DrGravitas Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 I read an interesting news article this morning on chemical and molecular analysis of 19th century paint. It was rather interesting to learn that innovations in paint of the time cut drying times from months or years down to days or weeks, in particular. Do we have any painters around that could comment on the nature of paints used today? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxon Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 I know a little bit about paints based on what I know about chemistry and geology. When paintings are restored today scientists make an effort to use a pigment supported in a different solvent and binder than the original brushwork, so that the entire restoration could be removed in hours and re-attempted, if it were to go wrong. There also exist a variety of techniques to determine the age of paintings and their authenticity based on the known pigments which were available to the artists at the time- so forgeries are often detected because the pigments they use show signs of machine milling, or contain chemical compounds that were not accessible in the period the painting is purported to have come from. Forgery detectors usually use techniques like microscopy, mass-spectrometers and so on to test the nature of the pigments used. I find discussions about paints that were used historically pretty interesting too, especially since a lot of the pigments that were once used, such as realgar, arabic for 'red stuff out of the hole in the ground', were incredibly toxic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realgar Realgar was used as a red pigment in Ancient AEgyptian papyrus paintings. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faust Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 1 minute ago, Saxon said: so forgeries are often detected because the pigments they use show signs of machine milling, or contain chemical compounds that were not accessible in the period the painting is purported to have come from. On a tangential but related note, I believe the so-called 'Crystal Skulls of the Toltecs' were debunked in a similar way. Under microscopic enhancement it was demonstrated that they were carved into shape on a modern circular grinding wheel, due to evidence of strong parallel lines in the material. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxon Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 7 minutes ago, Faust said: On a tangential but related note, I believe the so-called 'Crystal Skulls of the Toltecs' were debunked in a similar way. Under microscopic enhancement it was demonstrated that they were carved into shape on a modern circular grinding wheel, due to evidence of strong parallel lines in the material. And the Shroud of Turin carbon dates to the middle ages. Nothing is real! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossa Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 1 hour ago, Saxon said: And the Shroud of Turin carbon dates to the middle ages. Nothing is real! But when The Virgin Mary appeared on that grilled cheese sandwich, it was real enough to command $28,000! You might be working in the wrong medium, Saxon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strongbob Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 10 hours ago, Saxon said: And the Shroud of Turin carbon dates to the middle ages. Nothing is real! Yes, but there is some evidence that the Shroud may be a very early attempt at photography created be Leonardo Da Vinci. So it may not be real but it's still pretty cool. https://www.amazon.com/Turin-Shroud-Leonardo-Fooled-History/dp/075154972X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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