US3258376A

US3258376A - Method of conserving and restoring oil paintings

Info

Publication number: US3258376A
Application number: US279953A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gustav D Klimann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-05-13
Filing date: 1963-05-13
Publication date: 1966-06-28
Anticipated expiration: 1983-06-28

Description

METHOD OF CONSERVING AND RESTORING OIL PAINTINGS Filed May 13, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 8 FlN|S |r-| a PAIN GROUND SUPPORT J MASONITE PAI PAINTING SUPPORT MASONITE Invasion- GzwiavD.KZaaumm 5 W, WS'FM June 28, 1966 G. D. KLIMANN 3,258,376

METHOD OF CONSERVING AND RESTORING OIL PAINTINGS Filed May 15, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PAIN PAINTING SUPPORT ALUM U PAINTING SUPPORT AX ALUMI M 122191221302 awsi'av 12 KW 229W, 4% & W

flifirrney United States Patent Gustav D. Klimann, 15 Wellesley Road, Beverly, Mass.

Filed May 13, 1963, Ser. No. 279,953 6 Claims. (Cl. l5694) This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 40,092, filed June 30, 1960, now US. Patent 3,096,194. The invention relates to a method of restoring oil paintings and the like, and more particularly to a method for bonding new backings of appropriate supporting materials, such as aluminum, to an oil painting during the process of conserving and restoring the painting.

Inthe above-identified patent, I disclosed a method of conserving oil paintings and the like by impregnating the painting with varying amounts and kinds of suitable resins and waxes under the influence of heat and substantial vacuum. The method permitted maximum cleaning, conservation and restoration of the painting at a minimum risk of harm due to accident, uneven heat and/ or pressure, however, the cleaned and restored painting was still exposed to the deleterious effects of dimensional changes produced by variations of temperature and humidity, canvas stretching, frame warping, etc. Although the impregnation of the painting by the waxes and resins during the cleaning and restoration process increased the dimensional stability of the painting, preferably a new supporting material should be bonded to the painting to provide the desired rigidity and dimensional stability under varying environmental conditions.

It is therefore an object of my invention to bond 21 new supporting material to an oil painting or the like while cleaning and restoring the painting according to the method disclosed in my co-pending application.

It is another object of my invention to affix a fresh linen backing to the new supporting material and the painting while bonding the new supporting material to the painting during the process of cleaning and conserving the 7 painting as disclosed in my co-pending application.

It is a further object of my invention to add moisture to an extremely dry painting during the bonding and cleaning process. 4

These and other objects and features of my invention will best be understood from the following description and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an oil painting in diagrammatic form;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a rubber sandwich" showing the new supporting material and fresh linen backing;

FIG. 3 is another diagrammatic view of the rubber sandwich showing a modification thereof containing a moistened layer of wet strength paper; and,

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the rubber sandwich showing the new supporting material employed without the addition of a fresh linen backing.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows in diagrammatic form an oil painting indicated generally as 2. A supporting material 4, such as canvas or linen, is normally sized with a gesso to provide a ground or base 6 for the layers of paint 8 which form the shapes and colors of the painting.- The completed painting may then be coated with a protective finishing layer 10 of varnish or a similar material. Although the oil painting 2 is shown in FIG. 1 with four distinct layers, it should be understood that all of these layers are not required to produce an oil painting. For example, the paint 8 may be applied directly to the supporting material 4 without an intermediate ground or base layer 6 between the support 4 and paint layers 8. Similarly, the painting may or may not have a protective coating 10 applied to the paint layers 8.

"ice

For purposes of clarity, the oil painting 2' shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 has been divided into two layers i.e., the painting support and the paint itself, however, it should be further understood that my method of bonding a new supporting material to a painting is suitable for any canvas or linen painting regardless of the type, composition or number of layers of paint and other materials rvhich have been applied to the surface of the canvas or men.

