Fading of paintings

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Protected from environmental influences, the original color of the sky has been preserved under the decorative frame fold.

Under fading is defined as a lightening of the top color layer (s) of a painting . This affects the colored areas painted with pigments of animal or vegetable origin ( madder , indigo , woad or Indian yellow ).

root cause

The cause of this effect is an intense exposure to light and oxygen on the painting surface. Remnants of paint that still reflect the original color of a painting can occasionally be found under the fold of the decorative frame . Protected from light and oxygen, the original, much more intense coloring is retained. Sunlight with 10,000 lux or more in particular triggers photochemical processes and causes images to fade, sometimes also to brown. 50 to 100 lux are recommended for paintings. Since light damage accumulates, the fading increases with increased disposition.

Restoration

It is not possible to restore the original coloring of a faded layer of paint with restoration / conservation means. The use of lightfast colors and pigments reduces the fading effect.

Similar phenomena

A very close-meshed varnish craquelé can result in an appearance that is very similar to fading.

By Gilbert and / or contamination of a varnish ses, as well as a very tightly knit Firniscraquelé  there may be a phenomenon that is very similar to fading. Here, too, the edge zone protected by the frame fold is brightly colored, while the rest of the painting appears gray and dull.

White LED lamps with blue and green components destroy yellow colors on paintings and thereby change the color tones, as scientists discovered in 2013.

literature

  • Alexander Eibner : Development and materials of panel painting. Heller, Munich 1928.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ n-tv NEWS: Why does sunlight fade ? Retrieved November 15, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Alexander Eibner: Development and materials of panel painting . Heller, Munich 1928.
  3. ↑ Painting care. In: DR. PHIL. MARTIN PRACHER, ARTIST. Accessed November 15, 2019 (German).
  4. ↑ Long Life for Art. Accessed November 15, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Knut Nicolaus: Bild-Lexikon zur Gemäldebestetermination . DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne 1982, ISBN 3-7701-1243-1 .
  6. ↑ Nina Weber: Warning of LED strips: light discolors paintings by van Gogh . In: Spiegel Online . January 4, 2013 ( spiegel.de [accessed November 15, 2019]).