|
Allan, personally, I avoid using Damar for any purpose whatsoever and make this a major point when advising my students of prudent choices for the best archival painting methods. Damar yellows and gets more brittle as it ages.
Unlike linseed oil, in which the yellowing can be reversed upon exposure to natural light, Damar's effects are irreversible. When used as a final varnish it becomes increasingly more difficult to remove and requires extremely powerful solvents to accomplish this. Many a great painting has been ruined through ill fated attempts at it's removal when used as a varnish. I just don't see the up side.
The vast majority of old master paintings have no evidence of Damar, or any resin for that matter, in the paint layers. From the 18th Century on there was a lot of speculation going on regarding the make-up of artist's mediums, particularly regarding artists from the 17th century.
Fortunately, modern science has disproved the bulk of this conjecture, so we can make better decisions than far too many of our forbearers.
|