A condition reports is a health sheet of artworks that facilitates their follow-up. It is a documentation of the material state of the artwork which notes its level of alteration (type of damage, its nature, its location and its extent) and issues a prognosis concerning its future evolution in the case where no conservation-restoration intervention would be made. It also anticipates the proposal of restoration treatments to be carried out.
On this report, we find several essential information:
- The identification sheet of the work: title, author, date, dimension, etc.
- The constituent materials: canvas or panel, oil or tempera, etc.
- The state of alteration of the support
- The state of alteration of the paint layer
In some cases, the whole is accompanied by a cartography of the alterations (captioned diagram which locates the degradations on the work).
Reports are written for different reasons: when works arrive at the workshop (before restoration), for exhibitions (departure and return), for estimates, for convoying, in case of disaster.
A condition report is a central element in the decision-making process concerning a work and its support before acquiring it, exhibiting it or lending it.