EDXRF spectrometry is a well-established and often-used analytical technique in examining materials from which cultural heritage objects are made. The analytical results are traditionally subjected ...to additional multivariate analysis for archaeometry studies to reduce the initial data's dimensionality based on informative features. Nowadays, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are used more for this purpose. Different soft computing techniques are used to improve speed and accuracy. Choosing the most suitable AI method can increase the sustainability of the analytical process and postprocessing activities. An autoencoder neural network has been designed and used as a dimension reduction tool of initial Formula: see text data collected in the raw EDXRF spectra, containing information about the selected points' elemental composition on the canvas paintings' surface. The autoencoder network design enables the best possible reconstruction of the original EDXRF spectrum and the most informative feature extraction, which has been used for dimension reduction. Such configuration allows for efficient classification algorithms and their performances. The autoencoder neural network approach is more sustainable, especially in processing time consumption and experts' manual work.
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A modified 3D colour digital image correlation method (3D cDIC) is proposed for efficient displacement measurements of colour objects with natural texture. The method is using a separate analysis of ...correlation coefficient (sigma) value in the RGB channels of CCD cameras by utilising local information from the channel with the minimum sigma. In this way, merged U, V and W displacement maps are generated based on the local correlation quality. As the proposed method applies to colour filter array cameras, the images in RGB channels have to undergo a demosaicking procedure which directly influences the accuracy of displacement measurements. In the paper, the best performing demosaicking methods are selected. The metrological analysis of their influence on the results of canvas paintings investigations obtained by unmodified and modified 3D cDIC processing is presented.
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The mechanical aspects of canvas painting conservation and the study of the effects of conservation treatments benefit greatly from quantifying the mechanical characteristics of the ...materials. However, this is seldom possible as only few labs have the necessary equipment. This paper presents the development of a biaxial tester to be used for samples of canvas paintings which exhibit orthotropic behavior under biaxial loads. The machine was built as the first step of ongoing Ph.D. research on the mechanics of canvas paintings. An effort was made to create a system that is easy to assemble, with parts that are easy to source and with an overall cost well below the commercial units available. The control software includes the function of automated pre-tensioning to improve the accuracy of the measurement. Our broader purpose here is to make an easy-to-replicate machine available to help conservators and conservation scientists perform tensile tests to make informed choices in materials science.
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This article investigates traditional and modern adhesives used to consolidate distemper paintings on canvas, with special reference to sixteenth century Hispano-tüchlein paintings, also called ...sargas. Such artworks are not only difficult to handle due to their large size, but they are also inherently fragile and/or are highly hygroscopic. This sensitivity is caused in part by the nature of the painting technique as well as the lack of varnish, which might account for why conservation methods related to these works have not been addressed in the past. This investigation was conducted on historical reconstructions samples to assess and develop treatment strategies for distemper paintings, in particular issues linked to powdery/friable matte paint layers. The impact of several adhesives on the painted surface of historical reconstructions was evaluated before and after the samples were subjected to humidity cycling tests using a range of analytical techniques. Such information can be used to aid conservators who face consolidation issues related to underbound paintings or artworks with similar surfaces. The results reveal that there is no one perfect adhesive for matte paint nor one that can be removed completely, once applied. Aquazol® 200 and Funori performed the best, but still introduced changes in colour and gloss, even if minimal.
Understanding canvas paintings as physical systems is fundamental to develop evidence-based environmental specifications for museums. A number of tests were carried out to determine mechanical ...properties of canvas, canvas sized with animal glue and animal glue-based ground layer (gesso) as a function of relative humidity (RH). The mechanical properties of the canvas samples tested exhibited an anisotropy dependent on the measurement direction, being the stiffness corresponding to the weft direction greater than the warp and diagonal ones. Sizing the canvas with a layer of animal glue significantly increased its modulus of elasticity while the anisotropy of mechanical properties was kept in the composite material. The application of an animal glue-based ground layer on sized canvas increased the elasticity modulus of the system by another order of magnitude (~ 2 GPa) whereas the anisotropy of the material disappeared. The measurements were carried out in a wide range of RH from 30 to 90%. An increase in RH caused a decrease in the material stiffness. Cracking of the gesso layer, which is often responsible for the formation of cracks in paintings, was observed at strains of the order of a few thousandths. Swelling of glue sizing dominated the moisture-induced swelling of the composite material in the less stiff warp direction, completely overriding the shrinkage of the untreated canvas. In contrast, the swelling of the composite material in the stiffer weft direction was much smaller than for pure glue alone, being clearly affected by the textile.
This study evaluates the effectiveness of microblasting with powdered cellulose for the dry-cleaning of canvases. Various surface cleaning tests were conducted by microblasting on the reverse of ...canvas paintings and the results were compared to those obtained with traditional dry-cleaning techniques using erasers and sponges. To assess cleaning effectiveness and potential changes on the support, the treated surfaces were examined both before and after cleaning using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX), confocal laser microscopy with surface roughness measurements, and spectrophotometry. The results from this comparative evaluation suggest that microblasting with powdered cellulose is a feasible technique for removing soiling on canvas and that it does not affect canvas structure or its topography. Furthermore, powdered cellulose leaves fewer particles of residues on the surface after cleaning, and these residues are chemically stable and compatible with the canvas support. Thus, the technique also avoids the potential negative long-term effects of eraser and sponge residues of particles that may remain on the canvas when these traditional systems are used.
