Research study: Canvasses that carry paintings of Paja Jovanović

The canvass is a fundamental part of every painting since the canvass’s content, structure, quality and method of production determines not only the durability of the painting, but also its technological, aesthetic, and historic aspects.

What kind of canvasses did Paja Jovanović use? Was the choice of a specific type or structure of canvass made by accident, dictated by the availability of the materials at the place of current residence or artist’s intentional choice? What were the painter’s habits? Did he use special canvasses in specific periods of his artistic creation? How are canvasses used for portraits different from the ones used for historic compositions or sketches?

This study includes examinations of technical characteristics of the canvass (weave, density, surface mass of the knit fabric, the direction of weaving) and the yarn (composition, fineness, direction and number of threads), as well as the analysis of the suppliers’ advertising seals on the paintings of Paja Jovanović. The study led by MA Sofija Kajtez, Senior Conservator of the National Museum in Belgrade.

The study is planned to create a synthesis with the analytical study of grounds done by Milica Marić-Stojanović, Master of Chemistry at the National Museum in Belgrade. Identification of the composition of fibers and other characteristics of the yarn is conducted in cooperation with Mirjana Kostić, Assistant Professor at the Department of Textile Engineering at Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade.