Neodymium Magnets as a Minimal Intervention Alternative to Traditional Treatments for Fixing Paint on Contemporary Paintings

ABSTRACT Guided by the criterion of minimum intervention, this article proposes an alternative method to traditional procedures for the fixation of color and preparation layers in contemporary two-dimensional paintings based on the use of neodymium magnets. The first part describes the materials, experiments, and tests carried out on models with different types of deterioration to test the behavior of the magnets. The obtained data demonstrates specific solutions for the restoration of three contemporary two-dimensional works. The proposed method is simple to use, can be combined with other traditional methods, allows to reduce the manipulation of the object during the treatment, and proves to be minimally invasive and respectful of the original.