Gels in the Conservation of Art

Keynote paper

Gels, green chemistry, gurus and guides
Richard Wolbers

Polysaccharides: agar, gellan, xanthan and methyl celluloses

A study of commercial agar gels as cleaning materials
Moira Bertasa, Oscar Chiantore, Tommaso Poli, Chiara Riedo, Valeria di Tullio, Carmen Canevali, Antonio Sansonetti and Dominique Scalarone

Thermo-reversible rigid agar hydrogels: their properties and action in cleaning
Paolo Cremonesi and Antonella Casoli

The treatment of Barnett Newman’s Shining Forth in the MNAM Pompidou collection
Véronique Sorano-Stedman, Richard Wolbers and Sophie Germond

Coupling gellan gels and electrochemical biosensors: real-time monitoring of cleaning and enzymatic treatments on a paper artwork
Silvia Sotgiu, Simonetta Iannuccelli, Serena Dominijanni, Silvia Puteo, Laura Micheli and Claudia Mazzuca

Rigid polysaccharide gels for paper conservation: a residue study
Michelle R. Sullivan, Teresa T. Duncan, Barbara H. Berrie and Richard G. Weiss

The use of agar gel for treating water stains on an acrylic canvas
Maggie Barkovic, Olympia Diamond and Maureen Cross

Gellan gum and agar compared to aqueous immersion for cleaning paper
Céline Delattre, Stéphane Bouvet and Emilie Le Bourg

Measurement of surface pH of paper using agarose gel plugs: a feasibility study
Amy Hughes

Cold, warm, warmer: use of precision heat transfer in the optimization of hydrolytic enzyme and hydrogel cleaning systems
Tomas Markevicius, Terje Syversen, Emma Chan, Nina Olsson, Carola Skov Hilby and Rytė Šimaitė

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Cleaning the Adolphe Roger murals at the Church of Notre Dame de Lorette, Paris
Méliné Miguirditchian, Nicolas Engel, Laetitia Desvois and Anne-Laure Capra

Investigating the ability of phytate gel systems to treat iron gall ink at the British Library
Zoë Miller, Gayle Whitby and Paul Garside

Evaluation of leather cleaning with a rigid hydrogel of gellan gum on two composite Amharic shields from the Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico ‘Luigi Pigorini’, Rome
Flavia Puoti, Anna Valeria Jervis, Roberto Ciabattoni, Egidio Cossa, Antonella Di Giovanni, Maria Rita Giuliani, Giuseppe Guida and Marcella Ioele

Challenges of a virgin water-sensitive surface: designing a cast agar gel cleaning system for Patrick Heron’s Still-life against the Sea: 1949
Alysia Sawicka, Mia O’Toole and Katherine Ara

Gelling predictions: the challenges of taking research into practice
Emma Schmitt

A study of thickened protein glues for the readhesion of absorbent flaking paints with methylcellulose and wheat starch paste
Karolina Soppa, Stefan Zumbühl, Manon Léchenne and Anne Muszynski

Agarose-enzyme gels in paper conservation
Yana van Dyke

Agarose gels with methyl ethyl ketone for cleaning a 19th-century document
Beatriz Aguilar Sánchez and Rodrigo Buentello Martínez

Treating chromatic alterations on barkcloth with agar gel
Chiara Arrighi, Maria Francesca Quarato and Luciana Rossi

Local cleaning of tidelines on paper using rigid gels: the influence of pH and conductivity
Sophie Barbisan and Anne-Laurence Dupont

Chelating soluble iron(II) from iron gall ink using calcium phytate in agar gel
Avery Bazemore

Biocleaning of wall paintings on uneven surfaces with warm agar gels
Pilar Bosch-Roig, Jose Luis Regidor Ros, Maria Pilar Soriano Sancho, Rosa Montes Estellés and Pilar Roig Picazo

The removal of lead-and oil-based overpaint from a plaster cast of Hermes Fastening his Sandal
Eliza Doherty

Solvent gel versus solvent poultice: evaluating two techniques for the removal of pressure-sensitive tape stains from paper
Cecilia Isaksson

Using rigid gellan gel for the stratigraphic cleaning of a canvas painting
Giacomo Maranesi

The use of agar gel for cleaning and overpaint removal from Romanian ecclesiastical tempera paintings
Andreea Michescu, Daniala Cristina Ilie, Rodica Pavel, Valentina Dudu, Anastasia Floroiu, Dana Postolache and Ioan Darida

Washing works of art on paper using rigid hydrogels containing chelating agents
Ekaterina Pasnak

Use of a rigid gel for adhesive removal from an early 20th-century poster
María del Pilar Tapia López, Rodrigo Ruiz Herrera and Angélica Vásquez Martínez

An initial assessment of local stain reduction using chelate-containing gellan gum gels in paper conservation
Brook Prestowitz

Getting into the (sea)weeds: the use of rigid agar gels for the cleaning of a birch bark canoe
Cindy Lee Scott

Micro-fragmented agar gels in wall painting conservation: the chapel of Saint Michael in the Royal Monastery of Pedralbes, Barcelona
Rosa Senserrich-Espuñes, Marilena Anzani, Alfiero Rabbolini and Lidia Font-Pagès

