Fragile!
The prediction of damage to 18th-century pastels subjected to vibrations during transport
Pastel paintings are considered one of the most fragile artworks. Because the medium is barely attached to the support, each movement is a risk. In theory, museums don’t lend pastels. In practice, however, pastels are moved.
About the project
Accepted standards exist for exposure of art works to light, relative humidity and temperature, but risks related to vibrations are still misunderstood and underestimated. This project was initiated to provide standards for vibrations. It will help conservators and collection managers to answer the important questions of determining the maximum vibration level that is acceptable for one transport, and for how long and how many times one pastel can be transported given conditions that are acceptable for a single transport.
Aim of the project
Adopting an approach using damage phenomena, the present research aims at establishing a methodology to predict damage for 18th-century pastels subjected to vibrations induced during transportation. For the first time, the concepts of fatigue life and cumulative damage will be brought from engineering into conservation, following three main research lines: the definition of failure, or unacceptable damage, as a combination of visual perception and the properties of the pastel’s surface; the characterization of vibration loads induced by transport; and finally the establishment of a relationship between the properties of pastels, vibration level, duration of exposure and damage.
Staff
Leila Sauvage
Paper Conservator/Researcher
l.sauvage@rijksmuseum.nl
Bill (W.) Wei
Senior Scientist
Cultural Heritage Agency
Marcias Martinez
Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering University, Clarkson, USA (formerly TU Delft)
Partners and sponsors
Migelien Gerritsen fellowship (Rijksmuseum) 2014-2016.
This project is a collaboration between the Rijksmuseum, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and the Technical University of Delft (Aerospace Engineering Faculty).
Publications
- L. Sauvage, H. Stratis, L. Harrison, 'Pastel roundtable - A study day at the National Gallery, London, April 30, 2018', in: Journal of Paper conservation, vol. 19, 1 (2018), p. 33–35.
- L. Sauvage, W. (Bill) Wei, M. Martinez, 'When Conservation Meets Engineering: Predicting the Damaging Effects of Vibrations on Pastel Paintings', in: Studies in Conservation, 63: sup1 (2018) p. 418–420.
- C. Gombaud, L. Sauvage, “Colorful archives: Liotard, Stoupan and pastel colors available for artists during the 18th Century in Europe', in: Sources on Art Technology: Back to Basics, Proceedings of the sixth symposium of the ICOM-CC Working Group for Art Technological Source Research, June 16–17, 2014, ed. S. Eyb-Green, J.H. Townsend et al., Archetype Publications, Londen (2016) p. 115–123.
- L. Sauvage, C. Gombaud, 'Liotard’s palette: techniques of an 18th-century pastellist', in: Technology and Practice – Studying 18th century paintings and art on paper, CATS Proceedings, II, 2014, ed. H. Evans en K. Muir, Archetype Publications, Londen (2015) p. 31–45.
- L. Sauvage, A. Sangari, W. Sethares, M. Martinez, W. Wei, 'A statistical model of the motion of pastels under vibration' in: Rijksmuseum biennial workshop on future directions in computational art history, June 21–23, 2015, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (2015).
- B. Wei, L. Sauvage, J. Wölk, 'Baseline limits for allowable vibrations for objects', in: ICOM-CC 17th Triennial Conference Preprints Melbourne, 15–19 September 2014, ed. J. Bridgeland, art. 1516, Paris, ICOM (2014) 7 pages.