THE IMPACT OF RESEARCH ON THE LINING AND CLEANING OF EASEL PAINTINGSJOYCE HILL STONER
ABSTRACT—Artists have been engaged in the restoration of paintings since antiquity. Coincident with the decline of intensive apprenticeship training of artists in the late 18th century, public controversies emerged regarding the cleaning of paintings. Scientists such as Michael Faraday and Max von Pettenkoffer began research efforts regarding art treatment techniques in the 19th century, which broadened with the 20th-century founding of national and international institutes for the coordination and improvement of conservation knowledge. Published material had first been focused almost exclusively on the care of easel paintings. The author traces the history of articles on this specialty and discusses the impact of published research on current lining and cleaning approaches. A 1992 survey of Fellows and Professional Associates of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works engaged solely in paintings conservation investigated the areas of published research that have had the most impact on actual practice and documented that most respondents have significantly changed their approach over the last two decades, do not line paintings as often as they once did, and tend to follow a more minimally interventive philosophy.
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