Parquet (conservation technology)

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Parquet is an old conservation technique for panel paintings on wood. Stabilizing elements are attached to the back to prevent major deformations and warping. The most common is the grid-like Florentine parquet flooring , in which the wooden strips running parallel to the grain are glued on, but the stiffeners attached at right angles are not, in order to allow further limited “work” of the table. The rarer Roman parquet is less massive and lighter, since the attached stabilizing grate rails only consist of short, offset pieces. The stiffeners attached at right angles are only pushed in here and not glued on.

These techniques were most often used in the 18th and 19th centuries to stabilize, for example, very thin wooden panels, such as those created by sawing apart altar panels painted on both sides . Due to climatic fluctuations, however, the originally movable crossbars got tilted in many cases and no longer allowed any movement. All tensions now discharged onto the picture sides and caused cracks and fissures.

A more modern conservation measure for this purpose is to cover the back with panels that act as a climate buffer.

supporting documents

  1. The large art lexicon by PW Hartmann , article: Parquet, accessed on December 17, 2015
  2. Stadtmuseum Münster: The meaning of the panels by Jan Baegert accessed on December 17, 2015
  3. Martin Pracher: Panel picture and sculpture accessed on December 17, 2015
  4. The art trade: back protection for paintings. No chance for climate fluctuations, accessed on December 17, 2015