Abstract
Metal soap efflorescent hazes and crusts are one of the most visually disturbing of all metal soap related alterations in paintings. The phenomenon presents particular challenges for conservators as the surface deposits that form are insoluble and intimately bound with the paint film. The superficial deposits accumulate following migration of metal carboxylates, a product formed within the paint film from reaction of free fatty acids with metal ions from pigments and/or driers. Upon deposition at the surface, the metal carboxylates undergo a process of remineralisation, the products of which are determined by the atmospheric conditions that the painting is exposed to. The material can appear optically similar to the whitish haze of organic efflorescence though manifestations also range from crystalline clusters to thick crusts, and in some cases the painting may consequently be rendered partially unreadable. This study aimed to investigate the removal of visually disturbing lead soap efflorescence with Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), which sequesters the lead ions from the remineralised crust. Through a careful balance of variables such as pH, concentration and application, it is feasible to thin the superficial material significantly. By this means it is possible to saturate the surface of the paint film and render the previously disfiguring efflorescence transparent. Paintings previously treated with this method show no signs of recurrence and thus it appears to be a viable, long-term treatment option.
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- 1.
Research carried out as part of the NWO priority programme MOLART (Molecular Aspects of Ageing in Painted Works of Art) (1995–2001) and the De Mayerne programme (2002–2006) at the FOM Institute, AMOLF.
- 2.
- 3.
For example potassium soaps have been demonstrated as a result of the leaching of potassium from smalt (Spring et al. 2005).
- 4.
Ongoing research is being undertaken as part of the NWO Science4Arts PAinT project by Van Loon and Keune (http://www.s4a-paint.uva.nl/research-topics). Research will focus on the timescale of the phenomena and the identification of other key factors for soap formation migration, dissolution, recrystalisation and efflorescence in oil paint.
- 5.
Hinde identified the inability of titanium dioxide to form stabilizing carboxylates as a key factor in the formation of fatty acid efflorescence in Composition by Serge Poliakoff (1956) (Hinde et al. 2011).
- 6.
A previous technical study was carried out by Keune et al. (2007).
- 7.
A recurring cycle of organic fatty acid bloom was noted for the Stanley Spencer paintings in Sandham Chapel (Burnstock et al. (1993)).
- 8.
Treatment undertaken at the department of Conservation & Technology at the Courtauld Institute of Art from 2004 to 2009.
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Sawicka, A. et al. (2014). An Investigation into the Viability of Removal of Lead Soap Efflorescence from Contemporary Oil Paintings. In: van den Berg, K., et al. Issues in Contemporary Oil Paint. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10100-2_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10100-2_21
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