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Author Alfeld, M.; Janssens, K.; Dik, J.; de Nolf, W.; van der Snickt, G.
Title Optimization of mobile scanning macro-XRF systems for the in situ investigation of historical paintings Type A1 Journal article
Year 2011 Publication Journal of analytical atomic spectrometry Abbreviated Journal (up) J Anal Atom Spectrom
Volume 26 Issue 5 Pages 899-909
Keywords A1 Journal article; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
Abstract Elemental distribution maps are of great interest in the study of historical paintings, as they allow to investigate the pigment use of the artist, to image changes made in the painting during or after its creation and in some cases to reveal discarded paintings that were later over painted. Yet a method that allows to record such maps of a broad range of elements in a fast, non-destructive and in situ manner is not yet commonly available; a dedicated mobile scanning XRF instrument might fill this gap. In this paper we present three self-built scanning macro-XRF instruments, each based on the experience gained with its precursor. These instruments are compared in terms of sensitivity and limits of detection, which includes a discussion of the use of polycapillary optics and pinhole collimators as beam defining devices. Furthermore, the imaging capabilities of the instruments are demonstrated in three exemplary cases: (parts of) historical paintings from the 15th to the 19th century are examined. These cases illustrate the value of element specific distribution maps in the study of historical paintings and allow in the case of Vincent van Gogh's Patch of Grass a direct comparison between in situ and synchrotron based scanning macro-XRF.
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Language Wos 000289731900004 Publication Date 2011-03-21
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ISSN 0267-9477 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.379 Times cited 107 Open Access
Notes ; The investigation of the “Triptych of the Seven Sacraments'' was done in collaboration with Griet Steyaert, independent restorer, and Lizet Klaassen, Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Antwerp, Belgium). The investigation of ”Patch of Grass'' was realized in collaboration with Luuk van der Loeff, Kroller-Muller-Museum (Otterlo, The Netherlands). M. Alfeld is a PhD fellowship of the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO). This research was supported by the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme-Belgian Science Policy (IUAP VI/16) NACHO. The text also presents results of GOA "XANES meets ELNES'' (Research Fund University of Antwerp, Belgium) and from FWO (Brussels, Belgium) projects no. G.0103.04, G.0689.06 and G.0704.08. Further, the work presented was sponsored by the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, NWO (proj. no. 016.118.303). ; Approved Most recent IF: 3.379; 2011 IF: 3.220
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:89919 Serial 5758
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Author Janssens, K.; van der Snickt, G.; Alfeld, M.; Noble, P.; van Loon, A.; Delaney, J.; Conover, D.; Zeibel, J.; Dik, J.
Title Rembrandt's 'Saul and David' (c. 1652) : use of multiple types of smalt evidenced by means of non-destructive imaging Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Microchemical journal Abbreviated Journal (up) Microchem J
Volume 126 Issue Pages 515-523
Keywords A1 Journal article; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
Abstract The painting Saul and David, considered to date from c. 1652 and previously attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn and/or his studio, is a complex work of art that has been recently subjected to intensive investigation and conservation treatment. The goal of the research was to give insight into the painting's physical construction and condition in preparation for conservation treatment. It was also anticipated that analysis would shed light on authenticity questions and Rembrandt's role in the creation of the painting. The painting depicts the Old Testament figures of King Saul and David. At left is Saul, seated, holding a spear and wiping a tear from his eye with a curtain. David kneels before him at the right playing his harp. In the past, the large sections with the life-size figures were cut apart and later reassembled. A third piece of canvas was added to replace a missing piece of canvas above the head of David. As part of the investigation into the authenticity of the curtain area, a number of paint micro samples were examined with LM and SEM-EDX. Given that the earth, smalt and lake pigments used in the painting could not be imaged with traditional imaging techniques, the entire painting was also examined with state of the art non-destructive imaging techniques. Special attention was devoted to the presence of cobalt-containing materials, specifically the blue glass pigment smalt considered characteristic for the late Rembrandt. A combination of quantitative electron microprobe analysis and macroscopic X-ray fluorescence scanning revealed that three types of cobalt-containing materials are present in the painting. The first type is a cobalt drier that was found in the overpaint used to cover up the canvas inset and the joins that were added in the 19th century. The other two Co-containing materials are part of the original paint used by Rembrandt and comprise two varieties of smalt, a K-rich glass pigment that derives its gray-blue color by doping with Co-ions. Smalt paint with a higher Ni content (NiO:CoO ratio of around 1:4) was used to depict the blue stripes in Saul's colorful turban, while smalt with a lower Ni content was employed (NiO:CoO ratio of around 1:5) for the broad expanses of Saul's garments. The presence of two types of smalt not only supports the recent re-attribution of the painting to Rembrandt, but also that the picture was painted in two phases. Saul's dark red garment is painted in a rough, “loose” manner and the now discolored smalt-rich layer was found to have been partially removed during a past restoration treatment/s. In contrast, the blue-green smalt in the turban is much better preserved and provides a colorful accent. While the use of different types of smalt in a Rembrandt painting has been previously identified using quantitative EDX analysis of paint cross-sections, to the best of our knowledge this is the first time such a distinction has been observed in a 17th-century painting using non-destructive imaging techniques. In addition to the XRF-based non-invasive elemental mapping, hyperspectral imaging in the visual to near-infrared (VNIR) region was also carried out. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Language Wos 000373647500063 Publication Date 2016-01-29
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ISSN 0026-265x; 0026-265x ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.034 Times cited 18 Open Access
Notes ; This research is part of the ReVisualising late Rembrandt: Developing and Applying New Imaging Techniques research project, supported by the Science4Arts research program of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO, The Hague, NL, ReVisRembrandt project) and the National Science Foundation (NSF, Washington DC, USA, award 1041827). We would like to thank colleagues of the Mauritshuis (The Hague, NL) and the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE) in Rijswijk, NL for their support and assistance during the scanning of the Saul and David painting. The GOA project “SOLARPAINT” (University of Antwerp) and the Fund Baillet Latour (Brussels, B) are acknowledged for financial support to GvdS and KJ. We also like to acknowledge the help of Eliza Longhini and Stijn Legrand during some of the XRF scanning stages. ; Approved Most recent IF: 3.034
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:133258 Serial 5813
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Author Anitha, A.; Brasoveanu, A.; Duarte, M.; Hughes, S.; Daubechies, I.; Dik, J.; Janssens, K.; Alfeld, M.
