Dear colleagues,

According to the canvas entry on Grove Art Online, the term canvas means,

"Type of strong, substantial cloth originally made of hemp (Cannabis
sativa, from which it takes its name) but more likely to be of a
coarse flax or tightly woven linen; similar textiles of cotton or jute
are also called canvas. A cloth type rather than a specific cloth,
with varied practical applications, canvas is important as a material
used for making painting supports. 'Canvas' has therefore come to mean
not only the raw cloth but also a piece of fabric mounted on a
stretching frame and prepared for use in painting or a finished
painting, usually in oils, painted on a textile support."

Perhaps the choice between using "oil on canvas" and "oil on linen
canvas" depends on who your intended audience is and the type of
project you are involved with.

Generally, many art museums, for the benefit of diverse museum
audiences, use the general designation, "oil on canvas," in text
captions because the word, "canvas," among its many meanings, does
connote a fabric mounted on a stretching frame and prepared for use in
painting. In scholarly monographs and catalogues raisonnés, authors
and editors also employ the general term, "oil on canvas," but would
explain in detail somewhere in the publication, for example in a
section devoted to working techniques, the exact nature and type of
painting support used.

If you are producing a conservatorial report, designating the correct
medium as precisely as possible is necessary because the type of
painting support impacts conservatorial decisions. For other projects,
such as art appraisal reports, accurate designation of medium is vital
for proper valuation.

I hope this helps,

Kei Yee Chan

[log in to unmask]
Freelance Editor
Grove Art Online/Grove Dictionaries of Art
Oxford University Press

On Sun, May 18, 2008 at 1:18 PM,  <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Colleagues:  We're working on a projet where all the paintings in a
> collection are listed as "oil on canvas".  However, the majority of the
> works are actually oil on linen, heavily impastoed.  Should the
> designation be, then, oil on linen, or is oil on canvas generally used?
> This should be easy for us to answer, but we can't!  Responses
> appreciated.  Best, Geri
>
> Geri Thomas, President
> Thomas & Associates, Inc.
> www.artstaffing.com
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>
>

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).