WahooArt.com | The Cracked Craqueleur Effect

As an art aficionado, you have probably visited WahooArt.com only to be impressed by the wonderful art pieces that hung on the walls, even more so if the painting had that aged crackled look. Every art lover dreams of owning that one special piece of artwork, the famous masterpiece he so admires, a painting he can display in any room of the house or in his special executive office.  

Unfortunately a real masterpiece can be very expensive, and most people cannot afford a real Da Vinci, Kadinsky or Caravaggio. Even if you could, you probably would not buy it, as it would be ill gotten.

Thankfully, you can now get a real hand painted oil reproduction of your favorite masterpiece, that is so authentic it even has that aged and cracked craquelure effect. An added benefit to these art reproductions is that you can find them at a price you can truly afford.  

These are paintings that are made by current artists but given that aged and old look. The look is attained through the use of special techniques and materials.

There are times that this effect is so authentic that even a few museums commission the reproduction so they do not have to risk hanging the authentic painting.

In art the term ¨craquelure¨ is given to the very fine pattern of cracking you see on old paintings. In authentic antique paintings this is caused by the aging of paints. Up until recently art reproductions never looked truly authentic because this craquelure could never be reproduced accurately.  

In fact, for a time the craquelure was used to determine the age of a painting and to detect an art forgery. But new chemical methods now allow us to reproduce this look on many of our art reproductions.

When natural craquelure occurs, it is because the paint drying has caused the canvas to become less flexible and shrink over the years. In most case the paint at the center is less cracked than other outside areas of the painting. The original pattern of the craquelure is dependent on the type of paints used, where it was painted and when it was painted.  

Up until recently this craquelure effect was virtually impossible to reproduce. We can now attain this effect with special baking and finishing processes, but the precise pattern attained is also dependent on the chemical characteristics of the paint used.

Our special craquelure methods offer many of our paintings that “antique look.” But its final effect will also be determined by the thickness of the paint used. In most cases we use a special shellac and gum Arabic to obtain this minute crackled effect.

This specialized aged and cracked finish makes your hand painted art reproduction look old, and have more of an authentic resemblance to the real painting. Of course, the same finish can be applied to any custom work you may commission too.  

Most paintings can be ordered with the craquelure effect, which is attained through special chemical processes and finalized finishes that in no way harm the painting itself. Quite to the contrary this finish serves a secondary purpose in that it protects the images and the oil paints.  

This craqueleur effect gives our paintings a genuine aged look, so when unknowing viewers look at it, they cannot tell the difference between the reproduction and the authentic painting.

 When we add the craqueleur effect, the painting is placed on a specially prepared canvas on which special oils and finishes can be applied without damaging the canvas or changing any of the original oil colors used.  

Although, the craqueleur effect is available for most paintings it does not work with some. It works with paintings that have smooth finishes, but not for ones that are painted either in the expressionist, impressionist or some abstract forms as these have built up paint and brush strokes.  

To order this type of painting with the Aged look of craqueleur is easy, providing this finish is available for the painting you want. If the process is available you will see a statement saying: “Craqueleur, aged and cracked look is available.” The additional price for this finish will also be located here.  

Remember, when you are looking for that perfect painting to impress a family member, co-worker, boss or to give as a wedding gift, think of an authentically handmade oil painting reproduction which comes with the craqueleur effect, making it undistinguishable from the authentic painting. With a gift like this you will no doubt radiate an impeccable taste in art and also one that is of the highest class.