from The New York Times
Museums Use New Tools to Fix Old Works
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The article talks about the various techniques conservation scientists and conservators use to analyse and treat works in museum collections. One particular highlight interest me. Through Raman spectroscopy, the investigation of the "eruption" of tiny, almost microscopic bumps on "Madam X" painted by John Singer Sargent yields an interesting question about materials and technique... is it caused by the ratio of lead to linseed oil in the paint or the thickness of the paint?