Department Chair
Patrick Ravines
Date of Award
8-2016
Access Control
Open Access
Degree Name
Art Conservation, M.A., C.A.S.
Department
Art Conservation Department
Advisor
James Hamm
Department Home page
https://artconservation.buffalostate.edu
Abstract
This paper presents the material investigation and conservation treatment of an unattributed naïve double portrait painting from the 1830s. Using imaging and analytical techniques, including ultraviolet and infrared imaging, x-radiography, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF), Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (PyGC/MS), and cross-sectional analysis, the materials and painting methods used by the artist are explored. The goal of this study was to gain an understanding of the materials that would have been available to an artist of limited training, and to develop a conservation treatment sympathetic with the age and condition of the painting. Findings include the use of a protein- and/or oil-based sizing layer on the canvas, followed by a thin lead white ground, oil paint layers, and several layers of varnish. Cross-sectional analysis reveals the nearly imperceptible ground layer, as well as the multi-layered varnish. The treatment was carried out with the aim of structurally supporting the painting and removing obscuring layers of grime in order for it to be suitable for display again.
Recommended Citation
Romano, Christine P., "Conservation Treatment and Study of an American Double Portrait from the 1830s" (2016). Art Conservation Master's Projects. 69.
https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/art_con_projects/69
