Alcan a Paris

Brian McLaughlin <brian.mclaughlin [at] gmail__com> writes

>I was recently asked to inspect fourteen "Stations of the Cross"
>paintings, which I am hoping someone can help me with.
>
>They are all signed 'Alcan a Paris' and all have canvas stamps on
>the reverse which reads, 'ALCAN, IL r d'assas, a PARIS'. I can
>forward a selection of images of the pictures (and reverse if
>required).
>
>The paintings are quite unusual as some of them are flaking, but
>they also exhibit a mass produced 'feel' about them, and I was
>wondering if they were a type of mechanical reproduction oil
>painting. I would imagine they are mid 19th to early 20th century. I
>have not been able to sample the paintings and I have only inspected
>them visually.

Going by your description, it is possible that the works you are
looking at might be oleographs. They were chromolithographs printed
in oil-based colours on canvas (or onto paper which was then mounted
onto canvas) and widely used in the second half of the 19th century
right up until the end of that century when it became practically
obsolete. The prints are often found framed and treated like a
painting, although their value was considerably less than a
painting.

Emiko Davies
Paper and photography conservator
Florence, Italy


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:41
                 Distributed: Saturday, April 24, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-23-41-003
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