In addition to paintings from its own collection, S.M.A.K. also holds works by De Keyser on long-term loan from private collections and the Flemish Community Collection. Eleven works from our reserves have been restored by specialists in acrylic painting; monochrome areas were particularly difficult. A few of the works required prior study depending on the state of the damage and the problems involved.
The complexity of Camping II lay in the treatment of the large areas of uniform colour, the water-based acrylic paint and the increasing brownish discolouring of the white areas over the years. Research showed that the brown discolouring on the surface of this painting contained relatively large amounts of nicotine and other constituents of cigarette smoke. An appropriate cleaning method was employed based on the nature of the contamination.
This work can be seen in the exhibition Raoul De Keyser | oeuvre, from 22.09.2018 to 27.01.2019.
