Innovation of Analytical Methods in Art Conservation

Art conservation and restoration has been a delicate and intricate task for many years. To retain the high value of the artist’s original workings, art conservators are required to work in a non-invasive manner. The innovation of understanding materials down to the molecular level has greatly improved many areas including art conservation. Through literature review, it has been noted that analysis such as Raman spectroscopy and IR spectroscopy have been used to identify degradation agents on works of art (Hahn, 2012). Unilateral NMR is a new technique that has been considered as a tool for non-invasive analysis (Del Federico et al., 2010). This research investigates what techniques have been used to analyze paintings and what other techniques could be applied in the future. The advantages and disadvantages of a few of these techniques will be compared to determine the optimal usage of each technique. The goal of this research is to layout a set of experiments that can be conducted to further the understanding of these analytical methods when applied to art conservation.