Abstract
The topic of museum illumination and conservation has been richly developed in recent years to take steps toward a zero-energy building concept. Most artworks preserved in museums’ expositions were designed for specifically defined light contexts, wherein daylight and seasonal changes were part of the artistic effect, an issue which has received little scholarly attention. From this premise, this paper aims to prove that defining the original illuminative context of artworks is required for a sustainable conservation, perception, and ultimate interpretation. To do this, a selection of seventeenth and eighteenth century churches and palaces from Europe, the Americas, and Asia will be presented using modern conservation frameworks for artworks. The results demonstrate that both aspects, chosen materials and light exposure, were connected, allowing the spaces to be effective without consuming too much electric lighting. This leads to a discussion about if museum displays should incorporate this context, if it is a more sustainable solution, and if it presents the artworks more accurately to visitors, even as other problems may arise.
Highlights
Museums have received much attention regarding their sustainability in recent years, providing a broad perspective on the topic
The deterioration of artworks through light exposure likewise has received scholarly attention starting in the second half of the twentieth century [3], being examined regularly thereafter [4,5,6,7,8]
Up to 100 lx, are acceptable for oil or tempera paintings, while metal can tolerate 300 lx [9]. While this is accepted by the profession, other factors have been recently incorporated into the discussion, such as the Correlated Colour Temperature, “Correlated colour temperature (CCT) of the accent lighting on the paintings”, the background colour, and the hue of the artwork [17]
Summary
Museums have received much attention regarding their sustainability in recent years, providing a broad perspective on the topic. The deterioration of artworks through light exposure likewise has received scholarly attention starting in the second half of the twentieth century [3], being examined regularly thereafter [4,5,6,7,8] In this sense, the CIE standard 157:2004 “Control of Damage to Museum Objects by Optical Radiation” articulates the most recent recommendations. Efficiency, and perceptive quality, many proposals have been carried out in recent years based on the possibilities of new equipment [11] and visitors’ preferences, a topic only very recently but widely examined [12,13,14,15,16,17,18] Even in this case, lighting functions decoratively, depending on the curators’ tastes and contemporary trends
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