Artwork examination
The examination of works of art is a scientific-analytical testing method of works of art and belongs to the manifold relationships between art, physics and chemistry. The aim is not only to examine the works of well-known artists, but also to characterize prehistoric evidence of artistic activity (grave goods, cult vessels, jewelry and relics, etc.). The age of art treasures is partly carried out using methods similar to those used to examine fossils in archeology . Thermoluminescence dating is a tried and tested method .
Knowing the composition of the material can also enable it to be assigned to a specific time and, if necessary, also to be personally attributed and thus reveal forgeries. In the chemical-analytical test, the work of art should be damaged as little as possible in its original condition. Consequently, the test must be carried out with the smallest amounts of substance or, ideally, analogous to the so-called Non-destructive material testing in which no substance sample is taken from the art object. Inorganic materials are often examined using emission spectral analysis . In this way, information about the components of an alloy, glass, pigment or ceramic material can be obtained quickly. If the color of a painting contains large amounts of cadmium , chromium or titanium , this already proves that the painting cannot have been created before the 19th century, because pigments containing these elements were first produced in the 19th century and in the Trade came. Zinc white was only used commercially for oil paints . Zinc white has also been available as a water color since 1834 ; it was only slowly adopted by artists as a substitute for white lead .
In many cases, a mere knowledge of the chemical composition is not sufficient for a final evaluation of the analysis results. The microscopic structure of the structure is a useful addition to coins, sculptures and pieces of metal jewelry. Painting examinations are often done using X-rays , UV light, and infrared photography .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Will Gompertz : Sotheby's declares 'Frans Hals' work a forgery , on BBC , October 6, 2016.
- ^ A b c Otto-Albrecht Neumüller (editor): Römpps Chemie Lexikon , Frank'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart, 1983, 8th edition, pp. 2281–2282, ISBN 3-440-04513-7 .
- ^ William Jervis Jones: Historical Lexicon of German Color Designations . Walter de Gruyter, 2013, ISBN 978-3-05-006322-5 , p. 3135 ( limited preview in Google Book search).