Optical methods in tempera on wood painting restoration

摘要

The present study refers to an application of optical techniques in restoration of icons. These are, technically speaking, paintings on wood panel using pigments mixed with egg yolk. Making a section through the layers that compose an icon, they appear in the following order: a support made of wood panel; a preparation made from a mixture of an organic glue and a substance for volume (most frequently used are CaSO_4 or CaCO_3 in natural spread forms of crystallization; a layer of paint and gold or silver sheets and the final almost transparent layer which consists in a natural resin also known as varnish. During the classic intervention, the specialist is assisted by modern optoelectronic devices. The cleaning process is based on the laser beam next to conventional methods. Cleaning with solvents or with scalpels is less accurate than cleaning with laser and the precision of the later method is requested in fine art restoration.