Conservation of Modern Oil Paintings

Artists' oil paints have become increasingly complex and diverse in the 20^th Century, applied by artists in a variety of ways. This has led to a number of issues that pose increasing difficulties to conservators and collection keepers. A deeper knowledge of the artists' intent as well as processes associated with material changes in paintings is important to conservation, which is almost always a compromise between material preservation and aesthetics.

This volume represents 46 peer-reviewed papers presented at the Conference of Modern Oil Paints held in Amsterdam in 2018. The book contains a compilation of articles on oil paints and paintings in the 20th Century, partly presenting the outcome of the European JPI project 'Cleaning of Modern Oil Paints'. It is also a follow-up on 'Issues in Contemporary Oil Paint' (Springer, 2014).

The chapters cover a range of themes and topics such as: patents and paint manufacturing in the 20th Century
characterization of modern-contemporary oil paints and paint surfaces
artists' materials and techniques
the artists' voice and influence on perception of curators, conservators and scientists
model studies on paint degradation and long term stability
approaches to conservation of oil paintings
practical surface treatment and display.

The book will help conservators and curators recognise problems and interpret visual changes on paintings, which in turn give a more solid basis for decisions on the treatment of these paintings.