canvas painting as old as the Crossing of the Red Sea - which we know was painted around 1634 - is bound to have its share of conservation issues. Few paintings emerge unscathed even after a century. For that reason, and also on account of its size, a full year has been set aside to complete the restoration and return the painting to the Gallery walls.


This is the first time we have undertaken an informal online record of a major treatment like this, so it will undoubtedly take time for us to exploit this medium, but we shall try at the very least to accompany the written posts with photos and where possible, with audio-visual content.

We hope you enjoy the process!