'Hidden' Van Gogh Painting Revealed Under Patch of Grass

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, March 28, 2024


'Hidden' Van Gogh Painting Revealed Under Patch of Grass
Vincent van Gogh, Patch of Grass © Kröller-Müller Museum, NL.



DELFT.- A new technique allows pictures which were later painted over to be revealed once more. An international research team, including members from Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) and the University of Antwerp (Belgium), has successfully applied this technique for the first time to the painting entitled Patch of Grass by Vincent van Gogh. Behind this painting is a portrait of a woman.

It is well-known that Vincent van Gogh often painted over his older works. Experts estimate that about one third of his early paintings conceal other compositions under them. A new technique, based on synchrotron radiation induced X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, reveals this type of hidden painting. The techniques usually used to reveal concealed layers of paintings, such as conventional X-ray radiography, have their limitations. Together with experts from the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Hamburg and the Kröller-Müller Museum, TU Delft materials expert and art historian Dr Joris Dik, and University of Antwerp chemistry professor Koen Janssens therefore chose to adopt a different approach. The painting is subjected to an X-ray bundle from a synchrotron radiation source, and the fluorescence of the layers of paint is measured. This technique has the major advantage that the measured fluorescence is specific to each chemical element. Each type of atom (e.g. lead or mercury) and also individual paint pigments can therefore be charted individually. The benefit of using synchrotron radiation is that the upper layers of paint distort the measurements to a lesser degree. Moreover, the speed of measurement is high, which allows relatively large areas to be visualised.

Patch of Grass
This method was applied to a painting by Vincent van Gogh. The work in question, Patch of Grass, was painted by Van Gogh in Paris in 1887 and is owned by the Kröller-Müller Museum. Previous research had already discovered the vague outline of a head behind the painting. It was scanned at the synchrotron radiation source DORIS at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY in Hamburg using an intense but very small X-ray bundle. Over the course of two days, the area covering the image of a woman’s head was scanned, measuring 17.5 x 17.5 cm. The measurements enabled researchers to reconstruct the concealed painting in unparalleled detail. In particular the combination of the distribution of the elements mercury and antimony (from specific paint pigments) provided a 'colour photo' of the portrait which had been painted over.

The reconstruction enables art historians to understand the evolution of Van Gogh’s work better. The applied technique is expected to pave the way for research into many other concealed paintings.











Today's News

July 31, 2008

Irish Artist James Coleman Exhibit Opens at the Irish Museum of Modern Art

'Hidden' Van Gogh Painting Revealed Under Patch of Grass

SFMOMA Showcases New Work by Zilvinas Kempinas, Alyson Shotz and Mary Temple

Richard Hamilton: Protest Pictures at Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh

Premiere Visual Arts Event Melbourne Art Fair 2008 Opens

Centerpiece of New Collection Exhibition is Pierre Huyghe's Room-Size Film Installation

August UBS 12 x 12 Presents Howard Henry Chen First Fridays Rising Star Theme at MCA Chicago

Documentary Photography from Mexico is Center of Major Exhibition at the Tucson Museum of Art

Nassau County Museum of Art Invites to Visit the Sensuous World of Louis Comfort Tiffany

Harlem-Based Artist Fuses Afro-Centrism, Feminism and Spirituality into her Decidedly Funk Aesthetic

Heather Steliga Joins Miami Art Museum as Associate Director for Communications

Estampa 08 Moves on Towards the Concept of Contemporaneous Multiple Art

IMA Commissions Site-Specific Installation by Robert Irwin in Honor of its 125th Anniversary

National Museum of American History Will Open Nov. 21




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful