Do You Think Your Art Has Faded? Maybe not
What used to be a gorgeous kimono, was now only a suggestion of what it used to be before its colors were blasted to smithereens by the light from the window.
Fading of art is something about which I get a lot of questions. Some of the types of items that I notice fade the fastest and of which there is the biggest change of color are: ▪
Many Asian cultural items like dyes in textiles
▪
Many Asian wood block prints/watercolors
▪
Watercolors in general, from any country, any time period
▪
Many “oriental” or middle eastern rugs
While oil paintings, in general, have minimal fading, there are some pigments that are inherently sensitive. Or sometimes, artists mixed techniques. For instance, the Golden Age English portrait painters at the turn of the 18th century often did lace and glazing on their oil paintings with tempera and watercolor (a nightmare for art conservators). Usually, on oil paintings, a final glazing layer may be more inclined to fade than thicker layers of color.