Colour Change in Paintings

This collection of papers from the ICON Paintings Group conference Appearance and Reality, explores how colour change affects our perception, interpretation, and conservation of paintings. From old masters to contemporary artists, contributors examine the causes and impact of colour shifts, and how this knowledge informs restoration and display decisions. The volume highlights the importance of understanding material change in guiding aesthetic judgment and ethical choices in conservation practice.

Changes in colour may completely alter the way we see a painting. From blue leaves in a still life, to the blue walls in Van Gogh’s bedroom, our perception of a painting can be informed by an understanding of these changes. When conserving paintings our comprehension of these alterations can influence the way we display and restore them. The papers in this volume were presented at the ICON paintings Group conference ‘Appearance and Reality: Examining Colour Change in Paintings’ with the aim of providing an overview of colour change in paintings, from the work of the old masters to modern and contemporary painters. They also address the aesthetic considerations related to these changes when approaching conservation treatments and how understanding these variations can influence the restoration and presentation of paintings.

Fading, darkening, browning, blanching: a review of our current understanding of colour change and its consequences in old master paintings

Marika Spring

Colour change and restoration

Larry Keith

Colour Changes due to the Fading of Prussian Blue in Danish Golden Age Paintings.

Troels Filtenborg, David Buti, Anna Vila, Jorgen Wadum

"Paintings fade like flowers": colour change in paintings by Vincent van Gogh

Ella Hendriks

Colour change and modern paints
an overview

Bronwyn Ormsby and Judith Lee

Non-Invasive Colour Restoration of Mark Rothko's Harvard Murals Using Light from a Digital Projector

Jens Stenger, Narayan Khandekar, Ramesh Raskar, Santiago Cuellar,

Ankit Mohan, Rudolf Gschwind, Mary Schneider Enriquez, Carol Mancusi-Ungaro , Christina Rosenberger

Microfading: a useful tool for paintings conservators?

Joyce H. Townsend

An Introduction to the Measurement and Comparison of Light Sources used Within Cultural Heritage

Joseph Padfield

Lost Purples: Detection, Composition and Reconstruction: Re-discovering the Appearance and Contemporary Resonance of Purple Paint in Tudor and Stuart Portraits

Caroline Rae, Courtauld Institute of Art

Libby Sheldon, University College London

Choosing colour
the reconstruction of green textiles in The National Synod by Pouwel Weyts

Johanneke Verhave and Lidwien Speleers

Vivid Colours in the Golden Room: An educated but tentative reconstruction of an ensemble by Pellegrini in the Mauritshuis

Carol Pottasch , Sabrina Meloni , Ivo Hoekstra , Margriet van Eikema Hommes, , Ralph Haswell

Investigating surface phenomena in paints and paintings by Edvard Munch (1863a^'1944) - in the context of the artist's painting materials

Jin Strand Ferrer, Alyssa Hull and Terje Syversen,

Fading, darkening, browning, blanching: a review of our current understanding of colour change and its consequences in old master paintings

Marika Spring

Colour change and restoration

Larry Keith

Colour Changes due to the Fading of Prussian Blue in Danish Golden Age Paintings.

Troels Filtenborg, David Buti, Anna Vila, Jørgen Wadum

“Paintings fade like flowers”: colour change in paintings by Vincent van Gogh

Ella Hendriks

Colour change and modern paints; an overview

Bronwyn Ormsby and Judith Lee

Non-Invasive Colour Restoration of Mark Rothko's Harvard Murals Using Light from a Digital Projector

Jens Stenger, Narayan Khandekar, Ramesh Raskar, Santiago Cuellar,

Ankit Mohan, Rudolf Gschwind, Mary Schneider Enriquez, Carol Mancusi-Ungaro , Christina Rosenberger

Microfading: a useful tool for paintings conservators?

Joyce H. Townsend

An Introduction to the Measurement and Comparison of Light Sources used Within Cultural Heritage

Joseph Padfield

Lost Purples: Detection, Composition and Reconstruction: Re-discovering the Appearance and Contemporary Resonance of Purple Paint in Tudor and Stuart Portraits

Caroline Rae, Courtauld Institute of Art

Libby Sheldon, University College London

Choosing colour; the reconstruction of green textiles in The National Synod by Pouwel Weyts

Johanneke Verhave and Lidwien Speleers

Vivid Colours in the Golden Room: An educated but tentative reconstruction of an ensemble by Pellegrini in the Mauritshuis

Carol Pottasch , Sabrina Meloni , Ivo Hoekstra , Margriet van Eikema Hommes, , Ralph Haswell

Investigating surface phenomena in paints and paintings by Edvard Munch (1863−1944) – in the context of the artist’s painting materials

Jin Strand Ferrer, Alyssa Hull and Terje Syversen

• Edited by Rhiannon Clarricoates
• Edited by Helen Dowding
• Edited by Alexandra Gent