How different domestic environments affect our works of art
Today we would like to comment on the deterioration that a work of art made of sensitive materials can suffer in a fairly short period of time if we are careless.
Having a work of art displayed in a living room, office, dining room or other space of common use for people can give the impression that it is in a pleasant and beneficial environment for its proper conservation.
However, for certain objects this idea is far from reality.
Spaces designed and equipped for human comfort maintain conditions and parameters that give us comfort, particularly when we use them.
In order to save energy and optimise resources, many air-conditioning systems are programmed or even detect presence to activate the regulation of temperature, light levels and the more sophisticated ones, ambient humidity. For this reason, fluctuations between different times of day, weekends or holidays can be very marked.
But in addition to the fluctuations, something that is sometimes surprising is that the environmental conditions that are suitable for people are not always those that are recommended for the proper conservation of a work of art.
Cold people, who like warm temperatures in winter, put at risk the stability of delicate materials that in a few hours go from cold to warm and then back to cold again when they leave home, continuously and periodically. If in summer, you can’t stand the heat when you return home, a sudden cooling can end up collapsing the structure of the materials that contract and expand as they stay in our same spaces for years and years.
Of course, we recommend that your artwork is always protected from direct sunlight, humidity (in kitchens or bathrooms) and dust particles that are largely spores, grease or abrasive grit.
If you have to protect the economic investment you have made in a work of art, it would be wise to consider a microclimatic framing such as the one we can offer you at SIT, so that you can forget about all these factors and keep your work in a perfect state of conservation.
