Cradling (paintings)

Example of a cradled panel, mounted on the back of a painting by Aert van der Neer

Example of an oak panel in its original state, the back of a Jan Davidsz. de Heem still life.

Cradling is a process used in the restoration and preservation of paintings on wooden panel. It consists in mounting a grid of wooden slats to the back of a painting to create a reinforcement and preserve the flat paint surface.

Slats in either the horizontal or vertical direction are permanently fixed to the back of the panel, whilst the secondary perpendicular slats remain loose, held solely in place by the upper row. This allows for a degree of movement in the panel, which may warp, subject to changing levels of dampness and atmospheric pressure.

This procedure can often be found on Old Master paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries, when painting on wood and particularly oak panel was widely practiced.

There are numerous reasons for choosing to cradle a panel. This can be done to piece back together a painting which has split and cracked over time. It can also be done to consolidate, preserve or straighten back a panel which may have warped.

There are detrimental factors to consider before cradling a painting. It is an interventive procedure which may involve sanding the back of the panel in order to create a flat surface to affix the cradling. It is a non reversible procedure which alters the condition and state of a work of art, which triggers ethical issues.

With many cradled paintings the sliding cradle members will get stuck due to the movement of the panel. This leads to much tension and cracks in the panel and permanent deformation. Applying a cradle to the back of a panel painting almost always leads to more severe structural problems depending on the climate in which the painting is kept and the way the planks of the panel were saw. Nowadays, in the modern world of conservation cradling a painting has been outdated and subject to criticism.

Duke University and The University of Brussels have developed an art conservation tool that uses X-rays and algorithms to analyze the paintings. To better image the art piece, for it is of wood sections (cradles) the machine called Platypus or the computer math program sorts out the wood and finely visualizes the original art.^[1]

References

↑ Kowalski, Emily (2015-09-08). "Software Helps Art Conservators Clear the Cradling". Duke University Pratt School of Engineering. Retrieved 2017-04-15.

Cultural heritage and historic preservation
Topics and issues	Agents of deterioration Archival processing Archaeological science Archaeology Archive Bioarchaeology Calendar (archives) Conservation and restoration of cultural property Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property Conservation and restoration of movable cultural property Conservation science (cultural property) Collecting Collection (museum) Collection catalog Collections maintenance Collections management Collections management system Cultural heritage Cultural heritage management Cultural property Cultural property documentation Cultural property exhibition Cultural property imaging Cultural property storage Cultural resources management Database preservation Deaccessioning (museum) Digital library Digital photograph restoration Digital preservation Disaster preparedness (cultural property) Film preservation Finding aid Fonds Found in collection Heritage asset Heritage science Inherent vice Intangible cultural heritage Integrated pest management (cultural property) Inventory (library and archive) Inventory (museum) Media preservation Midden Mold control and prevention (library and archive) Museum Optical media preservation Preservation (library and archive) Preservation metadata Preservation survey Provenance Repatriation Ruins Sustainable preservation Treasure Web archiving
Roles and expertise	Archivist Art dealer Art handler Auctioneer Collection manager Conservator-restorer Conservation scientist Conservation technician Curator Exhibition designer Mount maker Objects conservator Paintings conservator Photograph conservator Preservationist Registrar (cultural property) Textile conservator
Methods and techniques	Aging (artwork) Anastylosis Arrested decay Cradling (paintings) Cultural property radiography Detachment of wall paintings Desmet method Display case Digital repository audit method based on risk assessment Historic paint analysis Inpainting Kintsugi Leafcasting Lining of paintings Mass deacidification Overpainting Paleo-inspiration Paper splitting Reconstruction (architecture) Rissverklebung Textile stabilization Transfer of panel paintings UVC-based preservation VisualAudio
Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property by item type	Archaeological sites Frescos Heritage railways Historic gardens Outdoor artworks Outdoor bronze objects Outdoor murals
Conservation and restoration of movable cultural property by item type	Aircraft Ancient Greek pottery Bone, horn, and antler objects Books, manuscripts, documents and ephemera Ceramic objects Clocks Copper-based objects Feathers Film Flags and banners Fur objects Glass objects Herbaria Human remains Illuminated manuscripts Insect specimens Iron and steel objects Ivory objects Judaica Lacquerware Leather objects Lighthouses Metals Musical instruments Neon objects New media art Paintings Painting frames Panel paintings Papyrus Parchment Performance art Photographs Photographic plates Plastic objects Rail vehicles Road vehicles Shipwreck artifacts Silver objects South Asian household shrines Stained glass Taxidermy Textiles Tibetan thangkas Time-based media art Totem poles Vinyl discs Woodblock prints Wooden artifacts Wooden furniture
Intangible cultural heritage preservation	Ancient music Applied folklore Dance notation Early music Endangered language Ethnochoreology Ethnomusicology Ethnopoetics Family folklore Folklore Folk art Folk dance Folk etymology Folk instrument Folk medicine Folk music Folk process Folk play Foodways Folklore studies Heritage language Heritage language learning Indigenous intellectual property Indigenous culture Indigenous language Language death Language preservation Language revitalization Living history Oral history preservation Preservation of meaning Primitive music Tradition preservation Traditional knowledge
Notable projects	Conservation issues of Pompeii and Herculaneum Conservation-restoration of Ecce Homo by Elías García Martínez Conservation-restoration of The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins Conservation-restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper Pompeian frescoes Conservation-restoration of the Shroud of Turin Conservation-restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes Conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty Conservation-restoration of the H.L. Hunley Conservation response to flood of Arno, Florence Modern and Contemporary Art Research Initiative Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies

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