Recent plans to clean and restore Vincent van Gogh's painting of his Bedroom in Arles (Van G... more Recent plans to clean and restore Vincent van Gogh's painting of his Bedroom in Arles (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam)sparked off a broad collaborative campaign of investigations to compare the materials and techniques used in all three painted versions of this theme, ...
Effective care of large-scale museum collections requires planning that includes the conservation... more Effective care of large-scale museum collections requires planning that includes the conservation treatment of specific groups of art works, such as appropriate cleaning strategies. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been successfully applied as a non-invasive method for the stratigraphic visualisation of the uppermost transparent and semi-transparent layers in paintings, such as varnishes. Several OCT case study examples have further demonstrated the capabilities of the non-contact interferometric technique to measure the thickness of the various varnish layers, to help monitor cleaning and associated optical changes, and to detect past restorations. OCT was applied for the detection of varnishes to 13 paintings by Edvard Munch (1863–1944) owned by the Norwegian National Museum of Art. The paintings have a controversial and complex varnish history and are displayed as a group according to their acquisition legacy. A prototype high-resolution portable SdOCT instrument was used i...
Effective care of large-scale museum collections requires planning that includes the conservation... more Effective care of large-scale museum collections requires planning that includes the conservation treatment of specific groups of art works, such as appropriate cleaning strategies. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been successfully applied as a non-invasive method for the stratigraphic visualisation of the uppermost transparent and semi-transparent layers in paintings, such as varnishes. Several OCT case study examples have further demonstrated the capabilities of the non-contact interferometric technique to measure the thickness of the various varnish layers, to help monitor cleaning and associated optical changes, and to detect past restorations. OCT was applied for the detection of varnishes to 13 paintings by Edvard Munch (1863–1944) owned by the Norwegian National Museum of Art. The paintings have a controversial and complex varnish history and are displayed as a group according to their acquisition legacy. A prototype high-resolution portable SdOCT instrument was used i...
Chapter 1 presents the history of research on Van Gogh's Sunflower paintings as context for t... more Chapter 1 presents the history of research on Van Gogh's Sunflower paintings as context for the most recent study. It explains current approaches and the state-of-the art methods used during the last campaign of investigation.
This interview with conservator of paintings, polychrome sculpture and historical interiors Anne ... more This interview with conservator of paintings, polychrome sculpture and historical interiors Anne van Grevenstein was initially conducted for the FAIC Oral History program (USA) founded by Joyce Hill Stoner. Anne van Grevenstein was already interviewed for the FAIC Oral History program in 2009 by Muriel Verbeeck. The 2009 interview focused more on the training of Van Grevenstein. The 2017 interview can be seen as a follow up and covers her work at the Jan van Eyck Academy (Maastricht), the Central Laboratory (Amsterdam), the Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem), the SRAL (Maastricht), of which she was director, and her professorship in Nijmegen and Amsterdam. Projects like the Oranjezaal and MolArt are also discussed
The early twentieth century oil painting Beach Scene had severe delamination problems. The painti... more The early twentieth century oil painting Beach Scene had severe delamination problems. The painting consisted of an oak panel primed with three white, oil-based ground layers with several oil paint layers on top. The reverse of the panel was varnished. The delamination occurred at the interface between the first ground layer and the panel. A brownish, semi-translucent zone was visible at the bottom of the first preparation layer. Material analyses with SEM-EDX, FTIR-ATR and THM-Py-GC/MS offered insight into the materials present and their degree of deterioration. The brownish zone was explained as dissolution of the zinc white pigment by (fatty) acids from the panel and the oil binder. It was hypothesised that the glazed framing system of the painting restricted natural expansion and contraction of the tangentially cut panel in fluctuating climate. Compression shrinkage then caused tenting of the paint film. This study improved our understanding of Akkeringa’s painting technique and...
The privately owned oil painting Composition with Color Planes 4 (1917) by Piet Mondrian (1872–19... more The privately owned oil painting Composition with Color Planes 4 (1917) by Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) has been the subject of ongoing investigation since 2011. The painting consists of color planes in a field of differing whites. Some~of these white areas suffer from delamination issues, in combination with flaking. Previous research demonstrated a link between the presence of zinc oxide and the delamination phenomena. More recently, the formation of zinc soaps was found to play a role. In this study, cross sections from both delaminating and relatively intact white areas were investigated with light microscopy, SEM-EDX, and ATR-FTIR imaging to obtain more information about the stratigraphy and condition of the paint layers. Two stages in metal soap formation were identified in the delaminating areas. The first stage consists of noncrystalline zinc soaps or zinc ions bound to carboxylate functional groups in the polymerized oil network. Crystalline zinc soaps, which represent the second, final stage of metal soap formation, are generally linked to the development of zinc soap related deterioration phenomena. In this case, they were found at the interface between the delaminating paint layers. Possible implications for treatment and factors that might trigger further delamination will be discussed.
Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2013 in Indianapolis, Indi... more Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, August 4 – August 8, 2013.