Canvas paintings may show significant dimensional changes and experience internal stresses with fluctuating relative humidity. The relatively high and rapid absorption and drying of moisture within ...the different layers makes them more vulnerable than panel or wall paintings in comparable conditions. The dynamics of the moisture response is controlled by the water vapour permeability of the different layers. This paper presents a quantitative investigation of the vapour sorption and permeability of a selection of canvas painting components and of reconstructed paintings made of them. The selection of test samples was based on a survey of the materials used by Cuno Amiet in his early work and encompasses linen canvas, collagen glue sizing, chalk-glue ground and brown umber pigmented oil paint. Dynamic Vapour Sorption (DVS) tests were performed to obtain sorption isotherms. The vapour permeability was analysed in terms of the vapour resistance of layers and measured by means of wet cup and dry cup tests as well as in double chamber tests. The principle of incremental resistances was used to discriminate between the properties of the different layers. Whereas glue and canvas are comparable in being strongly absorbent, it appears that their vapour resistance is very different: a continuous glue film has a much higher vapour resistance than a canvas. In this context, we found that the method of applying glue sizing on a canvas influences the permeability of the resulting sized canvas: a gel size forms a more continuous glue film and hence leads to higher vapour resistance of the system, as opposed to a liquid size. Chalk-glue grounds have low moisture sorption, when compared to the high absorption of the proteinaceous glue, because they consist largely of chalk particles, which are not hygroscopic. The umber oil paint stands out for its low sorption and its high resistance to vapour transfer. These results characterise the highly heterogeneous nature of the multi-layered system of a painting in a quantitative way, enabling to better interpret damage phenomena and to make computational predictions of the influence of changing boundary conditions.
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This work aims to investigate the correlation between the painting materials used by Picasso to create four artworks in Barcelona in 1917 and their actual conditions. Specifically, a range of crack ...types and patterns was observed in the painted layers. The paintings, kept together in Picasso’s family house until they were donated to the Museu Picasso in 1970, had significant differences in their condition, even though they present several similarities in the choice of materials, technique and in their conservation history. A multi-analytical approach was adopted to characterise the painted layers by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy in the 350–2200 nm range, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The obtained results have been combined with those from a previous analytical campaign focused on the study of grounds and canvases of these four paintings and with visual examination of the cracks to establish hypotheses about the differences in degradation. This combined overview of non-invasive documentation techniques, chemical analysis and observations of the mechanical damage has provided an insight into the possible contribution each layer could have played in the damage observed in the four canvas paintings.
Mechanical damage in oil paintings on canvas show up as cracks and loss of original paint. Several parameters can contribute to this type of degradation. These paintings have a complex layered ...structure, typically composed of minimum four or more hygroscopic materials, each of which has different (non-linear) material properties and geometrical complexities. The mechanical degradation of canvas paintings occurs because each of these materials have diverse responses under fluctuating environmental conditions, especially temperature and relative humidity (RH). By examining the geometrical complexities and the non-linear material properties, this paper presents an investigation of three degradation phenomena under desiccation: (1) bulging formation around the corners, (2) crack formation in glue and ground layers, and (3) plastic deformation in the ground and oil paint layers.
This on-going investigation provides further insights into the global and local stress distribution in typically constructed oil canvas paintings. This includes finite element method (FEM) and extended-FEM (XFEM) computer models at various scales, under desiccation from the initial RH of 90%, and 50–10%. The models consist of four to five different materials, namely lead white oil paint, red iron oxide oil paint, rabbit skin glue, linen canvas, and a spruce stretcher. The models were constructed using several combinations of materials to conduct parametric studies on the effects of glue shrinkage in paintings due to desiccation, and changing the mechanical properties of the ground layers. The relevant geometrical and mechanical properties with respect to the stress relaxation conditions are discussed in detail.
The simulation results of the full-scale models show that the shrinkage of glue lowers the level of induced tension stresses in the paint layers in the central area of the painting due to the inward bowing of the stretcher. The inward deformation of the stretcher can be 4.5 times as large in a painting with a glue layer as in one without. This indicates the difficulty in forming cracks near the center of paintings purely by desiccation; however, in close-up cross-section model, cracks of 20 μm in length could still be observed in the ground exposed to an extreme RH change of 90% to 10%.
The analysis of cross-section models with the full geometrical complexity for the corners showed that multiple cracks are likely to form in ground and paint layers in the corners when desiccated by 40%; RH 50–10%. Furthermore, in extreme cases with stiffer ground/paint such as zinc white, cracks can form from smaller drop in RH; RH 50% to 35%. Such cracks are form in the ground layers, and therefore, are not initially visible as they are positioned below the uncracked paint layer. This result can be the possible explanation for cracks in the ground, which are initially invisible with the naked eye, but can be revealed with X-radiographs.
The results support the hypothesis that fluctuations in relative humidity can cause hidden cracks in the lower layers, which can eventually propagate further into the upper-lying paint layers of paintings. The cracks typically form when the desiccation reaches a 40% drop, but in cases of brittle materials the drop causing cracks can be lower. The actual RH drop causing cracks depends on the specific material composition.
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