FIG. 2 shows in diagrammatic form the construction of a rubber sandwich as defined in my above-mentioned co-pending application. I lay a sheet of pure gum rubber 12 on the heating table disclosed in my copending application. Then, centered in horizontal sandwiched relation immediately above the rubber sheet, are placed the following elements, bottom to top: A sheet of Masonite 14, having a thickness of approximately A and laid smooth side up; a sheet of semi-absorbent paper, such as kraft brown paper 16; a sheet of glazed insulationpaper 18, glassine type; a sheet of fresh linen 20 coated with a layer of adhesive wax 22; a sheet of aluminum 24; a layer of adhesive wax 26 coated on the reverse side of the painting to be cleaned and conserved (shown as painting support 28 and paint layer 30); a sheet of wet strength paper 32; a sheet of wax impregnated paper 34, such as butchers paper; .a sheet of glazed insulation paper 36, glassine type; a sheet of semi-absorbent paper 38, such as kraft brown paper; a sheet of Masonite 40 having a thickness of approximately fii" and laid smooth side down; and a sheet of pure gum rubber 42.

When the rubber sandwich is subjected to the influence of heat and a substantial vacuum, as disclosed in my copending application, the new supporting material 24 is adhesively bonded to the rear surface of the painting support 28 and the fresh linen backing 20 is similarly bonded to both the new supporting material 24 and the uncovered portion of the rear surface of the painting support 28.

The adhesive wax shown in

layers

22 and 26 can be any one of a number of well known wax adhesives because the composition of the wax adhesive is not critical. I have found that the wax-gum Elemi adhesive described in Section 120.09 of The Treatment of Pictures by Morton C. Bradley, Jr., Cambridge Art Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1950 is well suited for my bonding process.

Although the wax adhesive can be coated on either the upper surface of the new supporting material 24 or the reverse side of the painting support 28 prior to assembling the sandwich, the latter method is preferable because a greater penetration of the painting support is achieved by first coating the painting support with a hot wax adhesive and then subjecting the painting to the influences of heat and substantial vacuum during the cleaning and restoration process. It is possible to maintain the original selvage of the oil painting while bonding a new supporting material and fresh backing to the painting by properly dimensioning each item. As shown in FIG. 2, the fresh linen backing 20 extends beyond the edges of the new supporting material 24 and is substantially the same size as the painting support 28 thus permitting the entire rear surface of the painting to be covered with a fresh linen backing 20, while bonding the new supporting material 24 to the painting only in the area directly beneath the paint itself.

FIG. .3 shows a modification of the bonding method applicable to paintings which are extremely dry. With such paintings it is desirable to introduce into the painting a controlled amount of moisture during the cleaning and restoration process. This is accomplished by interposing a layer of moistened wet strength paper 44 between the new supporting material 24 and the Wax coated painting support 28.

If a fresh linen backing is not desired, the new supporting material can be bonded to the painting by employing the sandwich constructions shown in FIG. 4. Although the fresh supporting material 24 is shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 as aluminum, other materials such as fiberglass are suitable for this process and I do not intend to limit my invention to any specific material, but rather to broadly claim the concept of bonding a new supporting material to an oil painting during the cleaning and restoration process disclosed in my co-pending application.

Numerous modifications and preferred embodiments of my invention will now be apparent to. those skilled in the art and therefore, it is not intended to confine the invention to the precise form shown herein, but rather to limit it in scope to the appended claims.

Having thus described and disclosed the preferred embodiments of my invention, what I now claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A method of bonding a new support to oil paintings and the like during the cleaning, conservation and restoration of the paintings comprising the steps of coatingthe non-painted surface of the painting support with a wax'adhesive; placing successively above the painting, a sheet of wet-strength paper, a sheet of wax-impregnated paper, a sheet of insulation paper, a sheet of semi-absorbent paper and a substantially rigid panel; placing successively beneath the painting, a sheet of new support material, a sheet of insulation paper, a sheet of semiabsorbent paper and a substantially rigid panel placing the material's thus sandwiched together within a substantially airtight, collapsible container; evacuating the air from within said container; raising the temperature within said container and subsequently permitting said container to cool; releasing the vacuum created in said container; opening said container and disassembling the said sandwiched materials and removing the painting and stripping the wet-strength paper therefrom.

