Three recent anthologies in science and technology studies show how standards for scholarly professionalization are changing. Such changes may facilitate new alliances for theatre faculty plagued by old feuds and the increasingly neoliberal university.

Conservation Science Education Online (CSEO) is a new online resource that shares strategies for teaching science in art conservation and related cultural heritage fields. An overview will be given of how undergraduate chemistry curricula in the United States have used examples from cultural heritage. The field of art conservation will then be described with an emphasis on the science curricula taught in art conservation programs around the world. Challenges include relating theoretical learning to real-world applications and teaching scientific terminology and concepts to students who may have limited science backgrounds; as well, there is a lack of textbooks and resources with appropriate case studies. The newly launched CSEO online resource offers freely available, effective teaching methods in the form of modules developed by international educators in the field. The inaugural CSEO Conference 2022 served as an introduction to the online resource for a global audience and was the first dedicated conference to bring together heritage science educators to discuss challenges and teaching strategies with the goal of building such a resource. The conference facilitated discussions among participants about teaching strategies, with the intention that these topics would become modules for the online resource, available to all science educators.

Matthew Hayes’ volume examines the influence of nineteenth-century scholarship on the activities of contemporary paintings restorers, and, vice-versa, investigates how the visual effects of conservation treatments impacted contemporary scholarship. This reciprocal relationship is explored in four case studies, two situated in Italy (Giottesque frescoes and paintings by Titian), on in the United Kingdom (National Gallery London) and one in Germany (the Berlin museums). Hayes focuses on the treatment of paintings from the Renaissance, a period that knew strong interest from nineteenth-century scholars. He weaves together historical archival material (personal notes, correspondence, restoration records, historical photographs, etc.) and period texts (a.o. by Jacob Burckhardt, G.B. Cavalcaselle, Joseph Crowe), into a rich and accessible account, interspersed with examples of historical restoration treatments of well-known paintings and with restorer biographies. The resulting volume provides an entertaining and very accessible entry into the topic, whether the reader comes from (art) history or has a background in conservation.

In this study, we compare the hyperspectral imaging capabilities of a custom-built visible light OCT with those of a commercial grade hyperspectral camera. Using the Short-Time-Fourier-Transform algorithm on the OCT signal, we estimate the variation in the surface spectral response from two paint pigments. Our study aims at comparing the spectral measurements obtained from calibration samples and to estimate an optimal working point for OCT-based hyperspectral processing.

The visual appearance of a painting is the result of variations in pigments, layers and layer thicknesses. An important role can be played by ground colour. The ground is the first preparation of the support before the actual painting. Medieval painters worked on white grounds. Coloured grounds appeared during the late 15th century in Italy before spreading to the northern part of Europe around 1550. Painters like Rembrandt or Rubens exploited dark or light coloured grounds to create spectacular, realistic effects. But how can we understand how they do this? To answer this question and add some quantifiable analysis, one needs to resolve the spectral reflectivity profile of a painting in three spatial dimensions. In addition, as the main intent is to relate the optical effects with colours, one needs to operate using visible light. The answer to these challenges is visible-light Optical Coherence Tomography (vis-OCT). In this study, we investigate the use of vis-OCT to measure the reflectivity profile of multi-layered paint samples in three dimensions. Using mock-up paint samples we prepared with two thin paint layers on a black and a white paper support, we measured the reflectivity profiles of the separate colours and of the superposed colours over either the black or white (back)ground. This paper first describes the signal processing involved in rebuilding the spectral reflectivity in three dimensions. Secondly, we will present the results obtained from the mock-up samples and draw conclusions on the possibility to discriminate colours in a three-dimensional context. All reflectivity measurements will be compared to a classical, commercially available hyperspectral imaging setup. This study is executed in the context of the NWO Down to the Ground Project. The results of the OCT measurements will be used by technical art historians and conservators for investigations into coloured grounds.

