It has been seven years since Lai returned from Italy, where he completed an oil painting restoration course at the Pa­laz­zo Spinelli Institute for Art and Restoration in Florence and apprenticed for over a year at the San Felice degli Arti­gi­an­elli restoration workshop. The techniques he learned in Florence inform Lai’s own approach to restoration, and he has been striving to raise awareness of conservation efforts in Taiwan, where he hopes appropriate measures will be adopted to preserve local cultural heritage.

a painting before restoration

“I sure came to the right place!”

In November 1966, successive days of torrential rain caused the rapid rise of the Arno, the river that bisects Florence. When the Arno burst its banks and flooded the city, the water caused untold damage to the artistic and cultural treasures of the city, the birthplace of the Renaissance. Volunteers poured in from all over to rescue the cultural relics, and in the process acquired considerable expertise in their restoration. As a result, Florence became a center for research organizations and training programs in the field of cultural preservation and restoration.

During his first class at the Institute for Art and Restoration, Lai recalls seeing paintings over 200 years old lining both sides of the classroom, waiting for the attention of the restorers. “I sure came to the right place,” he remembers thinking.

In learning conservation and restoration techniques, students often worry that they won’t have real artworks to practice on. But many of the works of art damaged by the 1966 flood have yet to be restored, ensuring plenty of hands-on experience for students.

In Italy Lai came to understand the urge to preserve cultural heritage wherever it might be found. He observed roadside murals that were far from famous but still covered with locked viewing cases to protect them from being damaged by tourists or birds. He also noticed the prevalence of white tape affixed to damaged cultural relics in churches. Lai explains that the adhesive provides a temporary fix for peeling layers of pigment. 

Lai says that art and restoration are constant companions in Italian life. In explaining why he chose Italy, Lai points out that even if his studies were a flop he would at least have had the chance to become familiar with the great artists of the ­Renaissance. 

Damage is visible in this detail of the brim of a boy’s hat.

The ABCs of restoration

The restoration process includes the initial examination, cleaning, the reconstruction of texture, and retouching, though the actual steps needed depend on the condition of the painting.

A conservator must first assess the extent of the damage to a painting and take samples for analysis to determine whether it is compatible with the solvents used in restoration, so as to avoid damaging the artwork. Cotton swabs are then used to remove surface stains, a delicate and irreversible part of the restoration process. If the surface is damaged or uneven, it must be filled in with size in keeping with the texture of the canvas so that it blends seamlessly with the surrounding areas. The conservator then restores the painting’s original beauty by inpainting, a process that involves adding color with tiny dots or fine lines to damaged areas. The repetitive nature of restoration work requires intense concentration and a high degree of patience and perseverance. But this is just a day in the life of the conservator.

Lai has been studying drawing since elementary school and trained as an oil painter, and when it came to the restoration process, he found himself to be a quick study.

Lai explains that his decade-plus experience with oil painting enables him to grasp an artist’s original intentions, practical techniques and use of color. In the past, for example, the range of pigments was considerably more limited. If artists wanted to create purple, they would first apply a layer of blue and then cover it with a thin, transparent layer of red. Combined, the two colors produced the appearance of purple. The technique, known as layering or glazing, can produce a multilayered, limpid effect. Lai’s background in oil painting taught him the techniques of glazing and the effects it produces. He uses it where appropriate in his restorations, to return the painting as closely as possible to its original state.

Lai has also mastered restoring color on larger areas of a painting using a delicate line technique known as trat­teg­gio, which is considered the international standard for the restoration of color. The process uses fine lines of color that do not intersect or overlap. In this way, the painting’s overall beauty is restored, but the original brushstrokes are distinguishable from the added color. The work takes time and patience and tests the skills of the restorer. Lai, who is skilled at the technique and works rapidly, was often entrusted with carrying out this task on more challenging works by the owner of the restoration workshop in Florence.

During the restoration process, new factors are sometimes dis­covered that alter the fate of the painting. Lai had such a memorable experience while restoring a painting in ­Italy. As he was cleaning a religious painting, he discovered that Christ’s crown of thorns was possibly obscured beneath a layer of paint, and he speculated that it might have been covered over during a past restoration attempt. As soon as this was discovered, the owner of the studio reported it to the inspector in charge of the project. Word even reached the local cardinal, who visited the workshop to see the important discovery for himself. The discovery prompted much debate, and restoration work was suspended. The experience taught Lai how seriously restoration work is taken in Italy.

On closer inspection, the restored portion remains distinct from the original.

Cultivating support for restoration

After returning from Italy and taking up work as a conservator in Taiwan, Lai discovered many cases in which artworks had been subjected to aberrant restoration procedures. He encountered paintings by older artists that showed signs of untreated damage or unprofessional touchups. He explains that the results of such improper restoration techniques are irreversible and that the original appearance of the cultural artifact is lost for good. Lai finds this disheartening in the extreme.

Lai repeatedly stresses that the most important job of the restorer is to preserve the original artwork. He once got an urgent call from Malaysia about a painting that was peeling, with flakes of the original paint coming off in alarming quantities. Lai asked the caller to carefully collect all the paint flakes and arranged to travel to Malaysia where he reattached them one by one. By restoring the original surface of the painting, Lai was also able to preserve its value.   

A sense of urgency in saving cultural relics is not widely shared in Taiwan, where no emergency treatment is being delivered to artworks on the verge of being lost. Many think that once the doctor (the conservator) arrives the patient will make a full recovery, but even with the doctor’s best efforts the patient is often beyond saving. Lai feels that a sense of urgency about restoration must be cultivated in Taiwan. When a cultural artifact is damaged, the original materials must be collected so that professional restorers can work their magic.

Because there is a shortage of conservators in Taiwan, Lai has been called upon to help preserve temple relics as well as oil paintings. He once had the opportunity to employ the traditional Italian technique (known as strappo) of removing a fresco from a wall without the trouble of having to cut it out of the wall. He hopes to share such experiences with traditional craftsmen in Taiwan, combining skills both old and new, and together working to preserve Taiwan’s cultural heritage.

Lai first became interested in studying art restoration when he discovered damage to one of his own artworks and was unsure how to fix it. After studying conservation, however, he decided to make a career of it. “The restorer’s art is like a knife—it must be honed and used daily to remain sharp,” he says. “And a conservator shares much in common with an apprentice, who can only master his craft through years of training and practice.”

Lai is still traveling the long road to mastering the conservator’s art. And he plans to continue honing his skills and offering his considerable talents in his quest to preserve Taiwan’s cultural heritage.

After restoration using the tratteggio technique, which does not attempt to blend the restored color into the original brush strokes, the hat brim looks natural from a distance.

Lai Chih Hao has served as a lecturer in the Uffizi Gallery’s teaching program, where he introduced local high-school students to art conservation. (courtesy of Lai Chih Hao)

The work of a conservator requires extraordinary patience and ­perseverance.

Lai Chih Hao employs a traditional Italian technique, known as strappo, for removing a fresco from a wall. (courtesy of Lai Chih Hao)

Lai Chih Hao employs a traditional Italian technique, known as strappo, for removing a fresco from a wall. (courtesy of Lai Chih Hao)

Oil Painting Conservator Lai Chih Hao