RICHARD BERGHS KONSTNÄRSFÖRBUNDETS STYRELSE en fallstudie om bindemedlets påverkan på sprickbildningens morfologi

Abstract

Many painters experimented with disparate materials and techniques at the turn of the century 1900. As a result, paintings originating from this time period are often prone to undesired degradation phenomena resulting from an inherent vice. Cracks in a painting are formed as a result of the materials and techniques employed by the artist in question. The study explores the effect of a number of paint binders on crack morphology. The objective is to identify causes underlying the formation of crack patterns in the painting “The Council of the Society of Artists” by the Swedish painter Richard Bergh (1858-1919). This has been qualitatively assessed by using artificially aged models that were primarily based on historical manuals and technical studies of related artists. The experimental outcome of the study found no clear correlation between the composition of binders and the resulting crack patterns of the models, propagation of cracks in oil-based paint systems seemingly dependent on their constituent pigment. Conversely, the development of cracks in the tempera emulsion here examined was found to be less dependent on the type of pigment used. The use of binders could therefore not be refuted as a variable for the crack patterns of the original object, even though no unambiguous similarities to the crack morphologies of the models could be determined.