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How is Blacklight Used in Examining a Painting?
Reading the fluorescence of a painting may be complicated, and should be done with the assistance of a trained eye. Areas of a painting examined under ultraviolet light that fluoresce as dark purple can indicate inpainting or overpaint applied onto the original paint or varnish layers, sometimes covering old structural damages such as tears ...
What Are Pentimenti?
Pentimenti show the natural progression of changes and corrections that an artist typically makes while creating a painting. There are several signs that pentimenti are present. For example, the top paint layer may have cracked and revealed a different color paint below ...
What Are Stretcher Creases?
Stretcher creases are distortions to the canvas and paint layer as a result of pressure from stretcher bars pressing against the canvas. These distortions, which may also include cracks, correspond to the inside edges of the auxiliary wood support (stretcher). Most often, they occur over time as the canvas slackens due to the aging process as well as changes in climate and temperature ...
What are the Latest Materials and Techniques Used in Lining Paintings?
When a client brings a painting to Lowy for conservation, it may sometimes require lining—a procedure whereby another canvas is adhered to the verso of the original to consolidate tears, stabilize lifting paint, correct surface distortions or provide structural support to an oxidized or damaged canvas ...
What is Foxing?
There are two different kinds of foxing: "Bulls eye" spots are small and round with two concentric rings. "Snowflake" spots, which got their name from their appearance under UV light, have scalloped edges and are much larger but are faint and usually cannot be seen with the naked eye ...
What is Inpainting?
One of the final stages of conservation treatment after an artwork has been structurally stabilized is inpainting. The procedure involves the use of pigments suspended in a binder to color damaged areas of the paint layer, thereby visually integrating them into the rest of the painting ...
What is Overpainting?
Inpainting is always restricted to the parameters of the damage and describes painting “with-in” areas of paint loss. Conversely, overpainting describes painting “over” the entire area of damage, including covering some of the original paint applied by the artist ...
When Does a Painting Need to be Lined?
“A painting needs to be lined when the original canvas can no longer provide adequate support for the ground and paint layer.” Canvases made before the turn of the century were always woven from organic materials — such as linen or cotton — that naturally deteriorate and weaken over time ...
When Does a Painting Need to be Cleaned?
If a layer of dirt, grime, or old varnish cover the surface, you may actually be viewing your painting through a discolored film. Tests can be made by an experienced conservator to determine whether the painting can be safely cleaned and you may be in for a very pleasant surprise ...
When Should a Painting be Varnished?
Varnishes have been used — or not used — by artists for centuries to create visual effect and provide surface protection. As conservators, we are frequently asked whether a painting should be varnished when it is cleaned or restored. To do this, one needs to evaluate the painting’s condition, understand the artist’s original intent, and be familiar with the history of varnish ...
Why Isn't Oil Paint Used to Inpaint Losses on an Oil Painting?
Although oil paint remains the medium of choice for many artists, who value its great versatility, conservators prefer to use the more recently developed synthetic resins when restoring oil paintings. This preference has to do with the difference in the type of binding medium that constitutes each of these paints ...
