A team of researchers from the University of Warsaw, the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and the National Museum in Warsaw has developed an innovative application of organogel in the conservation of paintings. Research carried out by the scientists has confirmed the effectiveness of the new material in the safe cleaning of historic paintings. The results of their work have been published in the “Journal of Cultural Heritage”.
An article has appeared in the “Journal of Cultural Heritage” describing the interdisciplinary research resulting from the collaboration between Dr Klaudia Kaniewska and Prof. Marcin Karbarz from the UW’s Faculty of Chemistry, as well as Anna Litwin and Prof. Anna Sękowska from the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, and Dr Elżbieta Pilecka-Pietrusińska from the National Museum in Warsaw.
The aim of the research was to develop and apply, in an innovative way, an advanced nanocomposite material – an organogel – in conservation work.
This material was used to precisely remove a degrading emulsion layer from the reverse side of a painting by the eminent Polish painter Włodzimierz Tetmajer, from the collection of the Silesian Museum in Katowice.
New possibilities in conservation
The publication describes in detail the multi-stage conservation process and presents the exceptionally satisfactory results of applying organogel, which is safe for the structure of the canvas.
“The development of such a selective and effective cleaning material is a milestone in the conservation and restoration of easel paintings. It demonstrates how the combination of advanced macromolecular chemistry and traditional conservation techniques enables us to tackle the most difficult challenges associated with the preservation of cultural heritage,” Prof. Marcin Karbarz from the UW’s Faculty of Chemistry.
This research forms part of the work being carried out by the UW’s Functional Gel Materials group on the applications of soft materials in the conservation and study of works of art.
Meanwhile, research carried out in collaboration with Adrianna Pajdak and Prof. Marta Lempart-Geratowska demonstrated the effectiveness of an organogel in extracting a wax-resin mass from a painting on silk – the Portrait of Michał Kazimierz Raczyński. The removal of retouching and overpainting made it possible to establish that the object under investigation is a fragment of a much larger composition. This discovery formed the basis for a further patent application.
