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Visible light photograph, labelled with sample sites: Samples from a known location, taken in 1994 (‘A’ samples, red). Samples taken in 1968 by Hermann Kühn (green). Samples taken in 2018 (purple). Not shown: ‘B’ samples (dislodged fragments where the precise original location is unknown: see Additional file 1: Appendix S1), ‘C’ samples (fragments primarily containing non-original restoration materials)
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Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer (c. 1665) is the most beloved painting in the collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague, The Netherlands. The Girl was last examined during a 1994 restoration treatment, within the project Vermeer Illuminated. Conservators and scientists investigated the material composition and condition of the painti...
Citations
... The varnish of a painting provides a protective role for the painting acting as a barrier to dirt, smoke, and injury caused by possible mechanical scratches. It also holds an aesthetic value providing depth and clarity to the colors [9]. Furthermore, the varnish layer protects against atmospheric pollutants, such as chlorine or sulfur emissions that can alter the color of certain pigments. ...
This article aims to present the results of the investigations performed on a 19th-century oil painting on canvas belonging to the Conservation and Restoration Department of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The artwork depicting the portrait of a lady originating from an important Irish noble family (Judith Bunbury, 1785–1861) has been investigated using only non-invasive methods. The investigation protocol included digital photography in different light sources at different wavelengths, which was used to document the current condition of the painting, UV fluorescence, which highlighted the previous improper retouches and the presence of a varnish coat, Infrared reflectography, which brought to light the underdrawing made by the artist and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, an elemental analysis technique which indicated the chemical composition of the pigments, suggesting the use of lead white, a barium white pigment, yellow and red ochre, vermilion, cobalt blue, and a manganese-based brown pigment. The results of this entirely non-invasive investigation approach helped in choosing the most appropriate conservation and restoration methodology for the artwork.
... Computed tomography has also proved to be a powerful non-invasive tool to analyse cultural heritage objects [4]. It has been successfully applied to a variety of such objects over the past decades: for example, wooden statues for dendrochronology research [5] and large wooden objects [6,7], Egyptian funerary masks [8], antique glass [9], musical instruments [10,11], ancient basketry [12], anthropological studies [13,14] and historical paintings [15,16]. In cases where it is not possible to see the interior of an object using visual inspection, CT enables museum professionals to obtain 3D information about the interior of the object. ...
Computed tomography (CT) is a powerful non-invasive tool to analyze cultural heritage objects by allowing museum professionals to obtain 3D information about the objects’ interior. These insights can help with the conservation or restoration of the objects, as well as provide contextual information on the objects’ history or making process. Cultural heritage objects exist in a wide variety and have characteristics which present challenges for CT scanning: multi-scale internal features, a diversity of sizes and shapes, and multi-material objects. Because X-ray absorption is related to the density, thickness of the material, and atomic composition, the challenges are greater when the object consists of multiple different materials with varying densities. This is especially true for cases with extreme density contrasts such as that between metals and textiles. An untailored acquisition of CT scans of multi-material objects can lead to reduced image quality and heavy visual errors called image artifacts, which can influence the perception or representation of information. A tailored acquisition can reduce these artifacts and lead to a higher information gain. In this work, we firstly discuss how the X-ray beam properties and the beam-object interaction influence CT image formation and how to use filters to manipulate the emitted X-ray beam to improve image quality for multi-material objects. We showcase that this can be achieved with limited resources in a low-cost DIY fashion with thin sheets of metal as filters, 3D-printed filter frames and a filter holder. Secondly, we give a qualitative analysis of the influence of the CT acquisition parameters illustrated with two case study objects from the textile collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. With this we provide insights and intuitions on tailoring the CT scan to the cultural heritage objects. Thirdly, we extract a general concept of steps for museum professionals to design an object-tailored CT scan for individual cases.
