Lecture 31 - Rita Udina

Rita Udina, Paper & Book Conservator

Overview

Oiled (or impregnated) paper is a kind of tracing paper that was produced by soaking the paper on a varnish in order to make it translucent.

Most commonly used oils have inherent oxidizing features, making the paper brittle and acidic after time. Fragility may be such that dissuade against any manipulation, since a regular handling might involve tears. The varnish also prevents cellulose from moisturizing normally and its conservation is therefore quite complex. A replacement of the varnish intends to stop oxidation and enable wet treatments in order to improve the paper condition as well as maintain its transparency.

About the speaker

Rita Udina is paper and book conservator based in Barcelona (Spain) at her private conservation lab, where she works for Archives, Museums, Libraries and private collectors since 1999.
She organizes international conservation courses at her studio as well as in other countries and with other institutions: Restauratoren Nederland, Institut National du Patrimoine, Paris; Universidad de Granada…
She enjoys sharing conservation in conferences, papers, and on social media, particularly with her blog (https://ritaudina.com​) which has followers from all over the world.