Mechanical properties and moisture-related dimensional change of canvas paintings – canvas and glue sizing

Understanding canvas paintings as physical systems is fundamental to develop evidence-based environmental specifications for museums. A number of tests were carried out to determine mechanical properties of canvas, canvas sized with animal glue and animal glue-based ground layer (gesso) as a function of relative humidity (RH). The mechanical properties of the canvas samples tested exhibited an anisotropy dependent on the measurement direction, being the stiffness corresponding to the weft direction greater than the warp and diagonal ones. Sizing the canvas with a layer of animal glue significantly increased its modulus of elasticity while the anisotropy of mechanical properties was kept in the composite material. The application of an animal glue-based ground layer on sized canvas increased the elasticity modulus of the system by another order of magnitude (~ 2 GPa) whereas the anisotropy of the material disappeared. The measurements were carried out in a wide range of RH from 30 to 90%. An increase in RH caused a decrease in the material stiffness. Cracking of the gesso layer, which is often responsible for the formation of cracks in paintings, was observed at strains of the order of a few thousandths. Swelling of glue sizing dominated the moisture-induced swelling of the composite material in the less stiff warp direction, completely overriding the shrinkage of the untreated canvas. In contrast, the swelling of the composite material in the stiffer weft direction was much smaller than for pure glue alone, being clearly affected by the textile.