5 PART IV

5.1 CONCLUSION

THE MAIN CONCLUSION that can be drawn from this study is that French painting canvases are divided into three broad categories: the first, covering the period up to the beginning of the 19th century, when primarily hemp canvases were used; the second situated in the 19th century, when practically only linen fabrics are found; and the last starting at the turn of this century, when cotton and linen share in importance. Only two hundred and twenty-five French painting canvas samples were available for analysis in this paper and, obviously, many more should be added to this nucleus in order to confirm the general trends described above. About one hundred and fifty non-French canvas samples studied still await classification with other samples from the same regions. I hope this article will encourage further documentation on fabric painting supports, as there is a great shortage of knowledge and literature on the subject.