The first truly comprehensive analysis of the history, practice, and conservation of painting on canvas. Throughout its long history in Western art, canvas has played an influential role in the creative process. From the Renaissance development of oil painting on canvas to the present day—through Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and other art historical movements—the use of canvas has enhanced the scale of painting, freedom of brushwork, and spontaneity in technique. This book recounts some of that rich history in relation to corresponding developments in conservation practice. Rather than concentrating on the familiar concerns of cleaning and varnish removal, this volume considers the preservation of a painting’s structure. By focusing on recent studies on the fundamental nature of canvas and its mechanisms of deterioration, the book explains new approaches to the conservation of both contemporary and historical art—including reversible, passive, and preventive treatments, particularly with respect to lining. Written by Stephen Hackney, a conservation practitioner and leader in conservation research, On Canvas is the first book to take a comprehensive look at this important subject and is destined to become an invaluable resource for the field.

The most authoritative publication in nearly fifty years on the subject of conserving paintings on canvas. In 2019, Yale University, with the support of the Getty Foundation, held an international conference, where nearly four hundred attendees from more than twenty countries gathered to discuss a vital topic: how best to conserve paintings on canvas. It was the first major symposium on the subject since 1974, when wax-resin and glue-paste lining reigned as the predominant conservation techniques. Over the past fifty years, such methods, which were often destructive to artworks, have become less widely used in favor of more minimalist approaches to intervention. More recent decades have witnessed the reevaluation of traditional practices as well as focused research supporting significant new methodologies, procedures, and synthetic materials for the care and conservation of paintings on fabric supports. Conserving Canvas compiles the proceedings of the conference, presenting a wide array of papers and posters that provide important global perspectives on the history, current state, and future needs of the field. Featuring an expansive glossary of terms that will be an invaluable resource for conservators, this publication promises to become a standard reference for the international conservation community. The free online edition of this open-access publication is available at getty.edu/publications/conserving-canvas. Also available are free PDF and EPUB downloads of the book.

The papers in this publication will be talks at the 3 day Gels in Conservation conference held by IAP in association with Tate. The conference will be a gathering of conservators, conservation and other scientists, and students of conservation to present and discuss the theory and practical use of gels in various branches of conservation (paintings, paper, wall paintings, textiles, museum objects etc).The papers and posters present in this publication cover topics on the theory of Gels, recent developments in Gel technologies, clearance and residues, systematic evaluation of Gel properties and effects, preparation and practical issues with case studies concerning: wall paintings, easel paintings, contemporary art, textiles, archaeological objects, paper, sculpture, mixed media, traditional materials and more.

Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) is widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative post-World War II Italian artists. This title presents a technical study in English of this important painter and an informative overview of Fontana's life and work.

Conservation of Easel Paintings, Second Edition provides a much-anticipated update to the previous edition, which has come to be known internationally as an invaluable and comprehensive text on the history, philosophy and methods of the treatment of easel paintings. Including 49 chapters written by more than 90 respected authors from around the world, this volume offers the necessary background knowledge in technical art history, artists’ materials and scientific methods of examination and documentation. Later sections of the book provide information about the varying approaches and methods for treatment and issues of preventive conservation, as well as valuable reflections on storage, shipping, and exhibition. Including exciting developments that have taken place since the last edition was published, the book also covers new techniques of examination, especially MacroXRF scanning and Reflectance Transmission Imagery. Drawing on research presented at recent professional conferences, information about innovative methods for cleaning modern and contemporary paintings and insights into modern oil paints is also included. Incorporating the latest regulations and understanding of health and safety practices and integrating theory with practice throughout, Conservation of Easel Paintings, Second Edition will continue to be an indispensable reference for practicing conservators. It will also be an essential resource for students taking conservation courses around the world.

This handsomely illustrated volume traces the intersections of art history and paintings restoration in nineteenth-century Europe. Repairing works of art and writing about them—the practices that became art conservation and art history—share a common ancestry. By the nineteenth century the two fields had become inseparably linked. While the art historical scholarship of this period has been widely studied, its restoration practices have received less scrutiny—until now. This book charts the intersections between art history and conservation in the treatment of Italian Renaissance paintings in nineteenth-century Europe. Initial chapters discuss the restoration of works by Giotto and Titian framed by the contemporary scholarship of art historians such as Jacob Burckhardt, G. B. Cavalcaselle, and Joseph Crowe that was redefining the earlier age. Subsequent chapters recount how paintings conservation was integrated into museum settings. The narrative uses period texts, unpublished archival materials, and historical photographs in probing how paintings looked at a time when scholars were writing the foundational texts of art history, and how contemporary restorers were negotiating the appearances of these works. The book proposes a model for a new conservation history, object-focused yet enriched by consideration of a wider cultural horizon.

This volume presents the proceedings of an international symposium organized by the Getty Conservation Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum. The first conference of its kind in twenty years, the symposium assembled an international group of conservators of painted panels, and gave them the opportunity to discuss their philosophies and share their work methods. Illustrated in color throughout, this volume presents thirty-one papers grouped into four topic areas: Wood Science and Technology, History of Panel-Manufacturing Techniques, History of the Structural Conservation of Panel Paintings, and Current Approaches to the Structural Conservation of Panel Paintings.