Resources: Scientific Methods
Books, Publications, Websites, and Videos(1) Scientific Examination of Art: Modern Techniques in Conservation and Analysis, Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium on Scientific Examination of Art, National Academy of Sciences (U.S.), National Academies Press, 2005. (pdf)
(2) Johnston-Feller, Ruth, Color Science in the Examination of Museum Objects: Nondestructive Procedures. Tools for Conservation. Los Angeles, Getty Conservation Institute, 2001 (pdf).
(3) Kirsh, Andrea, and Rustin S. Levenson. The Paint Layer. In Seeing Through Paintings: Physical Examination in Art Historical Studies. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000.
(4) MacBeth, Rhona. The Technical Examination and Documentation of Easel Paintings. In The Conservation of Easel Paintings, edited by Rebecca Rushfield and Joyce Hill Stoner, 300-305. Routledge: London and New York, 2012.
(5) Townsend, Joyce, and Jaap Boon. “Research and Instrumental Analysis in the Materials of Easel Paintings.” In The Conservation of Easel Paintings, edited by Rebecca Rushfield and Joyce Hill Stoner, 344-47. Routledge: London and New York, 2012.
(6) Taft, W. Stanley Jr., and James Mayer. The Science of Paintings. New York: Springer, 2001.
(7) Tiarna Doherty, Anne T. Woollett, Looking at Paintings: A Guide to Technical Terms, Getty Publications 2009.
(1) Barbara H. Berrie (1992). Understanding Art Through Technical Analysis Inferences From Pigment Identification. MRS Proceedings, 267, 195 doi:10.1557/PROC-267-195.
(2) D. Gavrilov, R.Gr. Maev, D.P. Almond, A review of imaging methods in analysis of works of art: Thermographic imaging method in art analysis, Canadian Journal of Physics, 2014, 92 (4), 341-364, 10.1139/cjp-2013-0128. Available as pdf.
(3) Legrand, Stijn, Frederik Vanmeert, Geert Van der Snickt, Matthias Alfeld, Wout De Nolf, Joris Dik, and Koen Janssens. 2014. “Examination of Historical Paintings by State-of-the-Art Hyperspectral Imaging Methods: From Scanning Infra-Red Spectroscopy to Computed X-Ray Laminography.” Heritage Science 2 (1): 13. doi:10.1186/2050-7445-2-13.
(4) Alfeld, M., & de Viguerie, L. (2017, October 1). Recent developments in spectroscopic imaging techniques for historical paintings – A review. Spectrochimica Acta – Part B Atomic Spectroscopy. Elsevier B.V. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2017.08.003
(1) Cosentino, A. (2017). Cultural Heritage Science Open Source. [online] Available at http://chsopensource.org/ [Accessed 9 Jul. 2017].
(2) National Gallery London, Conservation Departement.
(3) Artcons.udel.edu. (2017). Kress Technical Art History Website. Examination methods and scientific terms. [online] Available at https://www.artcons.udel.edu/outreach/kress/examination-methods-and-scientific-terms [Accessed 9 Jul. 2017].
Series of 14 videos on non-invasive scientific methods for analysis of painted surfaces.
Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM)
All 14 videos can be found on the Youtube channel of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM).
The first video: Lecture by David Saunders (British Museum)
Scientific Methods at ColourLex
This section features the scientific methods employed in investigation of paintings. Included are methods for imaging the inner layers of the painting, spectroscopic methods for identification of pigments, and also the very modern computational methods.
