Tag Archives: henri rousseau

Birthday Candles for Henri Rousseau

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French artist Henri Rousseau was born on this day in 1844. His still life The Pink Candle (1908), acquired by Duncan Phillips in 1930 along with Notre Dame (1909), is currently on view upstairs in the original Phillips house as part of Jeanne Silverthorne’s Vanitas! project for the Intersections series. The little painting hangs to the right of a doorway framing Silverthorne’s tour de force in silicone rubber–DNA Candelabra (showing the beginning genetic sequence for depression, anxiety, addiction, anger, and panic) on rubber crate (2007).

Henri Rousseau, The Pink Candle, 1908. Oil on canvas, 6 3/8 x 8 3/4 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Acquired 1930.

Henri Rousseau, The Pink Candle, 1908. Oil on canvas, 6 3/8 x 8 3/4 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Acquired 1930.

Installation view of Rousseau's The Pink Candle in conversation with Jeanne Silverthorne's work in Vanitas! on view through June 2 as part of the Intersections series. Photo: Lee Stalsworth

Installation view of Rousseau’s The Pink Candle in conversation with Jeanne Silverthorne’s work in Vanitas! on view through June 2 as part of the Intersections series. Photo: Lee Stalsworth

Exhibition at the Phillips Collection, Washington DC

Installation view of Jeanne Silverthorne’s DNA Candelabra (showing the beginning genetic sequence for depression, anxiety, addiction, anger, and panic) on rubber crate, 2007. Platinum, silicone rubber, and phosphorescent pigment, Overall 64 x 60 x 47 in. Courtesy artist and McKee Gallery, New York. Photo: Lee Stalsworth

Tools of the Trade: Inpainting in the Conservation Studio

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Retouching paint losses on 'The Pink Candle' by Henri Rousseau, c. 1908. Photos: Patricia Favero

Inpainting, also known as retouching or ‘loss compensation’, is one of the final steps in a conservation treatment. Conservators custom mix dry pigments with stable and reversible media to get just the right color to retouch losses and abrasions on an artwork.  Inpainting is confined to areas of lost paint only. It is intended to be invisible to the naked eye but distinguishable from original paint on close inspection or examination under ultraviolet light. The use of small brushes makes for a slow and exacting process. Something to listen to on the radio or a playlist, podcast, or audiobook is a necessary ‘tool’ for most conservators when completing this work.