Double-sided painting

{{Short description|Canvas with paintings on both sides}}

File:David et Goliath - Daniele da Volterra - Musée du Louvre Peintures INV 566 - recto.jpg side of Daniele da Volterra's David and Goliath.]]

File:David et Goliath - Daniele da Volterra - Musée du Louvre Peintures INV 566 - verso.jpg side of Daniele da Volterra's David and Goliath.]]

A double-sided painting is a canvas which has a painting on either side. Historically, artists would often paint on both sides out of need of material.{{cn|date=February 2024}} The subject matter of the two paintings was sometimes, although not normally, related.

Restoring and displaying double-sided paintings can pose additional challenges for museums and galleries. When repairing canvases, restorers must ensure that their restoration efforts do not damage the image on either side. They must also use stretcher bars that do not obscure either side of the image, and they cannot use crossbars to help keep tension.{{cite book |last1=Iurovetskaia |first1=Elena |last2=Yurovetskaya |first2=Anastasia |last3=Churakova |first3=Maria |last4=Romanov |first4=Artyom |title=Conserving Canvas |date=2023 |publisher=Getty Publications |isbn=978-1-60606-824-3 |pages=424–427 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.6142260.61 |access-date=3 February 2024 |chapter=The Challenges of Treating and Displaying Two-Sided Oil Paintings}}