The same simple landscape three times: under new clear varnish, under aged varnish that is yellow, cloudy and cracked, and after cleaning with the old varnish removed and new varnish applied.

Concept · Aging and Analysis

Varnish

Varnish is a clear top coat that evens out the gloss, deepens the colors and protects the paint.

Natural-resin varnishes such as mastic and dammar yellow, cloud and crack with age, as the middle panel shows. Because varnish is the top layer, conservators can usually remove it and apply fresh varnish.

  • The National Gallery of Art suggests the look of varnish matters more than its protection.
  • Cleaning is not always safe: Reynolds mixed mastic into his paint, so varnish solvents attack it too (David Peggie, National Gallery scientist, in a 2014 Royal Society of Chemistry lecture).

Image: Made for this site · Original work

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