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Author Derks, K.; Youchaeva, M.; Van der Snickt, G.; Van der Stighelen, K.; Janssens, K.
Title Reconstructing Sweerts : practical insights into the historical dark halo technique based on paint reconstructions Type P1 Proceeding
Year (down) 2024 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 259-271 T2 - Alla maniera : technical art history
Keywords P1 Proceeding; Engineering sciences. Technology; Art; Antwerp Cultural Heritage Sciences (ARCHES); Antwerp X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy (AXIS)
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 978-90-429-5216-4 ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved no
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:203062 Serial 9082
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Author Derks, K.; van der Snickt, G.; Legrand, S.; van der Stighelen, K.; Janssens, K.
Title The dark halo technique in the oeuvre of Michael Sweerts and other Flemish and Dutch baroque painters. A 17th c. empirical solution to mitigate the optical 'simultaneous contrast' effect? Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2022 Publication Heritage science Abbreviated Journal
Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 5
Keywords A1 Journal article; Art; Antwerp Cultural Heritage Sciences (ARCHES); Antwerp X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy (AXIS)
Abstract Although the topic is rarely addressed in literature, a significant number of baroque paintings exhibit dark, halo-like shapes around the contours of the dramatis personae. Close examination of both finished and unfinished works suggests that this intriguing feature was a practical tool that helped the artist in the early painting stages. When applying the final brushwork, the halo lost its function, with some artists undertaking efforts to hide it. Although their visibility might not have been intended by the artists, today this dark paint beneath the surface is partially visible through the upper paint layers. Moreover, the disclosure of many halos using infrared photography (IRP), infrared reflectography (IRR) and macro X-ray fluorescence imaging (MA-XRF), additional to those that can be observed visually, suggests that this was a common and established element of 17th-century painting practice in Western Europe. Building on an existing hypothesis, we argue that halos can be considered as a solution to an optical problem that arose when baroque painters reversed the traditional, 15th- and 16th-century painting sequence of working from background to foreground. Instead, they started with the dominant parts of a composition, such as the face of a sitter. In that case, a temporary halo can provide the essential tonal reference to anticipate the chromatic impact of the final dark colored background on the adjacent delicate carnations. In particular, we attempt to clarify the prevalence of dark halos as a response to optical effects such as 'simultaneous contrast' and 'the crispening effect', described in literature only centuries later. As such, the recently termed 'ring condition' can be seen as the present-day equivalent of the 'halo solution' that was seemingly empirically or intuitively developed by 17th-century artists. Modern studies in visual perception proves that by laying a black ring around a target color, the optical impact of a surrounding color can be efficiently neutralized. Finally, by delving into works by Michael Sweerts, it becomes clear that resourceful artists might have adapted the halo technique and the underlying principles to their individual challenges, such as dealing with differently colored grounds.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000739965700001 Publication Date 2022-01-07
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2050-7445 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.5 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.5
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:185458 Serial 7217
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Author van der Snickt, G.; Legrand, S.; Slama, I.; Van Zuien, E.; Gruber, G.; Van der Stighelen, K.; Klaassen, L.; Oberthaler, E.; Janssens, K.
Title In situ macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) scanning as a non-invasive tool to probe for subsurface modifications in paintings by PP Rubens Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Microchemical journal Abbreviated Journal Microchem J
Volume 138 Issue 138 Pages 238-245
Keywords A1 Journal article; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
Abstract Within the last decade, the established synchrotron- and laboratory-based micro-XRF scanning technology inspired the development of mobile instruments that allow performing in situ experiments on paintings on a macro scale. Since the development of the first mobile scanner at the start of this decade, this chemical imaging technique has brought new insights with respect to several iconic paintings, especially in cases when standard imaging techniques such as X-Ray Radiography (XRR) or Infrared Refiectography (IRR) yielded ambiguous results. The ability of scanning MA-XRF to visualise the distribution of elements detected at and below the paint surface renders this spectrometric method particularly helpful for studying painting techniques and revealing materials that remain hidden below the paint surface. The latter aspect is especially relevant for the technical study of works by Pieter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) as this highly productive seventeenth century master is particularly renowned for the continuous application of modifications during (and even after) the entire course of the creative process. In this work, the added value of MA-XRF scanning experiments for visualising these subsurface features is exemplified by interpreting the chemical images obtained on three of Rubens' key works. Special attention is given to three types of adjustments that are particularly relevant for the technical study of Rubens' oeuvre: (1) compositional changes ('pentimenti'), exemplified by results obtained on The Portrait of Helene Fourment (ca. 1638), (2) extensions to the support ('Anstlickungen.), illustrated by imaging experiments performed on the Venus Frigida (1614) and (3) Rubens' intriguing halos around flesh tones, as found amongst others in The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (1613). The ensuing insights in the paint stratigraphy and the underlying supporting structure illustrate the potential of MA-XRF scanning for the non-invasive, comparative study of Rubens' oeuvre. The results do not only augment the understanding of the complex genesis of Rubens' works of art and his efficient painting technique, but prove valuable during conservation treatments as well, as addressed in this paper. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000428103000027 Publication Date 2018-01-17
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0026-265x; 0026-265x ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.034 Times cited 5 Open Access
Notes ; ; Approved Most recent IF: 3.034
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:151564 Serial 5657
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Author Van der Stighelen, K.; Janssens, K.; van der Snickt, G.; Alfeld, M.; Van Beneden, B.; Demarsin, B.; Proesmans, M.; Marchal, G.; Dik, J.
Title Young Anthony van Dyck revisited : a multidisciplinary approach to a portrait once attributed to Peter Paul Rubens Type A3 Journal article
Year (down) 2014 Publication Art matters : international journal for technical art history Abbreviated Journal
Volume 6 Issue Pages 21-35
Keywords A3 Journal article; Art; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
Abstract Part of the collection of the Rubens House in Antwerp is a portrait of young Anthony van Dyck, alternatively attributed to Peter Paul Rubens and his pupil Anthony van Dyck. In order to reconstruct the genesis of the portrait in a manner that improves upon past investigations, a number of high-end technological methods, such as X-radiography, X-ray computer tomography, mammographic tomosynthesis and macroscopic X-ray fluorescence, have been employed to render the overpainted layers visible again. The results of the interdisciplinary examinations of the portrait of the youthful Van Dyck are impressive. The combined results allow the later additions to be peeled away until the original composition can be reached. Several pentimenti are easily discernible and refer to a rather immature hand that makes the authorship of Peter Paul Rubens very unlikely. What emerges is a portrait of an ambitious young man with a luxuriant head of hair and a slightly turned-up collar. The hat and cape were added later. The facial features are more recognisable and the execution of the bold curls points irrefutably in the direction of Anthony van Dyck as the author of his own portrait.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:122562 Serial 5922
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