Helen Hughes introduces new English Heritage guidance on conservation of plaster paintings.
The structural analysis of buildings is accepted as an important investigatory procedure, and architectural paint research offers the opportunity to continue the study the development and use of a building by its occupants long after the last structural alteration has been completed. It should no longer be considered as simply a means of establishing historic paint colours. For over three hundred years, paint finishes have been repeatedly applied to buildings using a range of techniques and a relatively restricted range of materials. The study of accumulated layers of paint, wallpaper or other applied decorative finishes often provides a detailed insight into the social as well as the structural and decorative history of a building.
Changes in fashions of house paint colours and decorative effects were often directly related to technological developments in painting materials. House painters were constantly seeking brightly coloured pigments which were both inexpensive and stable, to complement an otherwise dull palette of cheaper natural materials. In the 17th century the artificially produced pigment blue verditer, was a cheaper and more workable alternative to the expensive pigments azurite and smalt. In the 18th century the newly invented pigment Prussian blue offered an alternative to blue verditer. The formulation of an artificial ultramarine in the 19th century added an additional blue pigment to the house-painters range of colours. The use of a deep blue paint which would have been a statement of wealth in the 16th century was commonplace by the late 18th. In the present century developments in the production of alkyd resins, a paint medium which is more compatible with the pigment titanium white, heralded the demise of use lead white based linseed oil paints. One of the results of this fairly recent change in paint technology is the bright white paint which dominates today's decorative schemes.
Lead-based oil paints were in general use by the 16th century. These early paint layers are very durable and commonly survive on architectural elements, when they have not been damaged or intentionally stripped removed. The study of paint stratigraphies may be e compared to dendrochronology. In fact these two branches of building research often complement each other. Paint in general serves two functions, it is applied to inhibit decay and offer protection to materials such as wood, metal, and plaster, and it also provides ornamentation and decoration. The repeated application of paint, which is part of routine building maintenance, also offers the opportunity to alter or improve an existing facade or interior.
Unlike easel paintings or wall paintings, where the artists' work has been retained and carefully conserved, architectural schemes are routinely obliterated by successive decorations. The redecoration of interiors or exteriors to suit contemporary fashion, utilising the latest materials, has a long tradition, and most of us have had first hand experience of this process when redecorating and improving our own homes. The continual over painting of historic decorative schemes is almost unavoidable. Undoubtedly our understanding of historic schemes is gravely hampered by the extremely sparse survival of original paint finishes. We possess thousands of 17th and 18th century paintings, but the finishes applied to the walls on which these paintings were originally hung, have been invariably long since obliterated. The accumulation of successive paint layers on architectural elements are now regarded as an important archaeological resource, and as such require careful management and conservation.
Recent research carried out by English Heritage in the interiors of the Little Castle at Bolsover illustrates how easily this important evidence can be lost. The Pillar Parlour of the Little Castle was fitted out in the early 17th century. A sketch design for the panelling dated 1618 (RIBA - Smythson III/ 13) was annotated with details of an walnut graining embellished with black and gold. Recent paint analysis has established that this ornate scheme had in fact survived for over three hundred years without being over painted. The castle owned by the Dukes of Devonshire had not been uninhabited by the family since the late 17th century, and many of the rooms had Context 64 December 1999 never been redecorated since the early part of that century. The property was eventually gifted to the state in the 1940s. As part of a major restoration programme carried out within the castle during the 1970s the architectural decorative surfaces were 'smartened up'. Unfortunately this process involved the repainting or stripping of much of the existing decorative finishes without sufficient preliminary investigation. The original finishes in the Pillar Parlour were stripped to reveal the bare oak wood in the mistaken belief that the wood had originally been unpainted and the existing layers were applied in the 19th century. Fortunately, due to the intervention of an enlightened staff, one section of the original scheme was retained. This small section provided evidence of original scheme and the destructive nature of the restoration programme.
We should not take any consolation in the fact that this act occurred in the dark ages of the 1970s. The stripping of paint from historic structures and interiors forms part of current works specifications. Modern products and procedures for paint removal make the process a viable and efficient procedure. in the past paint stripping was not undertaken as it was far too costly. Surfaces to be repainted would have been cleaned and loose paint cleaned off. Losses would have been filled and over painted. Paint samples examined in cross-section readily reveal the thinness of early lead based paint and the thickness of contemporary paint layers. It is the thickness of modern paint systems which quickly obliterates architectural detailing which has fuelled the current compulsion to zealously remove all traces of historic paint be fore redecorating.
In contrast to the sad loss at Bolsover, the architectural paint research carried out in the Saloon at Audley End House was properly programmed. The research findings helped provide a full understanding of the history of the room and formed the basis of the formulation of the presentation proposals. Preliminary research established that no major structural alterations had been carried out within the Saloon since the late 18th century. The room had been extremely well documented then and had even been recorded in water-colours by the artist Columbani, soon after its initial fitting out c.1770. Surviving painters' bills recorded the redecoration and lavish gilding of the room which was carried out some ten years later. Examination of paint samples removed from the room established that the room had not undergone any major redecoration since the application of this gilded scheme. Elements such as skirtings, dado, faces and dado rails had been partially regilded or touched-in areas of wear or damage. This surprising discovery or new understanding of the room prompted a reassessment of suggested redecoration proposals. It was decided to carefully surface clean and conserve the existing late 18th century paintwork and simply present the room in its existing condition.
This project illustrates the importance of the collating and synthesising all existing evidence which is the vital first phase of any paint research project. The examination of arbitrarily collected paint samples without obtaining a preliminary analysis of the building phases and viewing all documentary evidence is a meaningless exercise. This is the service commonly offered by many analytical laboratories or paint analysts whose research is based solely on paint samples delivered to the researcher through the post. A contemporary description of the an interior in a painter's bill or a private letter or even a newspaper often provides extremely useful information which is crucial to the planning of a research strategy. A significant paint layer may be more readily dated by a reference in a family letter which states 'Today my chambers painted a fine blue' than embarking on sophisticated pigment analysis. This is not to say that the identification of pigments is not a vital tool in architectural paint research, but it should be used to answer specific questions and not be seen as the purpose of the whole research exercise.
The research in the Saloon at Audley End not only prevented the over painting of a very rare example of 18th century scheme but broadened our understanding of the use of the room by the family. It illustrates how infrequently grand, ornately gilded rooms were redecorated even by wealthy or even royal families. The surviving paintwork also illustrates the durability of traditional lead paint and the attractive way in which it ages.
Unfortunately very few of the period rooms visited by the public retain their original decorative paintwork and the majority of 'historic recreations' are undeniably the product of late-20th century interior designers. In many cases accurate reconstructions of historic schemes are considered aestheti~ cally unpleasing and so even well researched historic schemes are altered or improved to present interiors, not as they once appeared, but as we would have liked them to appear.
Dr Ian Bristow has reiterated the point that 'It is impossible to approach the understanding of historic interiors through modern concepts of colour and taste in their redecoration'( Architectural Colour in British, Interiors 1615-1840, Bristow 1996). Although it would be totally inappropriate to suggest that the inhabitants of a Victorian terrace should slavishly recreate and suffer to live with the chocolate browns and dark green wall faces applied by the original owner of the house in the 19th century, one would expect an authoritative research and meticulous attention to detail in the presentation of period rooms of major historic house museums.
Recent research has established that the understanding of a building's original decorative schemes provides unexpected insights into the articulation of the spaces and the use of the interiors. The accurate reinstatement of an original historic scheme is rather like staging a Shakespeare play on the stage of the Globe Theatre, the result is usually surprising and illuminating.
A good paint research report, which provides the information for re-presentation or conservation options, should provide the buildings curators with a clear understanding of the development of the decorative schemes applied to the structure. The findings should be presented in a narrative form within a well structured clearly illustrated report which can be readily understood by professionals with no scientific background. The report should provide a thorough comprehension of the condition and significance of the decorative finishes applied to the element or area being investigated. There should be a clear distinction between the research findings and the proposals for redecoration or conservation. In fact the formulation of a conservation programme can only carried out after the research findings have been fully understood and discussed.
All too often the unwary client who commissions architectural paint research is presented with a structure-less report which contains reams of unexplained cross-sections, a scattering of elemental spectra, inconclusive findings, and often an invitation to commission further research. To return to the title of this article, it is no wonder therefore that this new discipline, which has the potential to offer building conservators so much information, is often treated with severe distrust and suspicion. The problem lies with the poor quality of research currently being carried out which has given the subject a reputation for being time-consuming, expensive and inconclusive. It could be argued that current guidance literature which advocates the use of architectural paint research is rather premature in that it alludes to a discipline which has no agreed methodology and no recognised training.
In response to this situation English Heritage, in collaboration with researchers working in the discipline, is currently preparing an guidelines leaflet which will attempt to define the subject and provide advice on the process of commissioning research. These guidelines will be a first attempt to define a standard for the subject. They will provide an introduction to the discipline and offer a check list for the planning of a project. It is hoped that the procedures will enable those commissioning architectural paint research to be more critical of research findings and be able to determine whether a contracted researcher is following good practise. Experienced researchers will be familiar with the procedures outlined in this leaflet but newcomers to the field may find the contents useful in establishing a working procedure when dealing with cli~ ents. All commissioned research requires a clear briefing document against which the research can be monitored and assessed. If the research is to be grant aided it is essential that it is carefully planned, monitored and assessed. All research reports and samples should be archived and important research findings should be published. English Heritage hopes to publish its guidance document early in 2000.
Let us hope that this is a step towards a greater understanding and appreciation of our historic buildings.
Context 64 December 1999