Towards the sustainable use of agar/agarose in conservation: a case study of the Izu peninsula, Japan
Misa Tamura and Koji Takagi

 

Polyacrylic: Pemulen and Carbopol

Resurrecting a giant: using solvent gels and aqueous systems to restore Villanova University’s Triumph of David
Kristin deGhetaldi, Brian Baade, Zachary Voras and Emily Wroczynski

The influence of organic and inorganic alkalis on the formulation and properties of Pemulen TR-2 gels
Sofia Hennen, Francisco Mederos-Henry, Cécile de Boulard, María-Fernanda Espinosa and Paolo Cremonesi

Giant sequoia: an extraordinary case study involving Carbopol gel
Chelsea McKibbin, Lu Allington-Jones and Efstratia Verveniotou

Revisiting a shipwrecked felt hat for Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust: a multidisciplinary approach
Deborah Phipps and Jonathan Clark

Carbopol gel as a carrier for oxidizing agents in discoloured lead white conversion treatment
Lana Linda Fiskovic

From brown to bright: removing several varnish and dirt layers from a 17th-century ceiling painted on wood
Roos Keppler, Annefloor Schlotter and Johanneke Verhave

Pemulen emulsions for the removal of overpaint, discoloured remains of lining adhesive, and remnants of older varnish layers on a 17th-century group portrait
Marjan de Visser and Lucy Odlin

 

Silicone emulsifiers

Particle-based silicone cleaning emulsions: studies in model paint systems for the cleaning of water-sensitive artworks
Anthony Lagalante and Richard Wolbers

Conservation of murals by Eugène Delacroix at Saint Sulpice, Paris
Alina Moskalik-Detalle, Julien Assoun, Françoise Joseph, Marie-Laure Martiny and Marie Monfort

Gels: evolution in practice
Chris Stavroudis

Cleaning assessment of a vinyl dispersion paint: comparing Velvesil Plus Gel, microemulsions and aqueous solutions
Emilie Faust

Silicone polymers for the removal of grime from a selectively varnished oil, graphite and ink painting
Birgit Straehle, Philip Klausmeyer, Matthew Cushman and Rita Albertson

 

Novel methods

Poly(vinyl alcohol)-borax ‘gels’: a flexible cleaning option
Lora V. Angelova, Barbara H. Berrie and Richard G. Weiss

Novel surface-attached gels from photo-crosslinkable polyacrylamides for the cleaning of works of art
Anca Mateescu, Silvia Freese, Petra Frank, Ulrich Jonas and Charis Theodorakopoulos

Innovative techniques for treating the reverse of paintings: gel systems and Aquazol 500 pre-impregnated facing pads
Enrica Boschetti and Christian Tortato

A comparison between gel and swab cleaning: physical changes to delicate surfaces
Teresa T. Duncan, Barbara H. Berrie and Richard G. Weiss

Moving on up: a review of results from SRAL’s tissue-gel composite approach
Gwendoline R. Fife

From biomass to restoration: a new green tool for the cleaning of artworks
Francesca Volpi, Chiara Samori, Laura Mazzocchettii, Silvia Prati, Paola Galletti, Giorgia Sciutto, Loris Giorgini, Emilio Tagliavini and Rocco Mazzeo

Testing a potassium polyacrylate aqueous gel for the pretreatment and storage of wet marine iron and organic composite artefacts
Vasilike Argyropoulos, Ageliki Bei and Stamatis C. Boyatzis

The use of Nanorestore gels in the conservation of lime-based wall paintings
Hanna Eriksson, Ingrid Wedberg, Johanna Nessow and Matilda Bronmark-Thorlund

New gel formulations for removal of adhesive residues and cleaning of paper and parchment
Marco Fagiolo, Valentina Giunta, Claudia Mazzuca and Silvia Orlanducci

Poly(vinyl alcohol)–borate gels as carriers of microemulsions
Anna Fialová and Petr Kotlík

Using a ‘gel’ made from nano-lime and nano-silica to repair badly damaged glass mosaic tesserae
Monica Martelli Castaldi, Marta Ebbreo, Ilaria Liguori and Simon Elio Leitner

Improved PVA gels for the cleaning of paint surfaces
Chiara Riedo, Giulia Rollo, Dominique Scalarone and Oscar Chiantore

Trials of agar gels and task-specific salts for the electrochemical reduction of silver sulphide on silver leaf
Joana São João, Luís C. Branco and Sara Leite Fragoso

Gels for removing varnish and surface stains from Bulgarian icons
Silviya Varadinova-Papadaki

Responsive bio-based gels for the preservation and treatment of archaeological wooden objects
Zarah Walsh-Korb, Soraya Ruiz-Fourcade and Luc Avérous

 

Comparable studies (multi-gel use)

Conservation of a white Louise Nevelson installation: gel systems explored 300
Sarah Nunberg, Carolyn Tomkiewicz, Soraya Alcala, Cindie Kehlet, Chris McGlinchy and Jens Dittmer

Gel formulations coupled with mechanical cleaning techniques to remove old overpaint and pigmented coatings on a large altarpiece by Piero di Cosimo
Irma Passeri, Annika Finne and Anikó Bezur