Title Restoration of X-ray fluorescence images of hidden paintings Type A1 Journal article
Year 2013 Publication Signal processing Abbreviated Journal (up) Signal Process
Volume 93 Issue 3 Pages 592-604
Keywords A1 Journal article; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
Abstract This paper describes our methods for repairing and restoring images of hidden paintings (paintings that have been painted over and are now covered by a new surface painting) that have been obtained via noninvasive X-ray fluorescence imaging of their canvases. This recently developed imaging technique measures the concentrations of various chemical elements at each two-dimensional spatial location across the canvas. These concentrations in turn result from pigments present both in the surface painting and in the hidden painting beneath. These X-ray fluorescence images provide the best available data from which to noninvasively study a hidden painting. However, they are typically marred by artifacts of the imaging process, features of the surface painting, and areas of information loss. Repairing and restoring these images thus consists of three stages: (1) repairing acquisition artifacts in the dataset, (2) removal of features in the images that result from the surface painting rather than the hidden painting, and (3) identification and repair of areas of information loss. We describe methods we have developed to address each of these stages: a total-variation minimization approach to artifact correction, a novel method for underdetermined blind source separation with multimodal side information to address surface feature removal, and two application-specific new methods for automatically identifying particularly thick or X-ray absorbent surface features in the painting. Finally, we demonstrate the results of our methods on a hidden painting by the artist Vincent van Gogh. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Language Wos 000312521400007 Publication Date 2012-10-13
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ISSN 0165-1684 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.11 Times cited 13 Open Access
Notes ; Marco F. Duarte was supported during this research by NSF Supplemental Funding DMS-0439872 to UCLA-IPAM, PI: R. Caflisch. Matthias Alfeld receives support in the form of a Ph.D. fellowship of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). This research was also supported by the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme Belgian Science Policy (IUAP VI/16). The text also presents results of GOA “XANES meets ELNES” (Research Fund University of Antwerp, Belgium) and from FWO (Brussels, Belgium) projects no. G.0704.08 and G.01769.09. ; Approved Most recent IF: 3.11; 2013 IF: 2.238
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:105921 Serial 5817
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Author Amato, S.R.; Burnstock, A.; Cross, M.; Janssens, K.; Rosi, F.; Cartechini, L.; Fontana, R.; Dal Fovo, A.; Paolantoni, M.; Grazia, C.; Romani, A.; Michelin, A.; Andraud, C.; Tournie, A.; Dik, J.
Title Interpreting technical evidence from spectral imaging of paintings by Edouard Manet in the Courtauld Gallery Type A1 Journal article
Year 2019 Publication X-ray spectrometry T2 – MA-XRF Workshop on Developments and Applications of Macro-XRF in, Conservation, Art, and Archeology, SEP 24-25, 2017, Trieste, ITALY Abbreviated Journal (up) X-Ray Spectrom
Volume 48 Issue 4 Pages 282-292
Keywords A1 Journal article; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
Abstract The paintings by edouard Manet in The Courtauld Gallery Dejeuner sur l'herbe (1863-68), Marguerite de Conflans en Toilette de Bal (1870-1880), Banks of the Seine at Argenteuil (1874), and A Bar at the Folies-Bergere (1882) were investigated for the first time using a range of non-invasive in situ analyses. The aims of the study were to investigate the painting techniques and materials used for this group of works and to critically evaluate the technical evidence derived from the integrated use of imaging techniques and portable spectroscopic methods in this context. The paintings were investigated by means of macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF), reflection spectral imaging, portable UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, portable Raman spectroscopy, and reflection FTIR. MA-XRF and reflection spectral imaging allowed visualising elements in the compositions that were not visible using traditional methods of technical study. For example, MA-XRF analysis of Dejeuner sur l'herbe revealed elements of the development of the composition that provided new evidence to consider its relationship to other versions of the composition. The study also highlighted questions about the interpretation of elemental distribution maps and spectral images that did not correspond to the reworking visible in X-radiographs. For example, in A Bar at the Folies-Bergere Manet made numerous changes during painting, which were not clearly visualised with any of the techniques used. The research has wider implications for the study of Impressionist paintings, as the results will support technical studies of works by other artists of the period who used similar materials and painting methods.
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Language Wos 000472210700005 Publication Date 2018-01-23
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ISSN 0049-8246 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 1.298 Times cited Open Access
Notes ; Financial support by the Access to Research Infrastructures activity in the Horizon 2020 Programme of the EU (IPERION CH Grant agreement 654028) is gratefully acknowledged. ; Approved Most recent IF: 1.298
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:161296 Serial 5670
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