• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.85-95
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• 2017

Oil paints are mixtures of pigments, drying oils and additives. In the past, oil paints were mainly composed of inorganic pigments. However, recently color matching techniques vary depending on manufacturers due to the development of various kinds of synthetic pigments. Despite this, most studies of oil paints in South Korea are about durability tests, and there is no comparative study on the characteristics of commercial oil paint components. This study aims to compare the properties of four different kinds of oil paints from four manufacturers, which are the most popularity used. Extender pigments in oil paint from C brand differed from that of other manufacturers and various kinds of coloring pigments were differently used depending on the oil paints and the manufacturers. The mixing ratios and the pigment types differed even for oil paints having the same product name. It is assumed that these differences could affect the colors. The result of this study is expected to contribute to the analysis of artworks through the accumulation of scientific data of oil paints. In addition, it can be utilized as a scientific basis for art history studies, including the characteristics of artists or production year.