Identification

Collection Number: DS-19C-FR02
Current Title: Portrait of Juana Romani as Le Jeune Page
Former / Historical Title: Le Jeune Page; Le Page
Sitter / Model: Juana Romani
Date: Late nineteenth to early twentieth century
Century: Late nineteenth to early twentieth century
‍
Artist / Attribution
‍
Artist: Ferdinand Victor Léon Roybet
Born: 12 April 1840, Uzès, Gard, France
Died: 11 April 1920, Paris, France
Attribution: Fully attributed to Ferdinand Victor Léon Roybet
School / Culture: French School
Artistic Context: Academic painting; nineteenth-century French historicist and costume painting

Materials and Techniques
‍
Object Type: Painting
Medium: Oil on panel
Support: Panel
Dimensions: L. 81.0 cm. W. 64.4 cm. H. 1.2 cm.
Inscriptions: Signed on the front, upper right: “F. Roybet”.
Markings:
Reverse of panel bearing several historical labels and inscriptions. An old paper label at centre is printed and inscribed: “PL No. 1781”; annotated above with the dimensions “81 × 65”; further inscribed: “Roybet” and “Le Page”. A small numbered paper label “29” is affixed near the upper centre of the panel. Further reverse markings include large red chalk numerals, possibly “3468”, and blue crayon or pencil notation near the lower edge, partly illegible. Additional scratches, handling marks, and scattered graphite or chalk notations are present.

Collection Information
‍
Department: Paintings
Classification: Oil painting
Acquisition Date: May 28, 2026
‍
Acquisition Source:
Richard MAISON DE VENTE AUX ENCHÈRES_28/05/2026_ACQUEREUR N° 132492_Ligne 49
‍
Acquisition Context: Acquired by DESSINART in 2026 as part of its ongoing research into nineteenth-century French painting.
Conservation Status: Conservation treatment in progress.

Research Records
‍
Provenance:
Georges C. Zervudachi, Alexandria, Egypt, by 1913;
his sale, Collection Georges C. Zervudachi d’Alexandrie: Tableaux modernes, aquarelles, pastel, tableaux anciens, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 16 May 1913, lot 81, as Ferdinand Roybet, Le Jeune Page, oil on panel, signed upper right “F. Roybet”, 81 × 64.5 cm, illustrated in the catalogue; the catalogue description identifies the figure as resembling Mlle Juana Romani; annotated sale price 3,100 francs, buyer’s name possibly “Lintilhac”;
whereabouts unknown after the 1913 sale;
Richard, Maison de Vente aux Enchères, France, 28 May 2026, Acquéreur No. 132492, Ligne 49;
acquired by DESSINART from the above, June 2026.
‍
Exhibition: Exhibition history under research.
Literature: Archival records under research.
‍
Archival Records:
RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, RKDimages Lite, record no. 1378940, digital object no. 834099, as Ferdinand Roybet, Le Jeune Page.
Inscriptions: Signed upper right: “F. Roybet”.
‍
Markings:
The reverse of the panel bears several historical labels and inscriptions. An old paper label at the centre is printed and inscribed “PL No. 1781”, annotated above with the dimensions “81 × 65”, and further inscribed “Roybet” and “Le Page”. A small numbered paper label “29” is affixed near the upper centre of the panel. Further reverse markings include large red chalk numerals, possibly “3468”, and blue crayon or pencil notation near the lower edge, partly illegible. Additional scratches, handling marks, and scattered graphite or chalk notations are also present.
‍
Reference Note
‍
The work is recorded in the 1913 Georges C. Zervudachi sale, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, lot 81, as Ferdinand Roybet, Le Jeune Page, oil on panel. It is also recorded by RKDimages Lite, record no. 1378940, digital object no. 834099.

The artwork is in overall fair condition. With the exception of severe water damagealong the bottom edge, the piece remains in good condition with no evidence ofimpainting or retouching. The painting is executed on a quarter-sawn hardwood panel, which exhibits slight bowing along both sides. The surface is covered with a layer of dense dust and a thick, severely degradedoriginal varnish layer. Based on the discoloration and internal impurities of the varnish, it is likely a natural resin containing additional additives, likely incorporated to meetthe artist's aesthetic requirements. There are minor areas of pigment loss in thebackground, along the edges, and in the figure’s hair on the left side; however, thepainting remains in a stable condition overall. Microscopic examination reveals darkdeposits trapped beneath the varnish layer in the highlights of the clothing and hat, which are believed to be a natural phenomenon caused by the degradation ofimpurities within the varnish.

The bottom of the artwork features a significant band of deterioration. Observed fromboth the recto and verso, this area of damage measures approximately 3.5 cm inaverage width and is marked by a distinct tide line. The trajectory of this tide line alignson both the front and back; on the front, it is accompanied by a narrow, elongated areaof paint loss, while on the back, a pronounced white residue is visible. This is likely achemical reaction resulting from the saturation of moisture-resistant coatings. Furthermore, the wooden panel at the back shows clear signs of severe water damageand decay. Based on this condition analysis, it is probable that the bottom of the workwas subjected to prolonged immersion at some point in its history. The water was likelycontaminated with high levels of pollutants, which accounts for the heavyaccumulation of surface deposits found on the painting.

