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Longevity
One of the fascinating things about an oil painting is that it has the potential to last centuries if created using techniques and materials which tradition (and more importantly science has confirmed) have proven to be the most durable. Note that an oil painting has that potential, but is not guaranteed. Many things can go wrong in the creation of a piece of art that would interfere with it's longevity.
Linseed oil is not the ideal binder. If one could create an ideal binder, it would be a bit more flexible than linseed oil and less apt to crack. Of all the binders we have available to us, linseed oil is the best choice. It is what most pigments are ground with.
Longevity is important in works of art for a couple of reasons. First, if we only created art for the person buying the art (i.e. not for future generations), then longevity wouldn't matter. Second, though Van Gogh only sold one of his paintings during his lifetime, his work was ahead of its time and they now hang in museums around the world. Because he did not paint with materials which interfered with the longevity of his work, we can now experience his work. We can admire his vision of the world and see the world differently.
After viewing his Starry Night, didn't you gaze heavenward and look upon the stars differently? After seeing his way of painting sunflowers, didn't you look at sunflowers in a new way? I know have on both accounts and feel that I'm a better person for having been changed by Van Gogh's painting and his vision. If art was only created for the buyer, then this experience and many like it would never be possible.
Flexible yet Tough Film
Paint films created with linseed oil do become brittle with time and may be more likely to crack with age. Linseed is not the perfect binder, but it is the best that we currently have. The pigments can affect the properties of the binder. For instance, some pigments, such as alizarin crimson are slow driers and dry much slower than other pigments. Burnt umber pigment dries very quickly. Lead white also affects properties of the paint film, but in a different way
Lead carbonate, the most common form of lead used in lead white paints today, contributes ions and creates connections within the paint film, making it stronger and more flexible. These connections not only extend to that paint film, but if the painting was created in layers, it also extends to the other surrounding layers as well. No other pigment does this to the oil binder.
These connections created by the donation of electrons by lead creates strong and flexible bonds at the molecular level. This helps to reduce the brittleness of linseed oil and creates a more stable paint film. It is as if lead white is the yin to linseed's yang.
Made to Last Centuries
Painting with lead white will not guarantee that a piece of work will last centuries, but it certainly increases the likelihood significantly. Painting on a rigid surface, such as a panel, also helps. Avoiding problematic pigments such as alizarin crimson (which is considered fugitive or fades in 100 years or less in most cases) or zinc white (which can cause delamination). To read more about the problems with zinc white, click here.
Using lead white is one of the many steps I take to try to create a painting with at least a reasonable chance of surviving centuries. When you acquire a piece of art, you are not just acquiring it for yourself, but also for future generations. Some people use it as an investment, while others use it to leave a legacy to a museum. Some people simply want their lives and their heir's lives to be enriched by owning a piece of fine art in their own home. What ever your reason for acquiring art, I know it is not just for you, but also for others, and that is why I take the steps I do towards creating beautiful and sound works of art.
References
Traditional Oil Painting: Advanced Techniques and Concepts from the Renaissance to the Present, Virgil Elliott, Echo Point Books and Media, 2019.
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