Works of art are constituted by materials subject to deterioration. Their surfaces interacting with the environment are the most prone to aging and decay, accordingly, soiling is a prime factor in the degradation of surfaces, chemical and mechanical degradation are often associated to soiling and lead to the disfigurement of a piece of art. Art Conservation poses a formidable and exciting challenge to Soft Matter/Colloid and Interface Scientists in two respects. First, the majority of the most performing and environmentally-safe cleaning and consolidation agents for artworks are soft matter systems. Second, the interaction of these agents with the artifact involves an exceptionally complicated range of interfacial interactions. We pioneered the synthesis and the application of several advanced materials for the cleaning of works of art, as microemulsions and chemical/physical gels. In this lecture, I will review the most meaningful achievements in the field, focusing on the application of cleaning systems with different hierarchy such as neat solvents, solutions, micelles and o/w microemulsions confined into semi-interpenetrated hydrogels and organogel. These systems mark a paradigm shift in modern conservation and have been used on classic and modern and contemporary artifacts as Michelangelo, Piero della Franesca, Picasso, Lichtenstein and Pollock. Finally, I will summarize the main perspectives that this field can disclose for Chemists and Conservators communities. REFERNCES 1. David Chelazzi, Rodorico Giorgi, Piero Baglioni (2018). Microemulsions, Micelles and Functional Gels. How Colloid and Soft Matter Preserve Works of Art. ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE. INTERNATIONAL EDITION, p. 1-7, ISSN: 1433-7851, doi: 10.1002/ange.2017107112) 2. Baglioni, Michele, Montis, Costanza, Chelazzi, David, Giorgi, Rodorico, Berti, Debora, Baglioni, Piero (2018). Polymer Film Dewetting by Water/Surfactant/Good-Solvent Mixtures: A Mechanistic Insight and Its Implications for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE. INTERNATIONAL EDITION, vol. 57, p. 1-6, ISSN: 1433-7851, doi: 10.1002/anie.201710930 3. Baglioni, M., Montis, C., Brandi, F., Guaragnone, T., Meazzini, I., Baglioni, P., Berti, D. (2017). Dewetting acrylic polymer films with water/propylene carbonate/surfactant mixtures - Implications for cultural heritage conservation. PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS, vol. 19, p. 23723-23732, ISSN: 1463-9076, doi: 10.1039/c7cp02608k 4. Raudino, Martina, Giamblanco, Nicoletta, Montis, Costanza, Berti, Debora, Marletta, Giovanni, Baglioni, Piero (2017). Probing the Cleaning of Polymeric Coatings by Nanostructured Fluids: A QCM-D Study. LANGMUIR, vol. 33, p. 5675-5684, ISSN: 0743-7463, doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b00968 5. Mastrangelo, Rosangela, Montis, Costanza, Bonelli, Nicole, Tempesti, Paolo, Baglioni, Piero (2017). Surface cleaning of artworks: Structure and dynamics of nanostructured fluids confined in polymeric hydrogel networks. PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS, vol. 19, p. 23762-23772, ISSN: 1463-9076, doi: 10.1039/c7cp02662e 6. Baglioni Piero, Carretti Emiliano, Chelazzi David (2015). Nanomaterials in art conservation. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY, vol. 10, p. 287-290, ISSN: 1748-3387, doi: 10.1038/nnano.2015.38