... 1665) serves as a case study for this research (Fig. 1). This specific artwork was chosen, because significant technical data about the painting were acquired during the elaborate research project The Girl in the Spotlight in 2018 (Vandivere et al., 2019), which allowed for making the facsimiles under study within this research. Furthermore, it is an incredibly well-known painting with a rich history, thus providing ground for authenticity problems to arise. ...
Various types of digital and physical three-dimensional facsimile technologies (e.g., high-definition digital modelling and 3D printing) have entered the art world and have become increasingly important for research and presentation purposes. Yet, studies that go beyond the technical aspects of (3D) facsimile techniques, such as their significance for the conservation/restoration field and museum display, are scarce, especially in the case of easel paintings. Furthermore, studies that analyse the perception of these methods and, consequently, their impact on the authenticity of the original painting, do not exist to our knowledge. The aim of this research is twofold: firstly, it evaluates a viewer’s perception of various facsimiles; secondly, on the basis of this analysis, it aims to gain a better understanding and provide an overview of the applicability of (3D) facsimiles of artworks for presentation purposes and potential users (technical art historians, conservators, curators, material scientists and museum visitors). This research was executed by combining a literature review with quantitati
... 1665, Mauritshuis, Figure 3, top) and from 18th-Century Portrait of a Woman (Figure 3, bottom). Girl with a Pearl Earring was examined systematically in various modalities by conservators and scientists at the Mauritshuis, as part of the 'Girl in the Spotlight' project in 2018 [VWvdBvL19]. The modalities include ultravioletinduced fluorescence, infrared reflectography, X-radiographs, and hyperspectral image cubes. ...
Multimodal imaging is used by conservators and scientists to study the composition of paintings. To aid the combined analysis
of these digitisations, such images must first be aligned. Rather than proposing a new domain-specific descriptor, we explore and
evaluate how existing feature descriptors from related fields can improve the performance of feature-based painting digitisation
registration. We benchmark these descriptors on pixel-precise, manually aligned digitisations of “Girl with a Pearl Earring”
by Johannes Vermeer (c. 1665, Mauritshuis) and of “18th-Century Portrait of a Woman”. As a baseline we compare against the
well-established classical SIFT descriptor. We consider two recent descriptors: the handcrafted multimodal MFD descriptor,
and the learned unimodal SuperPoint descriptor. Experiments show that SuperPoint starkly increases description matching
accuracy by 40% for modalities with little modality-specific artefacts. Further, performing craquelure segmentation and using
the MFD descriptor results in significant description matching accuracy improvements for modalities with many modalityspecific artefacts.
... Thus, in the latest years, with the increased awareness of the potential of HSI technique to scientifically integrate the art-historical and conservation studies, a new trend towards a more systematic use of HSI technique has emerged. In major museums, HSI is nowadays becoming as a key technique and is included in the multi-modal analytical protocols adopted for analyzing masterpieces or selected groups of artworks in the collections, within wider research programs aimed at revisiting a corpus of paintings, an artistic period, an artist, and so on [7][8][9] . On the other hand, the tendency to a broader use of HSI encompasses the exponential growth of spectral data stored in archives. ...
... Each article focuses on a specific area of the painting, part of the layer structure or examination technique. Although each can stand its own, they are intended to be read in the following order: 'From 'Vermeer Illuminated' to 'The Girl in the Spotlight': Approaches and methodologies for the scientific (re-)examination of Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring' describes the (conservation) history of the painting, reviews the technical examination that took place in 1994, and introduces the technologies used in the 2018 research project [5]. ...
... Multi-scale OCT imaging and visualization was applied to Girl with a Pearl Earring as part of the 2018 technical examination project The Girl in the Spotlight, where the painting was examined by an international team of scientists, researchers, and conservators, working within the collaborative framework of the Netherlands Institute for Conservation+Art+Science+ (NICAS) [16]. ...