Time-dependent ATR–FTIR studies on the release of solvents from cleaning gels into model systems of oil paint binding media
Lambert Baij, Katrien Keune, Joen Hermans, Petria Noble and Piet Iedema

Gels at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation: a retrospective review of student projects, 1978–2016
Matthew Cushman

A study of water mobility in hydrogels suitable for biocleaning mural paintings: a unilateral NMR study
Valeria Di Tullio, Eleonora Gioventù, Noemi Proietti, Loredana Luvidi, Anna Maria Mecchi and Donatella Capitani

The effect of gelling agents and solvents on poly(methyl methacrylate) surfaces: a comparative study
Stefani Kavda, Stavroula Golfomitsou and Emma Richardson

The case of Capogrossi in Rome: trials and tests using gels for the cleaning of a contemporary wall painting
Paola Mezzadri, Giancarlo Sidoti and Maria Carolina Gaetani

Removing iron stains from wood and textile objects: assessing gelled siderophores as novel green chelators
Stavroula Rapti, Stamatis Boyatzis, Shayne Rivers, Athanasios Velios and Anastasia Pournou

Layer by layer: the removal of complex soiling on a collection of modern art bronzes using buffered pH-adjusted aqueous gels
Shelley M. Smith

The use of gel systems for cleaning water- and solvent-sensitive paintings
Carmen Ahedi Pino

Releasing St Peter
Claudia Alejandra Garza Villegas and Ramón Avendaño Esquivel

The removal of Paraloid-B72 coatings with aqueous gelled systems: Roman frescoes from Empúries, Catalonia
Aleix Barberà  Giné and Silvia Marín Ortega

Statistical evaluation of surface roughness measurements to evaluate rigid and mouldable hydrogels for cleaning unvarnished oil paint with heavy impasto
Agata Graczyk, Pauline Hélou-de La Grandière, Sigrid Mirabaud and Marine Page

Comparison of three hydrogels for cleaning tarnished silver threads using electrochemical treatment
Aline Létrange, Dominique Hourdet, Julie Guerrier and Emmanuelle Pons

The removal of dirt and coatings from heavily restored medieval painted ceramic socarrats from
València, Spain, using gelled systems
Silvia Marín Ortega and Aleix Barberà  Giné

Paintings on canvas in the rooms of St Aloysius Gonzaga at the Roman College, Rome
Susanna Sarmati

Glossary

Terminology and properties of selected gels
Richard Wolbers

Index

The Picture Restorer, Vol 54, 2019 pp3-4

Can we be greener? Can we be more mindful about the objects we are conserving and tailor our approaches? Can we be more conscious about our conservation choices and, in doing so, benefit ourselves, our studios and our environment? Gels in the Conservation of Art suggests the answer is not only a resounding ‘yes’ to all of these questions, posed by Richard Wolbers in this book’s keynote paper, but that this transformation is already underway...
Aside from the high quality of the articles in this book, the abovementioned appendix sets this book apart from your average set of preprints. ‘Terminology and properties of selected gels’ by Richard Wolbers is a technical glossary, describing in great detail the properties, behaviour, benefits and dangers of the different kinds of gels in practice at the time of publication. This allows Gels in the Conservation of Art to be used as a reference and introductory text, and to encourage new conservation experts into the fold. If you are either considering working with gels, or have already taken that step, this is a book that you will want on your shelf.

 

Journal of the Canadian Association for Conservation, Vol 42, 2017 pp42-47

This hefty and timely publication includes 75 papers, with contributions from conservators and conservation scientists, outlining research, gel material properties,  conservation treatments, novel uses and comparative gel studies. The papers  are richly illustrated with colour images, graphs and tables. Many of the authors include a materials and suppliers section at the end of their papers. This is very useful as some of the newer gels and other “green” materials may be unfamiliar to the  reader. ...
The organization of papers based on the family of gels and emulsifiers in sections two, three and four is thought provoking as one is engaged with reading about gels across our disciplines – paper, painting, artifacts and built heritage. This organization is designed to encourage the reader to think more broadly and innovatively for problem solving in their own area of expertise....
Gels have captured the imagination of conservators and conservation scientists, and are enabling new, green, innovative and often less invasive treatment protocols to be designed. This publication offers a remarkable snapshot of current research, case studies and treatment protocols. Gels in the Conservation of Art is a valuable contribution to the literature and would be a welcome addition to any bookshelf.

 

Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 57:4, 2018 pp229-230

The volume in its entirety provides a testament to the ingenuity of the conservation field: adapting and manipulating materials to meet our rigorous requirements. It also very clearly presents a picture of continued evolution: just because a solution works doesn’t mean that we collectively stop looking for one that works even better. This volume will not serve as a static reference volume or as a gel recipe book, but as a call to continue to question and research. Regardless of conservation discipline, there are treatment case studies to inspire, new materials to add to the toolbox and research to cause method adjustment of the materials we now use. Definitely recommended reading.

click here for full article

 

Brief evaluation of the seperate papers are available from Anna Rota in News In Conservation, Issue 91, August-September 2022 pp43-45