Caring for Paint

Paintings can be damaged by exposure to dirt, light and atmospheric conditions. For example, sudden changes in temperature or the dampness in the air can cause wooden panels to crack and the paint to crack and peel off. In museums light levels, temperature and humidity levels are carefully controlled.

Curators and conservators can also learn a lot from studying the paint itself. Analysing the painting’s age can tell you whether it was made all at once. Some pigments and varnishes change colour over time. Sometimes these changes can be reversed, but sometimes not, in which case careful analysis of what remains can help understand what the painting originally looked like.