3 ms·

Wonder if there is any way to separate this from the painting on top

• jacquesm 4y ago
  Yes, but not non-destructively. This has been done to some paintings where the painting 'underneath' was considered to be far more valuable (either monetary or historically). Personally I think this should never be done but obviously opinions on such stuff differ. See: https://artenet.it/en/removal-of-overpaint/ https://artenet.it/en/removal-of-overpaint/ When the chemical properties of overpaint and underlayer are close this can get extremely hairy, removal speeds of a few square centimeters per day are not unheard of, you need to patience of a monk for this sort of thing.
  • notjulianjaynes 4y ago
    Unless I misunderstood the article the self portrait is on the reverse side of the canvas and can't be seen because someone glued cardboard over it.
    • jacquesm 4y ago
      That may make recovery much more tractable depending on the glue used. The cardboard itself is likely not going to pose a big challenge.