The role of smalt in complex pigment mixtures in Rembrandt’s Homer 1663: combining MA-XRF imaging, microanalysis, paint reconstructions and OCT

As part of the NWO Science4Arts REVISRembrandt project (2012–2018), novel chemical imaging techniques were developed and applied to the study of Rembrandt’s late experimental painting technique (1651–1669). One of the unique features in his late paintings is his abundant use of smalt: a blue cobalt glass pigment that he often combined with...

Examination of historical paintings by state-of-the-art hyperspectral imaging methods: From scanning infra-red spectroscopy to computed X-ray laminography

The development of advanced methods for non-destructive selective imaging of painted works of art at the macroscopic level based on radiation in the X-ray and infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum are concisely reviewed. Such methods allow to either record depth-selective, element-selective or species-selective images of entire...