Journal

How to Hang and Care for an Oil Painting: A Practical Guide

12 November 2026·4 min read·Studio Cologne

Deutsche Version: Ölgemälde aufhängen, reinigen und pflegen: der praktische Ratgeber

An oil painting is robust. Paintings hundreds of years old hang in museums today. What harms a painting at home is rarely time: it is direct sun, heat, damp walls, the wrong cleaning trick or a bump during a move. This guide covers the few things that matter, from the studio of Cologne painter Lena Krashevka.

Hanging: height and hooks

Height. Hang the centre of the painting at about 145 to 155 cm from the floor, roughly eye level. Above a sofa or sideboard, leave 15 to 25 cm between the furniture and the bottom of the painting. More on sizes and walls in the size guide.

Hooks. Use picture hooks or screws rated for more than the weight of the painting:

Two points instead of one for anything wider than about 60 cm. The painting stays level and the weight is shared.
Plasterboard: special plasterboard anchors or picture hooks with fine pins, not a plain nail.
Concrete or brick: drill and use a wall plug with a screw.
No drilling? A picture rail with steel cables is the best option for rented flats and for changing art. Adhesive strips are only for small, light works, not for an original you care about.

Look at the back first. A painting may have a wire, two hanging plates, or nothing at all, in which case the top bar of the wooden stretcher sits on the hooks. Small rubber bumpers on the lower corners keep the painting straight and let air circulate behind it.

Reflection #49 by Lena Krashevka hanging on a wall in a black floater frame, seen from the side — Reflection #49 in a floater frame: the canvas sits inside the frame with a small gap around it.

Where a painting should not hang

In direct sunlight. UV light fades pigments over the years, and the sun heats the canvas. Bright daylight is fine, a sunbeam across the painting every afternoon is not.
Above a radiator or fireplace. Heat and dry air make canvas and paint move; a fireplace also leaves soot.
In bathrooms or right next to the cooker. Steam, humidity and grease settle on the surface.
On a cold, damp outside wall. Especially in old buildings. If you have to, use bumpers so air can move behind the painting.

A steady indoor climate is ideal: around 18 to 24 °C and 40 to 60 percent humidity, which is what most living rooms have anyway. For lighting, LED lamps are best, because they give off almost no UV and little heat. Warm white (2,700 to 3,000 K) suits most paintings.

How to clean an oil painting

Dust every few months with a soft, dry brush, for example a wide make-up brush or a soft paint brush, working gently from top to bottom. That is all most paintings ever need.

Never:

water, household cleaners, glass cleaner or wet wipes;
feather dusters or cloths that can catch on raised paint;
the internet tricks with bread, onion, potato or saliva. They can leave residue, moisture and sugar on the surface, and some can damage the paint or varnish layer for good;
touching the paint with bare fingers: the oil and salt on skin leave marks.

Yellowed varnish, nicotine film, soot, mould or a dent in the canvas are jobs for a paintings conservator (restorer). A professional cleaning costs less than repairing a damaged surface.

Close-up of painted water drops over an eye, detail of Reflection #49 by Lena Krashevka — Detail of Reflection #49. Raised paint like this is why a soft brush is better than a cloth.

A new painting: give it air

Oil paint feels dry within days, but it keeps curing for months. With a recently painted work, do not press anything against the surface, do not wrap it tightly in plastic for long, and keep it upright with air around it.

Storing a painting

Store paintings upright, never flat in a stack, and never roll a painting on a stretcher.
Not in the attic, the basement or the garage: temperature and humidity change too much there.
Cover the front with acid-free paper or a cotton cloth. Plastic film traps moisture if left for a long time.
Protect the corners with cardboard, and lean the painting face to face or back to back with others.

The little wooden wedges on the back

Many paintings have small wooden wedges in the corners of the stretcher, like the ones on the back of Reflection #49 below. They are there to re-tension the canvas: if it becomes slightly slack over the years, tapping the wedges a little deeper spreads the frame and tightens the canvas. Do it gently and evenly, or let a framer or restorer do it. If a wedge falls out, keep it and put it back.

Back of Reflection #49 by Lena Krashevka with wooden wedges in the corners of the stretcher — The back of Reflection #49: wedges in the corners, the canvas held in a floater frame, and Lena’s handwritten name, title, year and signature.

Moving and transport

Carry a painting with both hands on the frame, never by the top edge or by pressing on the canvas. For a move, cover the front with glassine or acid-free paper first and only then wrap it in bubble wrap: bubble wrap directly on the paint can leave its pattern in the surface. Lena knows a lot about bubble wrap: she paints it in her Isolation series.

Questions about your painting?

If you own a painting by Lena and are unsure about hanging, cleaning or a mark on the surface, write to her with a photo. More reading: what an original oil painting costs and all available works.