Aging (artwork)

Aging is a process by which an artwork, typically a painting or sculpture, is made to appear old. It is meant to emulate the natural deterioration that can occur over many decades or centuries. Although there may be "innocent" reasons for it, ageing is a technique very often used in art forgery.

Paintings deteriorate over time because they are created using essentially incompatible materials, with each having a different reaction to the changes in the environment, including light, temperature and relative humidity.

An oil painting consists of several layers, comprising the base canvas, a layer of gesso base coat, several layers of the oil-based paint and then several coats of varnish to protect the paint surface. With many different materials, it is understandable that each layer may dry at different rates and will also absorb and release moisture at different rates. When this occurs, expansion and contraction of the painting will result in a crazing of the varnish surface. This pattern of small cracks is known as craquelure. Along with the darkening or yellowing of the varnish surface, it is this visual representation of the cracking that is typically the primary indicator of ageing.

The purpose for artificially ageing is to create a finished product that accurately reflects an era or is consistent with the environment (usually period) into which it is to be placed.

Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
Collection care and management	Collecting Collection (artwork) Collections care Collection catalog Collections maintenance Collections management (museum) Collection Management Policy Collections management system Cultural heritage management Cultural resources management Deaccessioning (museum) Digital repository audit method based on risk assessment Display case Documentation of cultural property Emergency response (museum) Exhibition of cultural heritage objects Found in collection Inherent vice Inventory (museum) Museum integrated pest management Preservation metadata Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies Preservation of meaning Preservation survey Provenance Repatriation Restoration (cultural heritage) Storage of cultural heritage objects
Roles and expertise	Art handler Collection manager Conservator-restorer Conservation scientist Conservation technician Curator Exhibition designer Mount maker Objects conservator Paintings conservator Photograph conservator Preservationist Registrar (museum) Textile conservator
Area specialities	Antiques restoration Archaeological science Archaeology Bioarchaeology Building restoration Conservation science Digital photograph restoration Digital preservation Database preservation Film preservation Frame conservation Heritage science Historic preservation Media preservation Object conservation Optical media preservation Painting conservation Preservation (library and archival science) Restoration Sustainable preservation Web archiving
Techniques	Aging (artwork) Anastylosis Arrested decay Architecture Cradling (paintings) Detachment of wall paintings Desmet method Historic paint analysis Imaging of cultural heritage Inpainting Kintsugi Leafcasting Lining of paintings Mass deacidification Mold control and prevention in libraries Overpainting Paper splitting Radiography of cultural objects Reconstruction (architecture) Rissverklebung Textile stabilization Transfer of panel paintings UVC-based preservation VisualAudio
Topics	Archaeological sites Ancient Greek pottery Automobiles Bone, horn, and antler objects Books, manuscripts, documents and ephemera Ceramic objects Clocks Copper-based objects Feathers Film Flags and banners Frescos Fur objects Glass objects Herbaria Historic gardens Human remains Illuminated manuscripts Insect specimens Iron and steel objects Ivory objects Judaica Lacquerware Leather objects Lighthouses Metals Musical instruments Neon objects New media art Outdoor artworks Outdoor bronze objects Outdoor murals Paintings Painting frames Panel paintings Papyrus Parchment Performance art Photographs Photographic plates Plastic objects Pompeian frescoes Shipwreck artifacts Silver objects South Asian household shrines Stained glass Taxidermy Textiles Tibetan thangkas Time-based media art Totem poles Vehicles Vinyl discs Woodblock prints Wooden artifacts Wooden furniture
Notable projects	Conservation issues of Pompeii and Herculaneum Conservation-restoration of Ecce Homo by Elías García Martínez Conservation-restoration of The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins Conservation-restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper Conservation-restoration of the Shroud of Turin Conservation-restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes Conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty Conservation-restoration of the H.L. Hunley Modern and Contemporary Art Research Initiative

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Aging (artwork)

See also