• Heritage Science

An abstract is not available.

Many modern artists paint in oil or oil-modified alkyd paints over acrylic grounds. In some cases the oil based paints do not remain adhered to the ground. In a set of composite samples of oil or alkyd paints, over acrylic grounds, naturally aged for nine years, some of the samples delaminated. Samples were analyzed with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), Fourier transform infrared - attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), pyrolysis gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (PY-GC/MS), laser desorption/ionization mass-spectrometry (LDI-MS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and other methods, in order to find what the delaminating ones have in common. In addition, two examples of severely delaminating paintings were examined, to confirm the results from the laboratory-prepared samples. Results indicate the main cause of delamination is metal soaps in the oil paint and particularly zinc soaps. There is some evidence that metal soaps were more concentrated at the interface between the layers and this disrupted the adhesion. The ground is a minor consideration as well, rougher grounds providing better adhesion than smooth ones.

http://leoalmanac.org/journal/Vol_10/lea_v10_n09.txt

Background: The bleaching of paper is an important and controversial treatment employed in the conservation of art. The use of a bleach may greatly enhance the quality of an image but at a cost of lost structural integrity. In order to fully consider the ramifications of bleaching a paper artifact, a historical study of early European paper and its manufacture was conducted. The structure of paper was also studied in order to understand the finer points of early European paper manufacture and to draw conclusions from the bleaching comparison. Results: A comparison of the commonly used ClO2 bleaching with a previously proposed chlorous acid treatment was conducted. The two different bleaching techniques were evaluated on their impact on the colour of artificially aged and unaged Whatman chromatography 1 paper. The results of the bleaching were analyzed with a colourimeter and it was determined that there was a significant change in colour as a result of the bleaching. The ClO2 and chlorous acid bleaching treatments did not produce results that were significantly different from one another, visually and statistically. The bleaching treatments were also tested with the viscometry of the paper in cadoxen and it was determined that ClO2 is a more degradative bleach than chlorous acid. The research also demonstrated that bleaching has a greater degradative impact on previously degraded samples. The quantitative results of the viscometry were accompanied by a qualitative look at the paper samples with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In the SEM images there were slight visible differences in the samples that could correlate to aging. Conclusions: Chlorous acid is a gentle effective bleaching technique that was as effective as ClO2 and less degrading to the paper samples. Bleaching has an increased impact on previously degraded samples, and conservators should be wary of this. Further research involving this bleaching technique is suggested. The use of an SEM in imaging damage to paper is a viable option but more work is needed with this technique to ensure conclusive results.

In his reply to Niccolo Caldararo, the author highlights methodological and other differences between his two recent articles on the history of conservation in the western United States and Dr Caldararo’s response essay, while also suggesting possibilities for future research.

Many optical methods are nowadays in use in the field of art. Most techniques are applied for characterization of materials, monitoring, diagnostics. Optical thin films can find an interesting application for artwork protection from the damage induced by illumination. The deteriorating effect of light on artworks is well known and the conventional approach to reduce the damage consists in lowering the radiation intensity and shortening the exposure duration. A complementary approach is to block all radiations that are not useful for viewing the artwork. A proper optical coating deposited on glass is able to cut the radiation flux at all wavelengths outside the range of sensitivity of the human eye. Glass is already in use in museum and galleries to protect artwork from vandalism and the use of coated glass can result in a simple method for contributing to art conservation. The optical coating will also improve the viewing because of the antireflection effect that can be combined with the protection properties. Particular care must be taken of this aspect because a compromise between conservation rules and visitor satisfaction must be reached. It is important that the thinfilm coating does not introduce color alterations from the point of view of the observer and for this reason color testing on coated glasses must be carried out with real viewers.

The deteriorating effect of light on artworks exposed in museums and galleries has been noticed for many years. A number of methods, which act on the illumination source, are presently in use to reduce the damage. A complementary approach is proposed here that consists in blocking the radiation, outside the range of sensitivity of the human eye, before it reaches the artwork. This result can be achieved by an optical coating deposited on the glass pane that is usually put in front of the artworks to protect them from vandalism. In addition to the preservation from illumination induced damage, the proposed coating is also able to improve the observation of the artwork by reducing the reflection effects of uncoated glass. Optical, colorimetric and psychophysical measurements on test samples are reported.

Cultural heritage objects are increasingly being investigated using advanced non-destructive optical measurement techniques. Holographic and speckle interferometry based instrumentation allow dimensional measurement of objects at the tens of nanometer scale. For the structural diagnostics of artwork, double-exposure techniques are often used to locate defects, delaminations, voids and other structural features. Shearography is a speckle interferometry configuration that uses a close-to-common-path shearing interferometer configuration to give a direct sensitivity to displacement gradient at the object surface. This configuration is particularly useful for measurements outside the optical laboratory, as the stability requirements are much reduced compared with holography techniques. Terahertz imaging is a new category of sensor, used to investigate materials using electromagnetic radiation in the 0.1 to 10 THz frequency range. At these frequencies many materials become semi-transparent, so bulk structural diagnostics can be performed. Typically terahertz imaging is performed using a scanning pixel, or multi-pixel, sensor. In this manuscript shearography is first used to identify areas of interest of possible structural anomalies in the artwork. These regions of interest are then studied in more detail using the terahertz imaging instrument. Together the two instruments provide an analysis of both the surface and bulk structural features. The approach is demonstrated experimentally using a wooden panel painting.