Drying problems in 19th century paintings and the use of bituminous paints
R. Boitelle

 

Research project
This project deals with a phenomenon we come across very often in 19th century paintings, the poor drying of paint. Many of the deformations that are the result of this defect are said to have been caused by bitumen. It is clear that bitumen is not always the (the only) cause, but that other materials and the painter's techniques must be considered also. The role of additives and the actual preparation of the different bituminous paints (according to contemporary recipes) must also be investigated. The examination of paintings with drying cracks is linked with the analyses of reference materials and the results of ageing tests of reconstructions of bituminous paints.

This illustration shows a detail from Jozef Israëls' "Alone" (c. 1880-1881, Museum Mesdag, The Hague). According to Roelofs, youth cracks appeared on this painting as a result of the use of bitumen and the repeated overpainting.

Participants and links
Participants include several members of the "Coordinating Workgoup" within the MOLARTproject: J.R.J. van Asperen de Boer, J. Boon, K. Groen, R. Hoppenbrouwers, R. Huigen, Alan Phenix, E. van de Wetering. Contacts also exist with L. Carlyle (C.C.I., Ottawa) and J. Townsend (Tate Gallery, London).

PROGRESS REPORT 1995-1998
1. Samples from a palette and a painting by J. van Looy (Frans Hals Museum) have been analysed. The cross-sections showed a complex build up of medium rich layers. In some cases intermediate varnish layers were also found. A remarkable feature in most of these samples was the abnormal wave-like structure of the paintlayers. This is thought that this is not related to the application of the paints, but to a faulty drying process. Analyses of the paint did not show clearly the presence of any additives. The results of this study, combined with findings in letters in the artists' estate as well as other archival material and contemporary technical handbooks have been assembled for an essay in a catalogue devoted to Van Looy's oeuvre.

2. Samples from two paintings from Th. Rousseau (Mesdag Museum) have been taken and analysed. Both works depict the same subject and were painted shortly after each other. The oil-sketch seems to be in good condition, the large painting, intended for the Salon, has darkened dramatically and its paint layers are severely damaged by drying cracks. The results of this study will be published in combination with findings from early biographies ot the artist and from contemporary technical literature. This article is intended for the Journal of the Van Gogh Museum 1999 (Proposal accepted. Deadline april '99. Publication Fall '99)

3. Study of nineteenth century sources - in particular those passages on drying, ageing, darkening and cracking - was continued. Focus was also put on the different types of preparations of bituminous paints.

Future plans and deliverables
1. Attention will be given to drying problems in 19th century paintings as observed and described in contemporary written sources. These involve not only the use of bituminous paints, but also the wrong use of siccatives and the reworking of not fully dried compositions. Related technical subjects as darkening and cracking, as well as more esthetical ones like the emulation of 17th century Dutch art (that is to say, what painters in the 19th century knew about them), will also be examined more closely. A publication on this subject is planned to be finished in September 1999.
2. Publication of an article on two Rousseau paintings from the Mesdag Museum, The Hague (as mentioned above). Deadline for this article is April 1999, publication in the Van Gogh Museum Journal will take place in Fall 1999.
3. Study of J. Israëls' late painting technique will be undertaken, using the artists' painting "Alleen op de wereld" (Mesdag Museum, The Hague) as a starting point. Samples from this painting were already taken at an earlier stage of the project. It is the intention to include in this study at least two other paintings from the same period of the artist's life. Study of these three painting is planned to be finished in the Spring of 1999, publication of the results is planned in the Fall of 1999.

PROGRESS REPORT 1999
In cooperation with G. Languri and M. Geldof (FOM Institute AMOLF, Amsterdam), research on two paintings (oil sketch and Salon painting) by Th. Rousseau, La Descente des Vaches, dans les montagnes du Haut-Jura (inv. no. 286 and 287) at Museum Mesdag, The Hague, was started. The large painting, originally intended for the Paris Salon, was reported to have darkened and cracked irretrievably some forty years after it had been finished in 1836. Research within the frame of MOLART deals with the questions concerning the rapid ageing of this painting, also including the oil sketch, that is in relatively good condition. Both binding medium analyses and cross-sections of the Salon painting show the use of poor drying materials, such as lignite and sulphur containing pigments, medium rich paints and a complex combination of opaque and transparent layers applied - so it seems - without any apparent logical coherence.
As with the Rousseau paintings mentioned above, research was also started on a painting by the Belgian painter G. Mellery, St.-Gudule (private collection, present location SRAL, Maastricht). This painting has been painted completely with dark brown and black paints, to suggest the interior of a Gothic Church. Large areas of these colours are cracked. This research - still proceeding - concentrates on the reasons for the appearance of these phenomena.
The study of contemporary sources has ended as far as published, technical literature is concerned. The gathering and study of non-published sources (letters from artists, art dealers and paint manufacturers) that deal with the bad drying of oil paint and the use of bituminous pigments, has not been undertaken yet.
The reconstruction panels of bituminous paints have been placed in the artificial ageing devise at SRAL, Maastricht. Cross-sections and samples had been taken before exposure from a selected series of these panels.

Future plans
Research on both paintings of Rousseau and Mellery will be completed. As far as Rousseau's painting technique is concerned, more attention will be given to works by his close friend, Ary Scheffer, in whose studio Rousseau completed his Salon painting.
In the course of November '99 the condition of the reconstructions will be evaluated and a second set of samples will be taken for microscopy and analytical work.

PROGRESS REPORT 2000
No information provided.

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