The Behaviour of Western Artist’s Materials in Tropical Environments
Introduction: The Characterisation of Oil Paintings in Tropical Environments
ARC Linkage grant: LP0211015
The practice of oil painting on stretched canvas in Southeast Asia has a recent history and reflects the development of colonisation in the region. Early extant examples in the Philippines date from the 1800s (Image1), in Thailand from 1856 (Image 2), in Singapore (Image 3) and Malaysia (Image 4) from the nineteenth century. Today there are vast collections of historic canvas paintings in public and private hands and this presents a number of interesting issues for conservation. Firstly the painting materials and techniques now used in Southeast Asian art were originally developed for temperate conditions. Secondly at high temperatures and high relative humidity, stress develops in the fabric support and the sizing layers become hygroscopic. Yet there are few extensive studies on the behaviour and conservation of oil painting materials in tropical climates. This research is a critical first step to assess the behaviour of canvas paintings in tropical climates, and is essential in providing informed advice on the care of such collections.
The project was supported by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant from 2003-2006. It involved five partners across Australia and Asia. They included, in Australia, the Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation and the National Gallery of Victoria; in Malaysia, Balai Seni Lukis Negara (BSLN) (National Art Gallery in Malaysia); in Singapore, National Heritage Board (Heritage Conservation Centre(HCC); in the Philippines, the Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Centre, University of the Philippines at Diliman (UPVM) (supported by the Australian Embassy in Manila); and in Thailand the National Gallery in Bangkok (supported by the Australian Embassy in Bangkok). The Chief Investigators included Associate Professor Robyn Sloggett, Director, CCMC, and Associate Professor Ann Roberts, School of Physics, at the University of Melbourne. Partners in Malaysia are Ms Zanita Anuar, Curator, and Mr Amerudin Ahmad, Assistant Curator (Conservation), Balai Seni Lukis Negara; in the Philippines Dr Ana Labrador, Curator, and Ms Janice May Salvador, Collections Manager, JB Vargas Museum, and Assistant Professor Victoria Herrera, Department of Art Studies, University of the Philippines; in Singapore are LOH Heng Noi, Director, Mr Lawrence Chin and Ms NG Chong Quek, Senior Conservators, Ms Claire Lim, Paintings Conservator, HCC; in Thailand are Ms Piyarat Suksiri, Public Relations Officer, Australian Embassy in Bangkok, Mr Sakchai Pojunvanich, Director, and Mr Phongthorn Wongkietkachorn, then Curator, National Gallery Bangkok. The PhD student appointed to the project was Nicole Tse. Overall the collaborative nature of the three-year project developed a network of conservators who work with canvas paintings in tropical environments.
Areas of research include the:
- Identification of the materials and techniques of canvas paintings
- The supply of artist’s materials in Southeast Asia
- The response of canvas paintings to tropical environments as demonstrated from the assessment of works in four museums in Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand (coming soon)
- The in-situ investigation of their mechanical behaviour with the use of Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI)
See also:
- Project activities
- Brief list of references (coming soon)
- Acknowledgements
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