The Behaviour of Western Artist’s Materials in Tropical Environments
Materials and Techniques of twentieth century oil paintings in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand
Canvas paintings in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand from 1900s to 1965 are composed of a range of materials, techniques and practices. The origin of oil painting practice in these countries is undoubtedly European yet their materials and techniques vary according to the country in which they were assimilated. The local training opportunities and the availability of local or imported materials influenced the type of oil paintings produced, and more widely the surrounding social and cultural issues that impacted on the artist’s choice of materials and techniques. Over a period of three years two hundred and eight paintings were subject to detailed technical examined from Balai Seni Lukis Negara in Malaysia, the National Heritage Board in Singapore; the Jorge B Vargas Museum at the University of the Philippines and the National Gallery in Bangkok to identify what practices artist’s adopted. Detailed research findings have been published and are listed in the project activities and included here is a summation of the common materials and techniques identified in this study.
Auxiliary Supports
Image 5: Detail of horizontal stretcher
member Artist Coloumen stamp El82,
priced at P0.40
From the reverse of Castaneda,
D Ravaged Manila c. 1940.
Oil on canvas, 328 x 455 mm.
Philippines, JB Vargas Museum,
University of the Philippines.
Of the surveyed works, 61% were on wooden strainers, and the remaining 39% were on stretchers. This assessment showed that the strainers appeared to be locally constructed, as evidenced by their use of local woods and their direct method of construction. This is hardly surprising given that strainers are much simpler to custom make compared to the more complex tongue and groove joins sued in the construction of stretchers. The strainers joins were simple or lapped mitres and as 70% of the works included a beveled edge, indicating that the makers were aware of the importance of an inner sloping edge and more importantly, standard painting practices. Their consistent manufacturing techniques and use of local woods also suggests they were locally constructed. On the other hand, the stretchers were mainly constructed from a pine wood with strongly marked growth rings, beveled edge and tongue and groove join. These characteristics are typical of imported Artists Coloumen stretchers and given that the species of pine wood are not native to Southeast Asia, this suggests they were imported. One of the stretchers too was marked with a Filipino ‘Artist Coloumen’ ‘EL82’ who set up business in 1882 (image 5). An exception though to this preference for imported stretchers was the great Filipino artist Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972), whose stretchers appear to be locally constructed. His stretchers, representing 13% of the total auxiliary supports in this study, were constructed in a consistent manner using a complex tongue and groove joins with a beveled edge, and keys secured with a nail (image 6).
Image 6: Example of a Fernando Amorsolo stretcher,
identified on Portrait of Nena Gabaldon 1955.
Oil on canvas, 1313 x 1109 mm.
Philippines, JB Vargas Museum,
University of the Philippines
One of the stretchers too was marked with a Filipino ‘Artist Coloumen’ ‘EL82’ who set up business in 1882 (image 5). An exception though to this preference for imported stretchers was the great Filipino artist Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972), whose stretchers appear to be locally constructed. His stretchers, representing 13% of the total auxiliary supports in this study, were constructed in a consistent manner using a complex tongue and groove joins with a beveled edge, and keys secured with a nail (image 6).
Flexible Support
Image 7: Reverse of Chen,
Girl with Long Hair, c. 1940-1945.
Oil on canvas, 267.5 x 220 mm.
National Heritage Board, Singapore
Cotton canvases appeared to be more commonly employed than linen or bast fibres. In this study, 66% were identified as cotton and of these 78% were plain weave. Eight of the cotton supports, (or 5% of the examined works), were marked with a European Artist Coloumen supplier’s stamp confirming their importation. The origin of the remaining cotton canvases are unknown, although many interviewees recounted the use of cotton fabrics from local upholstery shops, often run by Chinese merchants.
In this study, 28% of linen canvases were identified and 93% of these were plain weave. Their origin is likely to be linked to the importation of Artist Coloumen materials, given that linen is not grown or manufactured in Southeast Asia. Where linen has been attached to a strainer, the strainer appears to be locally constructed, as in the case of nine of Georgette Chen’s works (image 7). This suggests that imported linen was cut from a roll. Similarly eight of Liu Kang’s works (1911-2004), a significant Singaporean artist who trained in France and China, utilised linen supports, suggesting that linen canvases tended to be utilised by artists who were trained abroad.
Sizing layers
The identification of sizing layers however is particularly important for conservation studies of Western artists' materials in tropical Southeast Asia, given that it swells in humid conditions. Statements by artists in the Philippines indicate that rabbit skin glue was not used as it was too technical and it was not taught at the UP School of Fine Arts. In Kuala Lumpur, accounts by artists were often conflicting; for instance some stated that rabbit skin glue was introduced by Peter Harris, the English art educator who set up the Wednesday Art Group in 1952 in Kuala Lumpur. Whereas Peter Harris himself did not state he taught the application of rabbit skin glue as he said he focused his teachings on the aesthetic rather than technical practices. In the City of Singapore, apparently Liu Kang learnt how to apply rabbit skin glue when he trained in France as was also reported for the significant 19th century artists, Filipino Juan Luna (1857-1899) and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo. In terms of the supply of rabbit skin glue in Malaya, Straits Commercial in Singapore stated they supplied rabbit skin glue but in small quantities and Nanyang Art Supply in Kuala Lumpur provided it only recently. In Thailand, the sizing of canvases appears to have been taught by Professor Silpa Bhirasri (1892-1962), an Italian artist who set up the Praneet Silpakum School (School of Fine Arts) in 1934 and later Silpakorn University in 1943.
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