Measurements of Solvent Cleaning Effects on Oil Paintings

Abstract

As part of an investigation into the risks associated with the exposure of oil paintings to solvents in cleaning, experiments were carried out to measure the extraction of soluble organic components from paint layers by local cleaning tests on paintings dating from the 17th- to 19th-centuries. Quantities of extractable fatty acids in paint samples taken before and after the cleaning treatments were determined using gas chromatographic analysis, and changes in the quantities extractable as a result of cleaning were used to indicate the magnitude of leaching effects. A small but measurable proportion of the soluble fatty acids was found to be extracted by cleaning in some cases, but in others no significant alterations in the levels of extractable fatty acids were observed. This was despite prolonged cleaning using polar solvents in most of the tests. Some analyses of extracts from cleaning swabs are also described. The paper begins with a discussion of different experimental approaches to the measurement of solvent effects on paint films, with particular regard to the relative advantages of the use of laboratory-prepared films as compared to direct measurements on paintings.

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