"The Sewing Machine" by Carmen Laffón
Restoration and preventive conservation treatment
To mark the exhibition Carmen Laffón. Variations, the Conservation and Restoration Department of the Museo Nacional Thyssen‑Bornemisza has carried out work on The Sewing Machine by the painter Carmen Laffón.
The treatments performed involved a combination of restoration and preventive conservation, taking into account the specific materials and techniques used in this painting.
The Sewing Machine
Sewing Machine (1966–67) is the first of three versions of sewing machines that refer to the traditional female domain of handicrafts and domestic skills. All three depict an empty, silent space and have a slightly unfinished appearance.
In Covered Sewing Machine (1967) and Concealed Sewing Machine (1978–82), the object is hidden by a piece of fabric. Throughout the series the artist plays with the idea of showing or covering, concealing or leaving uncovered. She explores the opposite concepts of the visible and the hidden, as in her later pictures of cupboards.
Carmen Laffón conceived her pictures from start to finish, including their frames. The artist prepared the supports by hand, applying a layer of glue-rich imprimatura to give them the stiff finish she wanted.
She then worked with oil paint, seeking to achieve a dry, matte effect with an almost chalky appearance far removed from traditional glossy surfaces.
The concept behind her work
She often returned to works she had deemed to be finished, adding paint or going over certain outlines with chalk or pastel, leaving visible tinges and making corrections that lend the image a sense of intimacy and fragility.
These modifications are also very delicate from the point of view of conservation.
The treatment process
The frame was also an essential part of the work. Laffón used simple wooden members fitted to the stretcher and secured in place with small nails. She painted them in very light shades, generally white or soft greys, to harmonise with the colours of her palette.
The frame of Sewing Machine has an initial coat of silver paint, over which the artist later applied a grey glaze to tone down its sheen.
The frame was also badly deteriorated, with cracks, losses of wood and paint abrasions. Thanks to the consolidation and restoration work carried out at the museum, it has regained the original delicate and understated appearance with which Carmen Laffón had conceived it.
Preventive conservation
The Conservation and Restoration Department has performed preventive conservation treatments on this work.
The canvas displayed very pronounced warping on the left-hand side, which was distorting the surface. By applying moisture and weight in a gradual and controlled manner, the original flatness of the canvas was successfully restored.