Recent plans to clean and restore Vincent van Gogh's painting of his Bedroom in Arles (Van G... more Recent plans to clean and restore Vincent van Gogh's painting of his Bedroom in Arles (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam)sparked off a broad collaborative campaign of investigations to compare the materials and techniques used in all three painted versions of this theme, ...
Effective care of large-scale museum collections requires planning that includes the conservation... more Effective care of large-scale museum collections requires planning that includes the conservation treatment of specific groups of art works, such as appropriate cleaning strategies. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been successfully applied as a non-invasive method for the stratigraphic visualisation of the uppermost transparent and semi-transparent layers in paintings, such as varnishes. Several OCT case study examples have further demonstrated the capabilities of the non-contact interferometric technique to measure the thickness of the various varnish layers, to help monitor cleaning and associated optical changes, and to detect past restorations. OCT was applied for the detection of varnishes to 13 paintings by Edvard Munch (1863–1944) owned by the Norwegian National Museum of Art. The paintings have a controversial and complex varnish history and are displayed as a group according to their acquisition legacy. A prototype high-resolution portable SdOCT instrument was used i...
Effective care of large-scale museum collections requires planning that includes the conservation... more Effective care of large-scale museum collections requires planning that includes the conservation treatment of specific groups of art works, such as appropriate cleaning strategies. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been successfully applied as a non-invasive method for the stratigraphic visualisation of the uppermost transparent and semi-transparent layers in paintings, such as varnishes. Several OCT case study examples have further demonstrated the capabilities of the non-contact interferometric technique to measure the thickness of the various varnish layers, to help monitor cleaning and associated optical changes, and to detect past restorations. OCT was applied for the detection of varnishes to 13 paintings by Edvard Munch (1863–1944) owned by the Norwegian National Museum of Art. The paintings have a controversial and complex varnish history and are displayed as a group according to their acquisition legacy. A prototype high-resolution portable SdOCT instrument was used i...
Chapter 1 presents the history of research on Van Gogh's Sunflower paintings as context for t... more Chapter 1 presents the history of research on Van Gogh's Sunflower paintings as context for the most recent study. It explains current approaches and the state-of-the art methods used during the last campaign of investigation.
This interview with conservator of paintings, polychrome sculpture and historical interiors Anne ... more This interview with conservator of paintings, polychrome sculpture and historical interiors Anne van Grevenstein was initially conducted for the FAIC Oral History program (USA) founded by Joyce Hill Stoner. Anne van Grevenstein was already interviewed for the FAIC Oral History program in 2009 by Muriel Verbeeck. The 2009 interview focused more on the training of Van Grevenstein. The 2017 interview can be seen as a follow up and covers her work at the Jan van Eyck Academy (Maastricht), the Central Laboratory (Amsterdam), the Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem), the SRAL (Maastricht), of which she was director, and her professorship in Nijmegen and Amsterdam. Projects like the Oranjezaal and MolArt are also discussed
The early twentieth century oil painting Beach Scene had severe delamination problems. The painti... more The early twentieth century oil painting Beach Scene had severe delamination problems. The painting consisted of an oak panel primed with three white, oil-based ground layers with several oil paint layers on top. The reverse of the panel was varnished. The delamination occurred at the interface between the first ground layer and the panel. A brownish, semi-translucent zone was visible at the bottom of the first preparation layer. Material analyses with SEM-EDX, FTIR-ATR and THM-Py-GC/MS offered insight into the materials present and their degree of deterioration. The brownish zone was explained as dissolution of the zinc white pigment by (fatty) acids from the panel and the oil binder. It was hypothesised that the glazed framing system of the painting restricted natural expansion and contraction of the tangentially cut panel in fluctuating climate. Compression shrinkage then caused tenting of the paint film. This study improved our understanding of Akkeringa’s painting technique and...
The privately owned oil painting Composition with Color Planes 4 (1917) by Piet Mondrian (1872–19... more The privately owned oil painting Composition with Color Planes 4 (1917) by Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) has been the subject of ongoing investigation since 2011. The painting consists of color planes in a field of differing whites. Some~of these white areas suffer from delamination issues, in combination with flaking. Previous research demonstrated a link between the presence of zinc oxide and the delamination phenomena. More recently, the formation of zinc soaps was found to play a role. In this study, cross sections from both delaminating and relatively intact white areas were investigated with light microscopy, SEM-EDX, and ATR-FTIR imaging to obtain more information about the stratigraphy and condition of the paint layers. Two stages in metal soap formation were identified in the delaminating areas. The first stage consists of noncrystalline zinc soaps or zinc ions bound to carboxylate functional groups in the polymerized oil network. Crystalline zinc soaps, which represent the second, final stage of metal soap formation, are generally linked to the development of zinc soap related deterioration phenomena. In this case, they were found at the interface between the delaminating paint layers. Possible implications for treatment and factors that might trigger further delamination will be discussed.
Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2013 in Indianapolis, Indi... more Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, August 4 – August 8, 2013.
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