An Investigation of the Grounds in Nineteenth-Century Chinese Export Oil Paintings

ABSTRACT This article summarises the findings of the first technical art historical study conducted on the oil paintings of nineteenth-century Chinese painters. Twelve paint cross-sections from export oil paintings were examined and compared in order to establish the painters’ use of materials to make the preparatory layers of paintings. The research focuses on the characteristics of the composition of the ground and structure of the build-up ground layers. Attenuated total reflection (ATR) in conjunction with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) were performed to analyse the pigments, fillers, binding media, and additives used in the preparatory layers. The findings are also considered in relation to what is known about Chinese export oil painting techniques and materials of the era.