Conservation of the painting “Genre scene in the countryside” by Włodzimierz Tetmajer (1861–1923) from the Silesian Museum in Katowice: application of nanocomposite organogel as novel system and emulsion removal

This study presents the first-ever application of a pNIPA-LAP nanocomposite organogel wax-resin removal system for the removal of emulsion mass during the conservation of a painting. The object of study – a 19th-century work by Włodzimierz Tetmajer from the Silesian Museum in Katowice, under conservation at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków – was in a severely deteriorated condition, exhibiting extensive cupping of the paint layer and a thin emulsion mass of wax–resin and animal glue on the reverse of the canvas. Traditional conservation methods were deemed unsuitable due to the risk of further paint loss. The use of the pNIPA-LAP organogel, developed for controlled and minimally invasive cleaning, minimized the need for mechanical intervention on the reverse of the canvas. This article evaluates the performance of the pNIPA-LAP nanocomposite organogel and compares its effectiveness with that of two alternative materials traditionally used for wax–resin removal. The successful application of the organogel allowed the conservation of the painting to proceed to subsequent crucial stages. The comprehensive treatment included the removal of overpainting, consolidation of detached paint layers, extraction of wax and emulsion residues from the canvas, tear repair, relaxation of distortions, lining, filling of losses, and compositional reintegration – procedures consistent with the established conservation methodologies of the Faculty of Conservation and Restoration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow.