What Should You Protect a Work of Art From?

People who acquire works of art usually know where they will put them - hang them on a wall, or keep them in storage.

We'll offer some purely practical advice on where it's best to hang a painting so that it is affected as little as possible by external factors and doesn't age or fade prematurely.

There are a few things worth paying attention to:

1. The usual place for a painting is on the wall. Some spots, however, are not well suited if you want to preserve a work of art for many years. The most important factors are humidity and direct sunlight - both should be avoided. Of course, you should also make sure to use a suitable hook or a sturdy nail in the wall, so the painting doesn't physically fall.

2. Heat and dirt - if a painting is constantly exposed to heat, its paint dries out over time and the aging process speeds up. Rising heat also carries with it a good deal of dust, which sticks to the painting. In some cases heat can soften the surface of the painting (for example, if it is varnished), making it especially prone to attracting dust. If a work of art is valuable, it is not advisable to hang it above a fireplace, especially if it is not varnished, since dust and heat will darken it over time.

3. Water - although it affects some works of art less, such as oil paintings, and others more, such as watercolors, in the long run water does no work of art any good. Moisture weakens the bond between the paint layer and the canvas, and over time the paint simply begins to flake off, not to mention the appearance of mold, which can also affect the color palette of the artwork.

4. Air humidity - very high or low humidity, as well as very sudden changes in it, are not particularly good for paintings. Low humidity reduces chemical changes in the paint, but the paint becomes brittle and sensitive to mechanical damage. Higher humidity reduces brittleness, but over time it causes traces of biological organisms to appear on paintings - black spots that are often seen on canvases, especially if they were painted with acrylics. Rapid changes in humidity are especially bad for paintings stretched on old wooden frames - they already tend to warp along with the canvas.

5. Light - rule number one is that direct sunlight should be avoided. Ultraviolet light tends to fade a work of art - depending on the technique used, this can take decades, but sometimes even a month in the sun can be enough for a painting to fade or for its color balance to be ruined.