Abstract
A programme is being conducted to determine the potential of using pulsed ultraviolet light from excimer lasers to clean discoloured varnish and surface detritus from the surface of old easel paintings.
The ablation characteristics of artificially aged and naturally aged varnishes have been examined. It has been found that careful control and monitoring of the cleaning process must be employed to ensure that a residual varnish layer remains to preclude damage to the underlying pigments. A number of appropriate techniques, which can be used alone or in combination, have been investigated. These include ultraviolet fluorescence observations and thermal mapping.
The effects of the pulsed excimer laser light on pigments have also been investigated. Adverse effects such as discolouration have been seen to occur in certain cases when the pigments were subject to direct laser radiation. X-ray diffraction experiments have investigated the change in the lattice structure of the pigments after UV irradiation and heating.
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Hill, A.E., Athanassiou, A., Fourrier, T., Anderson, J., Whitehead, C. (2000). Progress in the Use of Excimer Lasers to Clean Easel Paintings. In: Fotakis, C., Papazoglou, T.G., Kalpouzos, C. (eds) Optics and Lasers in Biomedicine and Culture. Series of the International Society on Optics Within Life Sciences, vol 5. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56965-4_40
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56965-4_40
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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