Under UV imaging, the bottom section exhibits a faint fluorescence, which appearssignificantly weaker when compared to the varnish fluorescence observed in the upperareas of the painting. Further examination reveals that the original varnish on the tideline has lost its fluorescence entirely. This is likely directly related to the blanching ofthe varnish layer, which further confirms that the internal physical and chemicalstructure of the bottom section was altered during the water immersion process.

The condition analysis leads to the clear conclusion that the bottom of this artwork wassubjected to water immersion during its history. The water not only deposited pollutants, such as silt, onto the surface but also severely compromised the physical and chemicalstructures of the painting, from the support to the varnish layer. This has causedirreversible damage and presents significant challenges for future conservation andrestoration efforts.

The painting is executed on a quarter-sawn wooden panel. As an anisotropic naturalmaterial with high hygroscopicity, the wood possesses internal fibers and tracheids withextremely strong capillary action. Given that the wood grain is oriented vertically, thewater at the bottom was efficiently drawn upward through the fibers via capillary force, which is the primary cause of the distinct tide lines observed on both the recto andverso.

The ground layer of this work was prepared using an animal glue-based binder. Animalglue, primarily composed of polypeptide chains derived from collagen, features a highdensity of strongly polar hydrophilic groups, such as hydroxyl (-OH), carboxyl (-COOH), and amino (-NH2) groups. This is a classic highly hygroscopic aqueous ground system, often employed by artists as an absorbent ground. However, when the bottom of thework was subjected to water intrusion, this water-sensitive ground layer was the firstcomponent to be compromised. Moisture absorbed, accumulated, and migratedthrough the wood fiber tracheids, inducing intense hydration and swelling within theanimal glue network. This caused a significant decrease in the glass transitiontemperature of the colloid, leading to a loss of cohesive strength; as a result, the bindercould no longer effectively encapsulate the filler particles, leading to pulverization.

The threats posed by water immersion to the ground layer extend far beyond this. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3), a common filler in such grounds, is weakly alkaline andinsoluble in water under dry conditions. However, under the saturated conditions at thebottom of the painting, the calcium carbonate system created a mild, wet alkalinemicroenvironment. Facilitated by water as a diffusion medium, this alkaline environmentacted as a potent catalyst for the hydrolysis of ester bonds at the interface between theground layer and the paint layer, destroying the delicate adhesion between pigmentparticles and the binder.

Furthermore, moisture not only promoted the hydrolysis of stearates within the oilmedium but also converted them into stearic acid, a surfactant molecule with anamphiphilic structure. These hydrophilic molecules were transported by the waterthroughout the structure. Even after the artwork was removed from the water source, residual water molecules migrating toward the surface via evaporation carried thesesurfactants along. Consequently, the paint and varnish layers underwent degradationand blanching due to the combined effects of these internal and external water-inducedprocesses.

Preliminary cleaning has unveiled further complexities: the paint layer beneath thesurface grime is riddled with dense micro-voids, extending from the ground layerthrough the paint film. The formation of these voids is primarily attributed to theeruption of metal soap aggregates, the leaching of water-soluble substances, and theoutgassing of trapped vapors from the wooden support.

When active metal cations within the pigments encounter the high concentration offree saturated fatty acids produced by the hydrolysis of the drying oil, they undergo aspontaneous coordination reaction. This process forms metal soap aggregatescharacterized by strong crystallinity and hygroscopic swelling properties. Due to directwater immersion at the bottom of the painting, these newly formed metal soaps wereexposed to polar water molecules, leading to rapid dissolution and leaching.

Once the surface grime and degradation products were cleared, the original sites ofthese metal soap protrusions were exposed, leaving behind dense, circular, crater-like, or pinhole-shaped voids.

During the treatment of the lower section, both organic solvents and water-basedcleaning agents for surface grime pose risks of irreversible impact on thephysicochemical properties of the paint layers. In practice, the grime and silt at thebottom can only be removed using deionized water with the addition of a mild nonionic surfactant; however, this process is inevitably accompanied by a completedetachment of the paint layer. It is worth noting that even the use of organic solventscannot prevent this detachment, as the paint film—having undergone extreme swellingduring water immersion—remains in a state of suspension.

The use of cotton swabs for cleaning is detrimental; the uncontrollable moisture andmechanical force exerted by the swabs directly damage the paint film. Upon contact, these factors are rapidly transmitted through the micro-voids between the degradedpaint and ground layers, accelerating their delamination. Given that the varnish in thisarea has completely lost its protective function and that the surface deposits (grime, mold, and dust) require aqueous solvents for removal, gel systems have been selectedfor the subsequent cleaning treatment. In the following procedures, the most secureapproach involves utilizing hydrogels to briefly swell the contaminant layers, followed bythe careful mechanical removal of the grime using an elastic spatula. This methodeffectively removes the surface deposits while simultaneously lifting away the varnishlayer that had already detached from the paint structure.

Once the recto, edges, and verso of the painting have been safely cleaned, the porousground layer, paint layers, and the wood fiber vessels are impregnated and consolidatedusing low-molecular-weight synthetic resins. After the pulverization issue has been fullyaddressed and the voids have been filled, a macromolecular synthetic fiber layer isapplied to seal and reinforce the area, thereby mitigating risks to this section duringfuture storage and display.