Why your Botticelli could be a BioHazard
by Professor Emeritus Mustafa Tibreq
Whether you like your eggs poached, soft boiled, or sunny side up, you cannot fail to remember the wave of hysteria that happened in Britain during the 1980s, following government minister Edwina Currie's pronouncements that all eggs in Britain contained the potentially deadly salmonella bacterium.
More recently (mid-June 2006) similar concerns were raised about eggs imported into the UK from Spain.
The real danger however, lies in a totally different and some would say unlikely direction...
Carry on: Don't lose your tempera
The technique of egg tempera painting is an old one. At one time, all artists would have used egg yolk as a binder for their pigments. But egg tempera has been used much less since the Late Middle Ages, when proper oil paints were first invented.
A popular Internet encyclopaedia explains a little more about tempera:
Tempera paint dries rapidly. [...] The colors, which are painted over each other, resemble a pastel when unvarnished, or the deeper colors when varnished.
Tempera is normally applied in thin semi-opaque or transparent layers. When dry, it produces a smooth matte finish. Because it cannot be applied in thick layers as oil paints can, tempera paintings rarely have the deep color saturation that oil paintings can achieve.
True tempera paintings are quite permanent and examples from the first centuries AD still exist.
source: Wikipedia
But what those early artists could never have known, is that they were leaving a deadly legacy to future generations. A lethal inheritance that would not be found until hundreds of years later.
Nasties
Even before the egg scare of the Nineteen-Eighties, much was known about the existence and behaviour of pathogenic bacteria. Salmonella, which we have all heard of, is not the only potentially deadly bug to infect food. Other nasties include Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, and Clostridium botulinum. These three are particularly dangerous because they can form spores. This effectively means that they can lie in wait for hundreds of years, only to re-emerge when conditions are more favorable, and they can resume breeding.
Salmonella bacteria thrive at temperatures between 40 degrees and 140 degrees. The bacteria can survive at refrigerator or freezer temperatures, and, although the bacteria does not continue to grow at these temperatures, it will grow again once warmed to room temperature.
source: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/
Epidemic
What is only now becoming apparent is that the egg tempera that has been used to create thousands of paintings throughout history, may still be a threat to human health. It is well known that pathogenic bacteria and food-borne viruses can survive for hundreds of years. What has not been realised up until recently, is that the warm, dry, air-conditioned museums and art galleries in many of the world's major cities, could be providing the ideal breeding ground that could lead to an unstoppable epidemic of illness across the globe.
Those who should have been most at risk in the past were art restorers. Their close contact with the paintings of the Old Masters means that they were in the front line of the battle against bacteria. However, because art restorers take so many other precautions simply to avoid damaging the pictures in their care, they have as a by-product of their approach to their work, not suffered the problems that might otherwise have befallen them.
Since the Second World War, and especially during the past thirty years, millions more people have found an interest in art. Galleries and auction houses have been made more accessible to the general public in many countries. Where once art was the preserve of a moneyed elite, nowadays culture is available to all. Ironically, it is the ordinary man in the street who is most at risk from the reactivated pathogens on tempera art.
Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring.
How can I protect myself from the dangers of egg tempera paintings?
- Look your pictures up in a reputable catalogue. Find out if you really have a tempera painting in your possession.
- Wash your hands thoroughly when handling any tempera paintings.
- Always wear an anti-dust mask, covering your nose and mouth, when visiting an art gallery.
- Spray your paintings with an antibacterial agent. You may wish to consult an art expert before taking this step.
- If you are still worried about the risks, you could opt to sell your paintings. But it may be prudent to provide some form of safety certificate to the buyer, as a precaution against liability, should your painting be found to be hazardous at some future date.
EGG TEMPERA: HANDLE WITH CARE
Egg tempera has been used by artists for hundreds of years. Left: Birth of Venus (detail), by Botticelli. Right: Christina's World (1948), by Andrew Wyeth.
About the author: Mustafa Tibreq is a self-taught expert on all aspects of art, and is highly respected within his chosen field.
