Re-evaluating the roles of the cleaning process in the conservation of paintings

Abstract

At a time when defining the conservation of cultural heritage is undergoing important changes, it is necessary to rethink the roles of the cleaning process applied to paintings. Throughout the nineteenth and the twentieth century, the cleaning of paintings was the subject of continuous controversy which developed both in the academic field and in the pages of newspapers. In general, attempts have been made to define, one way or another, exactly what the role of cleaning should be. Four of these roles have been (and still are): cleaning as a conservation procedure, as revelation (of the original work or of the artist’s intent), as aesthetic presentation, and as a way of improving legibility. This article reviews these roles, their limitations and also raises a number of questions and issues in order to re-evaluate cleaning, taking into account contributions by the new theories of conservation.

Enlarged paintings: a proposal for classification

“…That is, whether an enlarged painting should be studied as a new artefact, different from the original, or if it should simply be considered as an original work with additions (and, in this case, whether the additions have any value or not should also be taken into account). Of course, it is quite usual to pose this question when dealing with any painting which has non-original additions [18], but in the case of enlarged paintings, doubts may prove to be very important as modifications could be of great significance, affecting the work's entire structure.…”

“…The union of heterogeneous elements generates a new and complex stratigraphic structure which includes new ground layers, fillers, overpaints and varnish, both in the additions and the actual original painting. The assemblage can become extremely complex and difficult to analyse, but it is fundamental to understand the function of the non-original layers in the construction of the resulting work, in order to make decisions regarding its conservation [18]. Incorporating more space produces different alterations to the composition.…”