... Prior to this, the painting last underwent a thorough technical examination and conservation/restoration treatment in 1994 [17]. In this study, microscopic samples of the painting were taken, mounted as cross-sections, and analyzed using a variety of scientific methods; these were re-examined in 2018 [16]. This provided information about Vermeer's materials and techniques, especially the stratigraphy and composition of the dark background of the painting [18]. ...
... Since this includes a varnish layer of approximately 10 µm optical path length, conversion of the remaining optical path length to physical thickness with a refractive index n = 1.5 [28] leads to an average glaze physical thickness of around 20 ± 6 µm. This is in reasonable agreement with the value found earlier from a cross-section [16]. Moreover, at multiple locations, the glaze+varnish layer thickness reveals the brushstrokes of Vermeer as these are delineated by areas of striped thickness profiles that are most clearly seen at 'C'. ...
We demonstrate multi-scale multi-parameter optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging and visualization of Johannes Vermeer’s painting Girl with a Pearl Earring. Through automated acquisition, OCT image segmentation, and 3D volume stitching we realize OCT imaging at the scale of an entire painting. This makes it possible to image, with micrometer axial and lateral resolution, an entire painting over more than 5 orders of length scale. From the multi-scale OCT data we quantify multiple parameters in a fully automated way: the surface height, the scattering strength, and the combined glaze and varnish layer thickness. The multi-parameter OCT data of Girl with a Pearl Earring shows various features: Vermeer’s brushstrokes, surface craquelure, paint losses, and restorations. Through an interactive visualization of the Girl, based on the OCT data and the optical properties of historical reconstructions of Vermeer’s paint, we can virtually study the effect of the lighting condition, viewing angle, zoom level and presence/absence of glaze layer. The interactive visualization shows various new painting features. It demonstrates that the glaze layer structure and its optical properties were essential to Vermeer to create an extremely strong light to dark contrast between the figure and the background that gives the painting such an iconic aesthetic appeal.
... In 2018, Johannes Vermeer's masterpiece Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis, Fig. 1) was examined in front of the public at the Mauritshuis using state-ofthe-art imaging techniques, as part of the research project The Girl in the Spotlight [1]. Micro-samples taken during the 1994 restoration treatment were reanalysed, and four new samples were collected and analysed [2]. ...
... As part of the Girl in the Spotlight project, microscopic paint samples collected during the 1994 restoration treatment were re-examined, and four new samples were taken from underrepresented areas [1,2]. Analysing samples mounted as cross-sections revealed the stratigraphy, thickness, and composition of these layers beneath the surface (Table 1). ...
... To complement the visualisation of the stratigraphy gained from the cross-sections, non-invasive imaging technologies were used to identify and map materials in sub-surface layers, without having to make physical contact with the painting [1]. The underlayers that contain carbon could be detected using multispectral infrared reflectography (MS-IRR). ...
The 2018 technical examination project The Girl in the Spotlight aimed to characterise the materials and techniques that Johannes Vermeer used to paint Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis). Five research questions guided the micro-and macro-scale analyses: What can we find out about layers beneath the surface? What steps did Vermeer take to create the painting? Which materials did Vermeer use and where did they come from? Which techniques did Vermeer use to create subtle optical effects? What did the painting look like originally, and how has it changed? This paper concludes the special issue of Heritage Science by summarising the results and putting them in an art-historical and materials history context. Non-invasive macroscopic imaging methods were used to examine the Girl, in conjunction with the (re)analysis of microscopic samples. Here, Vermeer's painting techniques are revealed using microphoto-graphs made using a high-resolution 3D digital microscope at 140× magnification (1.1 μm/pixel).
... Girl with a Pearl Earring was last examined in the 1990s, but only one sample from the edge of the headscarf was available (and not published) [6]. In 2018, the painting was re-examined within The Girl in the Spotlight research project [11]. All of the research questions that guided the project were relevant to the investigation of the headscarf: What steps did Vermeer take (in the painting process)? ...
