The China Project

70 Night ambush during treatment (top); warm sturgeon glue is gently applied to the lifted paint with a 000 brush, used for very delicate areas. Following consolidation, flakes are gently heated with a warm spatula and weighted to dry / Photographs: Anne Carter Guo remembers that Gu Wenda sketched the image in using charcoal; painting then began, using Mali brand oil paints made in Tianjin. Turpentine ( songjie you ) and linseed oil ( yama you ) were mixed with the oil paints. Guo recalled that there were problems with painting the sky: . . . the person working in the materials room of the oil painting department was new and had mistakenly given Gu Wenda some water-based paints as well as oil paints. Gu Wenda did not realise this until he came to paint the sky. According to Guo, as soon as he discovered the problem he scraped off the oil and watercolour-mixed paints and re-painted the sky using oils. 28 Guo also remembers that the painting was not worked on again after completion, and it was left unvarnished. When the painting entered the Gallery’s Collection in 2007, it was evident that the problems with mixing water-based and oil-based paints were not confined to the sky, as over 80 per cent of the paint was flaking. To assess the extent of Gu’s over-painting, a ‘black light’ (which emits radiation in the ultraviolet range) was shone on the painting. This light causes materials to fluoresce and reveals the presence of previous restoration and repair. For example, although the brushwork is consistent with surrounding paint, the reworked areas in the sky appear dark under ultraviolet light. This area has also been complicated by more recent re-touching. Although Guo said that the work was not varnished or re-worked by the artists once the work was completed, it appears that some restoration has taken place. Paint cross-sections were prepared from the sky section of Night ambush to determine at which level the paint was flaking. The sample pictured is a piece of paint that has lifted from the ground (the ground is the first layer of opaque paint or gesso that prepares the surface on which to draw or paint). The cross-section shows that at least four layers of paint make up the sky. The clear layer at the bottom (containing black particles) is common in all cross-sections and appears to be the layer that is flaking from the ground. To restore the painting, we began by brushing a water-based sturgeon fish glue onto the cracks and loose paint, to consolidate it. The moisture in the glue encourages the oil paint to relax and soften, while the application of heat with a small spatula — once the paint flakes are relaxed — allows the flakes to be laid flat and left under weights to dry. Following paint consolidation, the existing non- original and yellowed varnish was removed and a new, isolating varnish was sprayed on. Major paint losses were filled with chalk and acrylic medium and then in-painted using water-based paints. Although the paint still appears ‘damaged’, the painting is now stable and can be displayed. The conservation and technical study of these paintings provides a glimpse into the artists’ painting processes, their personal circumstances, and the life of an art work outside the museum context. Ah Xian, Guan Wei, Gu Wenda and Guo Zhonglian have all worked within the Western oil painting tradition. They show a skilful handling of paint, impressive representational abilities and a great respect for their materials. These rare works are important not only as documents of a unique time in China’s recent history, but also as evidence of artists’ working conditions during this period.