Analytical Investigation of Two Socialist Realism Portraits Exposed to High Levels of Humidity. Case Studies from the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

This paper describes the combined use of several analytical methods to characterise the painting technology used in two socialist realism portraits of national heroes from World War II that are now housed in the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Inspection under UV light has shown that there was no previous retouching or overpainting on either painting. Microchemical tests identified the type of canvas. The radiograms indicated whether pigments with lower or higher atomic masses were used and how well the ground was rubbed among the threads of the canvas. A better penetration of the ground into the canvas and layers of oil dye that were applied to both sides of Painting 1 contributed to its better protection against high humidity. TLC revealed the type of ground on both paintings as a classic chalk-glue ground. The high humidity was responsible for the occurrence of metal soaps on Painting 2, which were confirmed by FTIR. The XRF analysis was used to describe the pigment palette, trace the causes of existing damages, and facilitate retouching. The results of this integrated diagnostic approach were used to optimise the conservation and better understand the features and techniques used in the creation of Bosnian socialistic artwork.