To become truly immortal, a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken, it will enter the realms of childhood visions and dreams, says Giorgio de Chirico. Art, thus escapes limits, becomes free in every sense and goes in search of fresh feelings and thoughts that strike a balance between reality and idealism.

In art, paintings are adorned much because of its non-defined structure, beauty that explains hidden feelings, shared thoughts and suppressed emotions. It has a world of its own- a world of color, shine and unheard music that takes a man to an unknown world he is seldom familiar with. It speaks its own language- a language taught by its creator and communicates to the rest of the world what the creator wanted it to dictate.

As painting gives an immortal beauty and creates an atmosphere of creativity and exquisiteness it has been used in households, offices, and other institutions and places. Art lovers buy paintings to experience something they are already familiar with and explore a world beyond simplicity or abstractness.

But paintings get damaged very fast if not maintained and preserved properly. Taking care of paintings by itself is known to be an art.

Reasons for paintings getting damaged

Major reason behind paintings getting damaged is time. All other reasons are centered on this unique factor.

• Time

  Time or aging plays an important part in getting the painting damaged or spoiled very soon. As time pass by, paintings are also undergoing so many changes. Most traditional paintings were made in such a way that it could adapt with time. Nowadays, paintings get blemished very fast because of fragility.

  Results

  1. Aging results in appearance of fissures or white shades around the paining. It also results in actual color being dimmed and the shining lost.
  2. Discoloration of varnish.
  3. Structural damages like cracks will appear in the painting.
  4. Quality of the painting will be lost.
  5. Thick paint films get dried and wrinkles appear in paintings.
  6. Painting loses suppleness.

• Physical damage

  If the painting is framed in glass, then there can be chances for the frame to be broken and consequently the painting can get damaged in such a way that the varnish will get affected adversely and this in turn affects the painting in the subsequent layers. Thus marks appear on the painting and this later on will affect the surface.

• Collection of dust, soot or dirt on the surface There are lots of possibilities for the collection of dust or dirt on the surface of the painting. This will not show any adverse effect on the painting very soon. But it will be shown in the days to come.

How to maintain a painting properly?

Environment plays an important role in damaging and also preserving the beauty of a painting. Thus, various aspects of environmental changes will affect the painting in many ways.

Check temperature and humidity

Creating an appropriate environment is desirable in the proper maintenance of painting. Check the temperature and humidity level, as relative humidity is desirable for the proper preservation of paintings. Humidity less than 40 and above 60 is not good for the proper maintenance of paintings. It also depends on the medium in which the painting has been done. If the painting is done on canvas and not on wood, it will react more adversely to rising humidity levels.

High temperature levels also should be avoided. Maintaining a constant temperature or humidity is desirable. Rooms with constant temperature level and humidity level should be chosen to hang paintings. Slight variations in the environment cannot be avoided and it will not do much harm to paintings, whereas constantly varying environmental situations can make an unfavorable effect on the painting.

Prevent ultraviolet light

Ultraviolet light is not good for paintings. Dyes and other agents used in the painting will undergo discoloration as a result of the exposure to ultraviolet rays. Therefore special care should be taken in avoiding ultraviolet exposure to paintings and a balance has to be maintained in the intensity of light the paintings are exposed to. Museums also do not use high intensity lights.

Avoid moisture

Moisture is another aspect, which affects painting. It affects the layers of the paintings and reaches the surface of the paintings resulting in paint loss. Therefore it is always better to avoid water or moisture in the paint surface or ground.

Clean dust or dirt

Dust or dirt unnoticed in the beginning will eventually result in spoiling the painting. Dust will accumulate in the surfaces of the paintings and it damages the entire painting very slowly. Therefore proper cleaning of dust or dirt will help in avoiding further damages in paintings.

Framing paintings

It is always better to frame paintings and preserve it from extraneous particles like dust or dirt. It also keeps the painting beautiful and neat. There will be expensive and inexpensive frames available and framing with materials like good quality wood will help in preserving the painting better.

Displaying paintings

Paintings should be hung in a better place and somewhere you always pay attention to. It is better you hang or display paintings in your drawing room or visitors since you will always give extra care to these rooms and its maintenance. So you will definitely take care of the paintings too.

Paintings are assets. Vincent Van Gogh once said that the only time he feels alive is when he is painting. This explains the hard toil, dedication and worship of the painter towards the artwork with which he makes a better expression of his formless ideas. Preserving and maintaining these art works is also an art as it shows the respect and admiration towards the creator and the timeless creation.