Researchers led by Anne Michelin from the Sorbonne’s Research Center for Conservation examined the letters using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. They found that the consistent copper-to-iron ratio between the inks in some of the original letters could be used to decipher the redacted text, which included words like “adore” and “madly.”
by Emily Harwitz | October 09, 2021
A new investigation by researchers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art reveals that the famous image once depicted something very different: the Lavoisiers as tax collectors, not scientists. Museum workers had a chance to take a closer look at the painting when they took it down for some repairs in March 2019. In the course of that work, one conservator noticed red paint peeking through cracks near Marie-Anne’s head and asked museum scientists to check it out. Metropolitan Museum of Art chemist Silvia A. Centeno used infrared reflectography and X-ray fluorescence mapping to peer beneath the painting’s surface, revealing layers of paint that artist Jacques-Louis David had painted and then covered up (Heritage Sci. 2021, DOI: 10.1186/s40494-021-00551-y).
by Sam Lemonick | September 26, 2021
“It’s a very kind of ancient ability, and it likely derived from attention to contours,” Smith says, explaining that the ability to perceive illusions is conserved in animals like fish and mammals and that the Kanizsa square emerges in our minds because of a difference in light intensity between the corners and the open space.
by Megha Satyanarayana | June 13, 2021
Ali of the National Wildlife Federation estimates that 3% or fewer of resources circulating in environmental conservation and climate organizations make it to fenceline communities. “It’s been an evolutionary process,” he says. “Something has to change.” The process has taken a leap forward over the past year, according to leaders on both sides, thanks to a 2018 initiative called the Equitable and Just National Climate Platform that was launched with four national organizations and a dozen environmental-justice groups.
by Rick Mullin, with data analysis by Cheryl Hogue | August 24, 2020
However, there was evidence of modern fungi and bacteria, an important detail for conservators hoping to stop degradation. Demarchi plans to use the EVA technique to keep hunting for clues in other mummies, such as protein-based embalming substances that might illuminate ancient burial practices. Legend tells of a curse on those who disturb mummies, but Newscripts is betting she’s safe given that the technique is noninvasive.
by Alexandra A. Taylor | June 28, 2020
Including the solvent extraction step is important even with samples from old paintings because a painting may have undergone undocumented conservation treatment. Materials added during a restoration could have different carbon-14 contents, Hendriks says. “Systematically using solvents removes any restoration material.”
by Benjamin Plackett, special to C&EN | June 03, 2020
But the version of this masterpiece Munch painted around 1910 now has elicited screams from art conservators, who have noted that spots on the painting that were once a vibrant yellow have turned off-white and started to flake in places. This has kept the painting largely out of the public eye in an effort to prevent further degradation.
by Bethany Halford | May 15, 2020