Questionnaire on paintings copper in preparation of MA thesis

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I am a MA student of Conservation and Restoration of Paintings and
Sculptures at Bern University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland. I
would be most grateful if you could spare a few minutes of your time
to answer a few questions about copper paintings in preparation for
my MA thesis.

Through the object I am currently working on, an oil painting on a
copper plate coated with a thin layer of a lead tin alloy (probably
17th century; Flemish Or Dutch origin), and the intense
preoccupation with the field of copper painting supports I have
developed a special interest in this and would like to dedicate my
MA thesis to do further research within this field.

I am particularly interested in the (most often silvery) metal layer
on some of the copper plates. To date, neither their materiality,
their true function in terms of conservation, nor their potential
aesthetic effect have thoroughly been examined or fully understood.
Furthermore, research with regards to the technique of application
has yet to be undertaken.

Literature:

    Phoenix Art Museum (1998)
    Copper as Canvas. Two Centuries of Masterpiece Painting on
    Copper, 1575-1775
    New York: Oxford University Press;

    Andrews, Keith (1977)
    Adam Elsheimer: Paintings, Drawings, Prints
    Oxford: Phaidon Press
    Appendix: Painting on copper, p. 169

    Ackroyd, Paul et al. (2004)
    Nicolas Lancret's The Four Times of Day
    In: National Gallery Technical Bulletin 25, pp. 48-61

Questionnaire:

The main purpose of the questionnaire is to establish a potential
list of contacts for my research. Your statements will be treated as
confidential. Should you not wish to be mentioned when it comes to
the realisation of the MA thesis, please do let me know. If you have
any questions or queries regarding this please do not hesitate to
contact me.

    1.  Does your collection include paintings on copper supports?

    2.  If the answer is "yes", are the copper plates coated with a
        metal layer between the copper and the paint layers?

    3.  Has scientific examination of the kind of metal or alloy
        already taken place?

    4.  Can you identify the application technique?

    5.  Is there a ground layer between the metal and the paint
        layer(s)?

    6.  If the answer is "yes", which are its properties (
    opaque/transparent, colour etc.)?

    7.  Are there any conservation problems? If the answer is "yes",
        can you classify them in

        Adhesion problems between the metal support and the paint
        layer
        Corrosion of the metal support
        Corrosion of the metal coating

    8.  In the case that you have a painting/paintings on copper
        support in your collection, would you give me permission to
        examine it/them?

    9.  Are there any other significant problems related to the
    copper support that you are aware of?

Many thanks for your time and consideration,

Anne Schmid
MA Student, Bern University of Applied Sciences


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:35
                Distributed: Saturday, January 28, 2012
                       Message Id: cdl-25-35-026
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