Thesis: Discoloration in Renaissance and Baroque Oil Paintings (2002)

Title: Discoloration in Renaissance and Baroque Oil Paintings. Instructions for Painters, Theoretical Concepts, and Scientific Data
Author: M. H. van Eikema Hommes
University: University of Amsterdam
Year: 2002
Pages: 223
Type of document: Thesis
Link: http://dare.uva.nl/... (pdf)

From the Introduction:

Presently, the problem of the degradation of old oil paints is the research domain of conservation science, namely the science investigating the cause of ageing processes in works of art and developing methods of retarding or countering them. Researchers focus on uncovering the chemical and physical characteristics of oil binding media and pigments. The composition of paints in old paintings is painstakingly analysed to this effect. On the basis of the results, paint systems are made that approximate as closely as possible the original composition of the old paints in the aspects deemed relevant by the researchers. By exposing these reconstructions to artificial ageing, an attempt is made to accelerate the natural ageing processes. When chemical and optical changes are charted, useful information can be acquired about the degradation processes that have occurred in the old paints. [...]

Table of contents (short version):

I. A Proposal for the Classification of Painting Methods and Recipes
II. Painters' Methods to Prevent Colour Changes Described in Sixteenth to Early Eighteenth Century Sources on Oil Painting Technique
III. Discoloration or Chiarsoscuro? An Interpretation of the Dark Areas inn Raphael's Transfiguration of Christ.
IV. Verdigris Glazes in Historical Oil Paintings: Recipes and Techniques
V. Indigo as a Pigment in Oil Painting and the Problem of its Fading