We are pleased to announce a new, online edition of the NICAS colloquium on Thursday 21 September 2023 from 12.00 to 13.00 hrs. The colloquium will take place online through Microsoft Teams. Throughout the year, NICAS organises a bi-weekly Colloquium consisting of two short research lectures. It provides researchers with the opportunity to present ideas for, updates on or results of their activities. The NICAS Colloquium allows people to stay informed on a regular basis about the latest developments and results of research and to exchange information and expertise.
The chair is Sanne Berbers (Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed)
The presenter is Sander van Lith (University of Amsterdam)
Paint deterioration and the role of environmental humidity
In its lifetime, an oil painting is exposed to air with fluctuating temperatures, humidity, dust but also to conservation treatments like cleaning and consolidation. Water exposure is an important factor, because water absorbed in oil paintings due to environmental humidity or conservation treatments can result in undesirable changes in an oil painting. The presence of water can accelerate change by increasing oil binder hydrolysis, triggering metal soap formation, facilitating ionic reactions, or altering the mechanical properties of paint layers. Ultimately, we aim to develop a damage function for oil paintings to aid decisions on cleaning strategies and designing acceptable indoor climate conditions. During this NICAS colloquium I will share findings from ongoing research in which (long-term) chemical processes of artificially aged paint films are studied.
Bio
Sander van Lith started this year as a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam and The Rijksmuseum. He obtained his MSc degree in Chemical Engineering with a specialization in materials chemistry from Eindhoven University of Technology in 2020. He is working in the GoGreen project – a European consortium of researchers and conservators dedicated to advancing preventive and remedial strategies for safeguarding cultural heritage. His research focuses on studying the degradation of oil paints under different environmental conditions. Ultimately, he wants to make a well-tailored damage function for oil paints.