« Le Roi de pique coupé à cœur ». Etude et conservation-restauration d’un carton de tapisserie pour un paravent représentant des figures de cartes à jouer (1949, paris, Centre national des arts plastiques). Recherches autour de l’utilisation des argiles …

This master thesis presents the historical analysis ans the conservation study of a four-fold cardboard screen curated by the Cnap. Each panel depicts a playing deck’s face card. The present thesis will focus specifically on the panel representing the king of spades. This folding screen was painted by François Deney in 1949 as part of his last year of study at l’école des Arts Décoratifs de Paris. Our work aims at reconstructing the historical context in which Deney’s work has been created, the first step being finding back its author. The analysis of the materials present in Deney’s work revealed the weaknesses of this composite panel. Firstly, it is due to the inappropriateness of oil paint on paper, and secondly, to the effects of the continuous tension of the paper under a stretcher, which caused depressions and tears. Furthermore, the panel showcases numerous tidelines. This study proposes a methodology to soothe the tideline adapted from treatments with clay commonly used in textile conservation. Sepiolite clay with cellulose-based membrane showed satisfying results to treate only local tidelines. The methodology was not deployable in broader areas. For global treatments, the application of gellan gum remains the most efficient technique. After one year of work, Deney’s king of spades retrieved its author, integrity and lisibility.