Binding medium alteration and its effect on fine art paintings as observed by surface analysis
Date
2017
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This dissertation covers research done to study the chemical phenomena related to the degradation of binding media as found in fine-art paintings. An introduction into the collaboration between surface analysis and cultural heritage research opens, and is followed by an extensive description of the experimental techniques used herein. The proceeding four chapters pertain to original research undertaken to identify, understand, and mimic the effects of degradation of binding media. The first set of results covers the analysis of Renaissance-Era artwork and the transition from egg tempera-based to oil-based painting technique. It was with this work that the novel identification of fatty acid depletion was observed in historic cross-sectional samples. This knowledge was then applied to the analysis of Fauvist-Era artwork, where the observation of pigment-binder interactions was crucial to understanding the chemical pathways of alteration of both pigment and binding media. The final research chapter combines the Renaissance-Era and Fauvist-Era results and attempts to mimic the degradation of egg tempera to observe which environmental factor(s) contributes to egg tempera degradation. This study is also the first use of gas-cluster ion sputtering to analyze binding medium degradation as a function of depth for thin films. Lastly, the appendices provide results of three independent studies that relate to the identification of soft materials and their degradation for cultural heritage materials.
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Keywords
Pure sciences, Art, Conservation, Cultural, Heritage, Spectrometry, Spectroscopy