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Metal Soaps in Art pp 243–262Cite as

Taking Different Forms: Metal Soaps in Paintings, Diagnosis of Condition, and Issues for Treatment

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Part of the book series: Cultural Heritage Science ((CUHESC))

Abstract

This chapter introduces a selection of case studies of paintings that present a range of physical manifestations of metal soaps. The phenomena include surface spots, crusts, delamination, and textural features. The role of metal soaps in water-sensitive modern oil paints is introduced. Inferences based on a combination of technical and analytical evidence together with information about the history and context of the works are presented with hypotheses about the causes of metal soap formation or deterioration. Approaches to treatment of the works are introduced in a discussion of aesthetic, ethical, and practical options that address particular phenomena.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.s4a-paint.uva.nl/research-topics/research.html

  2. 2.

    Report CIA:2215 Department of Conservation & Technology, Courtauld Institute of Art, 2015.

  3. 3.

    Report CIA:2093 Department of Conservation & Technology, Courtauld Institute of Art 2010.

  4. 4.

    Indicated in a cross section by positive Amido Black stain for protein.

  5. 5.

    Enrique Quintana, Head of painting conservation, Museo Nacional del Prado, personal Communication 2015, and firsthand observation of contemporary portraits by Goya in the conservation studio of the Museo Nacional del Prado. Lead soap aggregates in paint samples from selected paintings by Goya in the Prado were confirmed by analysis carried out by Maria Dolores Gayo, head of the Museum’s Scientific Department.

  6. 6.

    Enrique Quintana, personal communication 2015.

  7. 7.

    Report CIA: 1998 2009, and notes on condition and re-treatment in 2009 and 2013, Department of Conservation & Technology, Courtauld Institute of Art.

  8. 8.

    Bay L (2015) Documenting water-sensitive oil paintings in the Tate Gallery. Final Year Project Department of Conservation & Technology, Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

  9. 9.

    Analysis of the surface and bulk paints was carried out by PhD candidate Judith Lee using SEM-EDX and FTIR mapping and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS).

  10. 10.

    http://www.preservationequipment.com/Catalogue/Conservation-Materials/Materials-and-Fabrics/Evolon-Microfilament-Material

  11. 11.

    SawickaA (2014) Clearing the “Haze” of Inorganic Efflorescence

    An investigation into the formation of lead soap efflorescence and the viability of its removal by means of the chelating agent Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid, Final year project, Department of Conservation &Technology, Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

  12. 12.

    Report CIA:2050 Department of Conservation & Technology, Courtauld Institute of Art.

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Acknowledgments

Klaas Jan van den Berg (RCE/University of Amsterdam), Bronwyn Ormsby and Judith Lee (Tate, London), Jae Youn Chung (Hamilton Kerr Institute, Cambridge), Lucia Bay (Philadelphia Museum of Art), Alex Ball and Tomasz Goral (Natural History Museum London), William Luckhust (Kings College London).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Conservation and Technology, Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK

    Aviva Burnstock

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  1. Aviva Burnstock
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Correspondence to Aviva Burnstock .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Francesca Casadio

  2. Conservation Department, Rijksmuseum, Van’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Katrien Keune

  3. Conservation Department, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Petria Noble

  4. Conservation Department, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Annelies Van Loon

  5. Programme Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Ella Hendriks

  6. Department of Scientific Research, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA

    Silvia A. Centeno

  7. Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia

    Gillian Osmond

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Burnstock, A. (2019). Taking Different Forms: Metal Soaps in Paintings, Diagnosis of Condition, and Issues for Treatment. In: Casadio, F., et al. Metal Soaps in Art. Cultural Heritage Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90617-1_14

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