Red Rocks in New York City

Portrait of a Man, Hans Memling, c. 1470

Here’s an interesting article on a happy marriage of science and art:  X-rays reveal Van Gogh’s Hidden Portrait

  I wonder how the paintings of Van Gogh that are really double paintings - apparently about a third of his earlier work - will hold up over time.  One attribute I’ve looked for in many of the paintings that I’ve had the chance to see over the past weeks in NYC is the crazing or cracking of the paint layers.  A painting may show only minute traces of aging even though its from the 15th century (as is true of much of the Frick Collection) or it may show a a wild set of cracks and crazing, as is the case with many Waterhouse paintings and newer artwork like Pollack’s.  I’m told that a lot of it depends on the thickness of the paint layers or on the pigment/turpentine to oil ratio as the paint is laid down on the canvas.  The common rule, if an artist cares about the longevity of his work, is to paint ‘fat over lean’.    This is one of many precautions an artist can take to ensure that the artwork itself will have a much longer viewing lifespan.

   It also occured to me that someone could probably make a tidy business of offering to perform a scientific analysis of a painting that is up for auction or for sale.  The x-ray used on the Van Gogh above or some variant could be very useful for assessing a painting’s fitness and longevity.  With contemporary artwork selling for millions and millions of dollars - the most recent impressive sale is a triptych by Francis Bacon at 86M - it seems like this would definitely be of interest to a collector or curator (unless of course all you are interested in is acquiring the name).  A quick googling shows that this is already being done by museums hoping to assess the condition of their paintings as they travel from one exhibition to another, as with Picasso’s Guernica.  This seems to be a great technique for paintings that are fully matured, but would probably be less predictive for contemporary artwork.  Good thing we like sharks and the artist is willing to work with us. ;)

   Just in case you ARE seriously considering an art purchase, here’s a great little essay, that is both informative and funny, before approaching your local gallery director. :)

UPDATE:  I was thinking about this post and remembered a couple of scenes out of a funny little movie, ‘Le Divorce’.  One of the side plots involves a bunch of museum curators trying to verify the identity of a work of art and I believe they did something of this sort and then tried to say that it was not authentic even though it was.  Maybe this is a routine thing to do when acquiring a piece that is not entirely verified. *shrug* (ummm… I meant the x-ray, not the lying :) )

Second Update:  Funny article in today’s NY Times about how a painting that was literally falling apart became an experiment to salvage the artist’s other paintings.