2. A method of bonding a new support to oil paintings and the like during the cleaning, conservation and restoration of the paintings as set forth in claim 1 in which said sheet of new support material comprises a sheet of aluminum.

3. A method of bonding a new support to oil paintings and the like during the cleaning, conservation and restoration of the paintings as set forth in claim 1 in which said sheet of new support material comprises a sheet of fiberglass.

4. A method of bonding a new support and a fresh backing to oil paintings and the like during the cleaning, conservation and restoration of the paintings comprising the steps of coating the non-painted surface of the painting support with a wax adhesive; placing successively above the painting, a sheet of wet-strength paper, a

sheet of wax-impregnated paper, a sheet of insulation paper, a sheet of semi-absorbent paper, and a substantially rigid panel; placing successively beneath the painting, a sheet of new support material, a sheet of fresh backing material having a layer of wax adhesive coated on one side thereof, said adhesively coated side being positioned in contact with said new support material, a sheet of insulation paper, a sheet of semi-absorbent paper and a substantially rigid panel; placing the materials thus sandwiched together within a substantially airtight, collapsible container; evacuating the air from within said container; raising the temperature within said container and subsequently permitting said container to cool; releasing the vacuum created in said container; opening said container and disassembling the said sandwiched materials and removing the painting and stripping the wetstrength paper therefrom.

5. A method of bonding a new support and a fresh backing to oil paintings and the like during the cleaning, conservation and restoration of the paintings as set forth in claim 4 in which said sheet of fresh backing material comprises a sheet of linen.

6. A method of bonding a new support and a fresh backing to oil paintings and the like during the cleaning, conservation and restoration of the paintings comprising the steps of coating the non-painted surface of the painting support with a wax adhesive; placing successively above the painting, a sheet of wet-strength paper, a sheet of wax-impregnated paper, a sheet of insulation paper, a sheet of semi-absorbent paper and a substantially rigid panel; placing successively beneath the painting, a sheet of new support material, said support material having substantially the same dimensions as the painted portion of said painting, a sheet of fresh backing material having substantially the same dimensions as the painting support including the selvage thereof, said fresh backing having a layer of wax adhesive coated on one side thereof and being positioned with the adhesively coated side in contact with said new support material, a sheet of insulation paper, a sheet of semi-absorbent paper and a substantially rigid panel; placing the materials thus sandwiched together within a substantially airtight, collapsible container; evacuating the air from within said container; raising the temperature within said container and subsequently permitting said container to cool; releasing the vacuum created in said container; opening said container and disassembling the said sandwiched materials and removing the painting and stripping the wet-strength paper therefrom.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,073,802 3/1937 Oliver 1172 2,568,463 9/1951 Reynolds 156-152 2,670,554 3/1954 Francis l6l89 2,681,527 6/1954 Sundt 16193 EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner. H. F. EPSTEIN, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A METHOD OF BONDING A NEW SUPPORT TO OIL PAINTINGS AND THE LIKE DURING THE CLEANING, CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF THE PAINTINGS COMPRISING THE STEPS OF COATING THE NON-PAINTED SURFACE OF THE PAINTING SUPPORT WITH A WAX ADHESIVE; PLACING SUCCESSIVELY ABOVE THE PAINTING, A SHEET OF WET-STRENGTH PAPER, A SHEET OF WAX-IMPREGNATED PAPER, A SHEET OF INSULATION PAPER, A SHEET OF SEMI-ABSORBENT PAPER AND A SUBSANTIALLY RIGID PANEL; PLACING SUCCESSIVELY BENEATH THE PAINTING, A SHEET OF NEW SUPPORT MATERIAL, A SHEET OF INSULATION PAPER, A SHEET OF SEMIABSORBENT PAPER AND A SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID PANEL PLACING THE MATERIAL THUS SANDWICHED TOGETHER WITHIN A SUBSTANTIALLY