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Originally Posted by Allan Rahbek
. . . seems . . . the main problem with linen is . . . flexibility . . . Oil paints are, after . . . several years, rigid and . . .respond to pressure by cracking. If . . . supported by Masonite or MDF it would not . . . deform . . .
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The long and the short of it is that weight is a consideration for large panels. In fact, stretching canvas over light-weight chassis is the solution. As for materials, fiberboards (including masonite and MDF) lack the structural integrity of natural wood, and deform of their own weight. Applying canvas over such panels doesn't eliminate the problem of movment of the supports under brittle paint films. New-fangled panels such as cellular resin-core aluminum laminates are quite durable, light and rigid, but the problem of adhering the canvas remains, with the attendant criticism that these materials and processes have not stood the test of time as traditional materials and methods have.
The hand-wringing over these details is certainly a major problem for those artists painting today whose work is assured of being timelessly important and treasured in the next century and beyond. Perhaps they should work in buon fresco? Oh! what if the plaster cracks, or the walls behind it crumble? Heavens! The agonies of worry!