CCI Newsletter, No. 22, November 1998

Revealing Dulongpré and his Portrait of Jean Dessaulles

by Debra Daly Hartin, Conservator, Fine Arts

Louis Dulongpré (1754–1843), a prominent early Quebec artist, was a prolific painter who is thought to have created more than 4000 portraits in oil and pastel; but less than 200 of his works are currently known and only a fraction of these, perhaps 50, have been officially attributed to him. Study of his known paintings might reveal enough unusual aspects of his style to provide a "signature" for the artist, thereby assisting with the attribution of other works. The Portrait of Jean Dessaulles (circa 1825) is rare in that it had never before been treated. Though in poor condition, the examination and treatment of this painting provided a unique opportunity for conservators, conservation scientists, and materials' historians to gain new information about the original materials and techniques of this artist.   The painting was first examined and documented by various photographic, microscopic, and analytical techniques. A pigmented starch ground was found, the first of three ground layers on the painting. Though discussed in artists' manuals of the time, a starch ground has rarely been documented on a painting. The layer was extremely cracked and friable and was the cause of extensive paint loss. Of additional interest was that cracks in this layer were filled with the first layer of paint, indicating the ground had cracked before the artist applied the image layers.

Portrait of Jean Dessaulles, after treatment. This painting was one of several from the collection of Le Centre d'Archives du Séminaire de Saint-Hyacinthe included in "Expression(s) mascoutaine(s)" (July 12 – August 31, 1998, at Expression, Centre d'exposition de Saint-Hyacinthe), one of several exhibitions held to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Saint-Hyacinthe.

Louis Dulongpré (1754–1843), a prominent early Quebec artist, was a prolific painter who is thought to have created more than 4000 portraits in oil and pastel; but less than 200 of his works are currently known and only a fraction of these, perhaps 50, have been officially attributed to him. Study of his known paintings might reveal enough unusual aspects of his style to provide a "signature" for the artist, thereby assisting with the attribution of other works. The Portrait of Jean Dessaulles (circa 1825) is rare in that it had never before been treated. Though in poor condition, the examination and treatment of this painting provided a unique opportunity for conservators, conservation scientists, and materials' historians to gain new information about the original materials and techniques of this artist.

The painting was first examined and documented by various photographic, microscopic, and analytical techniques. A pigmented starch ground was found, the first of three ground layers on the painting. Though discussed in artists' manuals of the time, a starch ground has rarely been documented on a painting. The layer was extremely cracked and friable and was the cause of extensive paint loss. Of additional interest was that cracks in this layer were filled with the first layer of paint, indicating the ground had cracked before the artist applied the image layers.

A pigmented glaze, which had dried into an unusual string-like pattern, was present over the surface of the painting. In a few cross-sections the glaze was visible directly on the surface of the paint whereas in others it appeared to have been lifted by the varnish; the varnish flowed under and over the glaze. As there was no indication the painting had ever been cleaned or treated, we assumed that these layers were the first surface coatings applied to the painting.

The painting exhibited extensive cracking, cupping, and paint loss over its surface (a condition frequently seen in other paintings by Dulongpré), thus the major focus of treatment was the consolidation of the fragile paint and ground layers. A private conservator was hired to undertake the extremely time-consuming and delicate procedure of locally readhering the lifting and overlapping islands of paint. To preserve the original intentions of the artist, the surface coatings were not removed.