World-famous works of art unravelled with the help of science

24 January 2012

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research is bringing scientists, museums and curators from throughout the world together to do research into the conservation and restoration of works of art. The Science4Arts programme has awarded funding to six projects. Works such as paintings by Van Gogh and Rembrandt, ancient Mexican pictographic stories and modern photographic art will be examined in greater detail. A total of 3.6 million euros has been made available for the research. 

The programme Science4Arts is a joint initiative of NWO’s Division for the Humanities and the Divisions for Chemical and Physical Sciences. The research programme focuses on studies of the physical and chemical changes in works of art, the significance and content of the artistic object concerned, and the context of the work of art. Within each of the projects scientists from various disciplines work together with experts from the world of art. 

NWO's partners in this programme include the American National Science Foundation (NSF) and the French IPANEMA, the synchrotron facility for old objects. NWO has made 3.6 million euros available for the projects (of which 600,000 euros for the collaboration with the US). One or more co-funding museums are involved in each project.

Projects

Prof. J. (Joris) Dik, Delft University of Technology/ Dr P. (Petria) Noble, Mauritshuis
New light on Rembrandt: looking though the layers of paint 
Hidden under the layers of paint of masterpieces is a sea of information: drawings, first attempts, altered compositions and sometimes even completely different paintings. Furthermore, the uppermost layers can exhibit traces of wear and discolouration. Joris Dik has developed new methods to look through the layers of masterpieces, especially the later works of Rembrandt van Rijn, using facilities such as the particle accelerator Synchrotron Soleil. Unlike the current techniques, the new method that forms the focus of this project must make it possible to recognise all of the materials used and to see how these have been deployed. That will enable us to see how a painting has changed over the course of centuries and why.
Financial contribution from: NSF, Mauritshuis
Parties involved: Delft University of Technology, Mauritshuis, University of Antwerp, National Gallery of Art (Washington), Wallraf-Richartz Museum (Cologne), Synchrotron Soleil, Netherlands Institute for Art History, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency

Prof. P.D. (Piet) Iedema, University of Amsterdam / Dr A. (Annelies) van Loon, Mauritshuis
Changing paint and the consequences for the conservation, presentation and storage from Van Eyck to Mondrian 
The PAinT project unravels why paintings discolour, crack or suffer in some other way from the passage of time. Which chemical processes cause the changes in oil paintings? And how can restorers ensure that paintings do not deteriorate any further? This project takes a look at various Dutch and Flemish paintings, from Van Eyck, Vermeer and Van Gogh through to Mondrian. The team will not expose the masterpieces to experiments but will instead make use of paint reconstructions. With the help of computer models they can subsequently investigate how the paint can behave under various conditions.
Financial contribution from: Mauritshuis, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Frans Hals Museum, Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum
Parties involved: University of Amsterdam, Mauritshuis, Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, Utrecht University, ESRF (Grenoble), IPANEMA Soleil, Diamond Synchroton Source (Oxford), Institute of Surface Chemistry (Stockholm), Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Frans Hals Museum, Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Jaap Enterprise, Courtauld Institute London, Getty Conservation Institute Los Angeles, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University Chicago, Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, New University of Lisbon 

Prof. M.E.R.G.N. (Maarten) Jansen, Leiden University / Prof. A. (Andreas) Schmidt-Ott, Delft University of Technology
Shared past: Mexican pictograms
A sixteenth century Mexican pictographic story made by the Central American people the Mixtec has proved to be a mystery to researchers. The pictographic story describes the ruling dynasties and the myths surrounding their feast days during the six centuries before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors. The manuscript is one of the few remaining pictographic stories – the rest were destroyed by the conquerors – but contains another surprise: underneath the current drawings other even older drawings have been discovered. However, to date nobody has managed to expose the underlying layers without damaging the current work. This study aims to make that possible.
Financial contribution from: Dutch National Museum of Ethnology
Parties involved: Delft University of Technology, Bodleian Library, Dutch National Museum of Ethnology, Registro Arqueologico, INHA (Mexico), MOLAB, The National University Mexico, Harvard University

Prof. E.O. (Eric) Postma, Tilburg University
REVIGO: REassessing VIncent van GOgh
Vincent van Gogh's paintings have become highly discoloured over the years. Yet how were they originally intended to be? We can portray that with the help of digital reconstruction techniques based on detailed studies of the colours used. And do we actually like Van Gogh’s works in the original colours?
Financial contribution from: Van Gogh Museum, Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency
Parties involved: Tilburg University, Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency, Van Gogh Museum, Delft University of Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology (New York)

Dr H.L. (Henk) Schellen, Eindhoven University of Technology / Mr P.H.J.C. (Paul) van Duin, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
The ideal sustainable climate for wooden panels
Materials such as textiles, paper and wood can suffer terribly under damp conditions. They can shrink, flake or warp. Monitoring the internal climate of exhibition spaces is therefore vitally important. However, meticulously managing the humidity in a room costs a lot of energy and money. Based on research into wooden panels, Henk Schellen and his team investigate whether the current strict requirements are really necessary and whether better guidelines can be drafted.
Financial contribution from: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Parties involved: Eindhoven University of Technology, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency, Amerongen Castle, Vienna University of Technology, Technical University Denmark, National Gallery Copenhagen, Polish Academy of Sciences, KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), UCL Centre for Sustainable Heritage (London), Metropolitan Museum NYC, Museum Conservation Institute (Smithsonian Institution Washington)

Prof. C.J.M. (Kitty) Zijlmans, Leiden University / T.H.C. Visser, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Photos for the future
How can photos and photographic works of art in which a variety of techniques have been used be stored well? Can their discolouration be prevented? We know a lot about the storage and conservation of paintings yet next to nothing about how to take care of the photo art of the past decades. With this research a team of chemists, curators and art historians hope to realise a change in this situation before it is too late. For example, they will investigate how the materials used in a work of art influence each other.
Financial contribution from: Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Van Abbe Museum, Kröller Müller Museum, Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency
Parties involved: Leiden University, Debye Institute Utrecht University, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Foto Restauratie Atelier VOF Amsterdam, MOMA San Francisco, Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg, Van Abbe Museum Eindhoven, Eyes on Media Amsterdam, Museum Ludwig Cologne, Getty Museum Los Angeles, TNO Delft, Foundation for the Conservation of Contemporary Art, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Denmark), Kröller Müller Museum Otterlo, Tate Museum London, Netherlands Photo Museum, Eye Film Institute Amsterdam, Museum Folkwang (Essen), Museum Boijmans van Beuningen (Rotterdam), Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency, Rochester Institute of Technology (New York), De Verbeelding Purmerend)

About NWO
The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) is the national research council in the Netherlands and has a budget of more than 500 million euros per year. NWO promotes quality and innovation in science by selecting and funding the best research. It manages research institutes of national and international importance, contributes to strategic programming of scientific research and brings science and society closer together. Research proposals are reviewed and selected by researchers of international repute. More than 5000 scientists can carry out research thanks to funding from NWO.

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last modified on 10 February 2012