Conservation Approaches to Oil Paintings: From Centuries Ago to the Contemporary
Much of the world’s most well-known artwork are oil paintings – from da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to van Gogh’s The Starry Night. Although these pieces were created centuries ago, their original imagery and overall condition have stayed intact and pristine as a result of the extensive work done by conservators and restorers throughout the many years. As technology has advanced, conservation approaches have been altered and public perception has changed.
18th and 19th Century Painting Conservation Controversies
Due to concerns surrounding the handling of valuable artwork and doubt over conservators’ capabilities, the art conservation field has always been one at the center of controversy. Partridge cites events from late 18th century involving public distrust over museum conservators, i.e. when the National Gallery was subject to committee inspection by the government to satisfy public inquiry into how artwork was cleaned, managed, and handled. This kind of scrutiny had an effect on the way conservators at that time regarded artwork, exemplified through the practices of Giuseppe Molteni (1799–1867). Molteni was a painter in addition to a restorer at the National Gallery. He often “corrected” works to reflect contemporary trends and boost appeal to collectors at that time (Partridge). Though he left works pristine, it was often not true to the original image. Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper has had a similar fate at the hands of excessive restorers. Its decay began not many years after its completion, mainly because early restorers had mistaken the mural’s medium for oil paint (it is tempera). Restorers like Michelangelo Bellotti had already covered it with oil and varnish, drastically altering da Vinci’s original work and accelerating its decay in appearance. Now, there is more regulation as to what constitutes as restoration. Works are preserved to maintain its original state, and not necessarily reflect the trends of the art market and art collectors.
Artwork restored by Molteni
Restoring a Damaged Oil Painting Today
James Bernstein, an intern conservator at the Worcester Art Museum, details his experience restoring a torn, cracked, and faded painting. He starts by first testing the reactions of the paint to various solvents, then identifying which mediums he can use to make the paint adhere to the canvas and prevent further cracking. He also uses delicate Japanese tissues to cover up tears in the paintings as well as help with paint adhesion. The tissue is applied in a very intricate manner such that it does not interfere with existing paint yet still manages to work itself into the canvas. In terms of cleaning the painting, he uses a fiberglass brush to remove dirt, a scalpel to remove any impurities and clumps, and lastly a vacuum cleaner to pick up remaining traces of dirt and fiber glass.
Bibliography
Anderson, Jaynie. “The first cleaning controversy at the National Gallery 1846-1853.” Appearance, Opinion, Change: Evaluating the Look of Paintings. London: UKIC, 1990. 3-4. Print.
Bernstein, James. “The Treatment of an Extensively Damaged Oil Painting on Canvas.”Bulletin of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, vol. 14, no. 2, 1974, pp. 93–104. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3179326.
R. J. Van Asperen De Boer. “On a Rational Aspect of Van Eyck’s Painting Technique.”Studies in Conservation, vol. 18, no. 2, 1973, pp. 93–95. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1505462.
Keck, Sheldon. “Some Picture Cleaning Controversies: Past and Present.” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, vol. 23, no. 2, 1984, pp. 73–87. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3179471.
Partridge, Wendy. “Philosophies and Tastes in Nineteenth Century Paintings Conservation.” Studying and Conserving Paintings: Occasional Papers on the Samuel H. Kress Collection. London: Archetype Publications, 2006. 19-30. Print.