... During the restoration treatment of Girl with a Pearl Earring in 1994, microscopic samples were collected from the painting [6]. As opportunities to sample alongside damages were limited, the only sample that included the blue headscarf was sample 23: collected from the lower right edge of the blue headscarf, where it meets the dark background (Fig. 1b) [6,11]. As such, it was unclear whether this sample was representative of the buildup of other parts of headscarf, or whether its composition or stratigraphy differed because it was taken along a contour. ...
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 Spotlight research project (2018). Analysis of micro-samples mounted as cross-sections using SEM–EDX and FTIR-ATR showed that Vermeer used high-quality ultramarine in the blue headscarf, based on the relative abundance of bright blue particles of lazurite. Analysis with synchrotron sulphur K-edge XANES suggested that the ultramarine pigment was prepared—at least in part—from a heat-treated lapis lazuli rock. The entire painting was imaged using MS-IRR, MA-XRF, RIS, and digital microscopy to reveal the distribution of materials of the headscarf, and to give more insight into Vermeer’s painting process. The shadow part of the headscarf has a remarkably patchy appearance, due to paint degradation that is probably related to the large amounts of chalk Vermeer mixed in the ultramarine paint in this area. The question was raised as to whether extra chalk was added deliberately to the paint to adjust the handling properties or opacity, or whether the chalk was the substrate of a—now faded—yellow lake. Schematic paint reconstructions were made to investigate the effect of the addition of chalk or yellow lake on the paint properties. The analyses and reconstructions led to the hypothesis that the blue headscarf originally contained a wider range of different blue colour shades: an opaque light blue for the left (lit) zone, a slightly brighter opaque blue for the middle zone, and a deep dark blue-green glaze with alternating blue-green glazing brushstrokes for the shadow zone—now largely compromised by paint degradation.
... Several complementary macroscale and microscale imaging methods were used to develop a deeper understanding of Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis), as part of the Girl in the Spotlight research project undertaken in 2018 [8]. Previous research into the pigments, carried out during the 1994 restoration treatment, was based primarily on analyses of samples mounted as cross-sections, and focused on the materials used in her jacket and the background [6,7]. ...
As part of the 2018 Girl in the Spotlight project, reflectance and molecular fluorescence imaging spectroscopy (RIS, FIS), and macroscale X-ray fluorescence scanning (MA-XRF) were performed on Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis) with the goal of obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the distribution of pigments. Prior analysis of cross-sections in the 1990s, and their recent (re)-examination identified many of the pigments present in the painting. The results from all three imaging methods, along with site-specific fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy, confirmed Vermeer’s limited palette and determined how and where each pigment was used. RIS and MA-XRF found the blue region of the headscarf was painted with natural ultramarine and varying amounts of lead white. The yellow part of the headscarf was painted with yellow ochre and lead white, and the border of the headscarf additionally contained ultramarine and lead–tin yellow. The lit side of the jacket was painted with yellow ochre, lead white, and ultramarine, whereas the darker, ruddy blue-green areas that are in relative shadow contained yellow ochre with ultramarine. FIS also mapped a red lake in portions of the shadowed areas at the back of the jacket. The Girl’s skin was painted using earths (ochres), lead white, vermilion, and some red lake. Fluorescence emission from red lake was strongest in the lips, where vermilion was also found. The pearl earring was depicted using a scumble and highlight of lead white. In the dark background, the RIS data cube allowed the determination of the visible spectral shape even though the overall reflectance intensity was low (1 to 3%). A reflectance inflection point at ~ 700 nm indicated the presence of indigo, whereas lack of a reflectance peak at green wavelengths in most areas indicated degradation of the yellow pigment previously identified as weld. Some small green areas in the background (i.e. reflectance maximum at 525 nm) were found; these coincided with areas previously protected by old retouchings, and are thus better preserved. The combination of all three spectral imaging modalities provided a more complete understanding of how the colouration of the painting was achieved.
