Reconstructions of Oil Painting Materials and Techniques: The HART Model for Approaching Historical Accuracy

Abstract

The relationship between artists’ material choices, the preparation and application of materials, and the consequences – the appearance and material properties of the art-work – are studied using Historically Accurate Reconstructions Techniques (HART). This model provides a systematic means to evoke past practices. Reconstructions focus on a range of topics, from the flow properties of Van Gogh’s paint to the colour of natural chalk used in artists’ preparation layers. As the operator physically prepares and uses the materials, the steps towards the moment of painting are re-enacted. The products of the re-enactment, the documentation and the reconstruction itself, provide evidence – visual, physical and chemical ‒ for comparison with historic oil paintings.