EDGAR MAXENCE | Meditation

To the naked eye: We couldn’t have access to the reverse of the work, inserted in a wooden box impeding the access. The primary support, a paper laid down on canvas, does not seem to present any tear or warp. Some little scratches are visible: one on the red book held by the model, one in the background on the right. Little white dots (paint loss) are visible in places, notably in the center right of the composition. The shades with the gouache and the watercolor are slightly altered and seem to have become darker with time. Matt surfaces, probably linked with the black gouache, appear in places, in the darker part of the headdress and on the collar, along the right sleeve and in the corners of the chair, together with other places disseminated on the paper. Under the UV light: The UV lamp reveals that darker areas with the gouache fluoresce, but they do not seem to be the result of recent restorations. The painting is framed with a faded golden frame, in the style of Renaissance.
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