Authenticity and meaningful futures for museums: the role of 3D printing

This article uses the COVID –19 crisis to re –evaluate the importance of reproductions – 3D prints – for art’s authenticity, and their significance in keeping art museums meaningful in a rapidly changing world. The fixation on ‘auratic experiences’, inherent to artworks’ materiality is integral to contemporary art theory and museum practice,...

Out of the blue: Vermeer’s use of ultramarine in Girl with a Pearl Earring

Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) is known for his brilliant blue colours, and his frequent use of the costly natural ultramarine. This paper reveals new findings about ultramarine in the headscarf of Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis). The painting was examined using a range of micro- and macroscale techniques as part of the Girl in...

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...