Dissection

To understand and see the structure and layers of a painting, conservators took small samples from the painting and embedded them in clear resin.  This is called a cross section.

The cross-section is enlarged under the microscope to make identification of paint materials, such as canvas and some pigments, easier for the naked eye.

5 Canvas:

Most easel paintings have a canvas (linen, silk or cotton) support mounted on a wooden stretcher to keep it under tension.  By examining the fabrics under the microscope, conservators can identify the different canvases by their physical properties.

6 Priming:

Traditionally made by mixing animal glue and gesso (calcium carbonate), the ‘priming’ or ‘ground layer’ lies on top of the canvas and serves as a support for the paint.  Today artists use mainly acrylic gesso, a mixture of calcium carbonate and an acrylic polymer medium.

7 Paint Layer:

Formed by a mixture of pigments and a binder, this is the layer that we see when we look at a painting.  Traditional pigments were extracted from minerals or plants while modern pigments are synthetically made.

The binder holding the pigment particles together also defines the paint type – drying oil or linseed oil in oil paint; gum Arabic in watercolour; and synthetic resins for modern acrylic paints.

8 Varnish:

Varnish is the coating applied on top of the paint for protection.  They also enhance paint colours, making them appear richer and more vivid.

Traditionally, natural resins were extracted from trees (copal, mastic, amber or colopony).  Today, most varnishes are made commercially from synthetic resins.

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