Low-risk removal of embedded surface soiling on delicate heritage objects can require novel alternatives to traditional cleaning systems. Edvard Munch’s monumental Aula paintings (1911–16) have a long history of exposure to atmospheric pollution and cleaning campaigns that have compromised the appearance and the condition of these important artworks. Soiling removal from porous and water-sensitive, unvarnished oil paintings continues to be a major conservation challenge. This paper presents the approach and results of research into the effect and efficiency of three novel systems used for soiling removal: soft particle blasting, CO 2 -snow blasting, and Nanorestore Gel® Dry and Peggy series hydrogels. Cleaning tests were performed on accelerated-aged and artificially soiled mock-ups consisting of unvarnished oil paint and chalk-glue grounds. Visual and analytical assessment (magnification using a light microscope and scanning electron microscope, as well as colour- and gloss measurement) was carried out before and after mock-up cleaning tests and the results were compared to those obtained using the dry polyurethane sponges employed in the most recent Aula surface cleaning campaign (2009–11). Although the results varied, the Nanorestore Gel® series proved promising with respect to improved soiling removal efficiency, and reduced pigment loss for the water-sensitive surfaces evaluated, compared to dry sponges.

The privately owned oil painting Composition with Color Planes 4 (1917) by Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) has been the subject of ongoing investigation L. E. Raven ( ) Conservation Department, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Conservation & Restoration, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: L.Raven@Rijksmuseum.nl M. Bisschoff Independent paintings conservator, Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: madeleinebisschoff@gmail.com M. Leeuwestein Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands e-mail: MargjeLeeuwestein@Krollermuller.nl M. Geldof Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE), Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: M.Geldof@CultureelErfgoed.nl J. J. Hermans Van’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: j.j.hermans@uva.nl M. Stols-Witlox Conservation & Restoration, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: M.J.N.Stols-Witlox@uva.nl K. Keune Conservation Department, Rijksmuseum, Van’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: K.Keune@rijksmuseum.nl © Crown 2019 F. Casadio et al. (eds.), Metal Soaps in Art, Cultural Heritage Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90617-1_20 343 344 L. E. Raven et al. since 2011. The painting consists of color planes in a field of differing whites. Some of these white areas suffer from delamination issues, in combination with flaking. Previous research demonstrated a link between the presence of zinc oxide and the delamination phenomena. More recently, the formation of zinc soaps was found to play a role. In this study, cross sections from both delaminating and relatively intact white areas were investigated with light microscopy, SEM-EDX, and ATR-FTIR imaging to obtain more information about the stratigraphy and condition of the paint layers. Two stages in metal soap formation were identified in the delaminating areas. The first stage consists of noncrystalline zinc soaps or zinc ions bound to carboxylate functional groups in the polymerized oil network. Crystalline zinc soaps, which represent the second, final stage of metal soap formation, are generally linked to the development of zinc soap related deterioration phenomena. In this case, they were found at the interface between the delaminating paint layers. Possible implications for treatment and factors that might trigger further delamination will be discussed.

Performative methods are playing an increasingly prominent role in research into historical production processes, materials, and bodily knowledge and sensory skills, and in forms of education and public engagement in classrooms and museums. Such methods, which we refer to as Reconstruction, Re-enactment, Replication, Reproduction and Re-working (RRR), are used across fields in the humanities and social sciences, from history of science and technology, to archaeology, art history, conservation, musicology and anthropology, among other disciplines. There is much to learn from interdisciplinary methodological reflection. RRR raises issues of truthfulness and accuracy, draws attention to process and performance as well as practices of documentation and facilitates communication with broader publics.

In this study we investigate the possibility of spectra stitching in the context of Spectral Domain - Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT). The aim is to reach a high axial resolution while keeping sampling issues to a low level (slow decay in depth) but still operating with the fastest camera line rate available. The paper focuses mainly on simulations of spectrometer signals and the stitching procedure. It briefly introduces the experimental system. The findings of this study are relevant to most of the SD-OCT systems and could also be transferred to Swept Source OCT (SS-OCT) where they will help to increase the axial resolution capabilities.

In paintings conservation, reconstruction plays a role as a treatment, when it serves to complete the structural image of a lost or damaged area or object, and in research, where reconstructions are employed, for instance, to investigate the impact of conservation treatments or for their innovation. The conservation field has developed several strategies to deal with questions of validity, truthfulness and relevance. By example of a number of recent conservation and conservation research projects, this chapter discusses terminology adopted for reconstruction practices within the field, strategies developed by conservators to deal with ethical and practical issues surrounding the use of reconstructions, and relates these strategies to the ethical framework that guides conservators in their daily work.

The privately owned oil painting Composition with Color Planes 4 (1917) by Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) has been the subject of ongoing investigation since 2011. The painting consists of color planes in a field of differing whites. Some~of these white areas suffer from delamination issues, in combination with flaking. Previous research demonstrated a link between the presence of zinc oxide and the delamination phenomena. More recently, the formation of zinc soaps was found to play a role. In this study, cross sections from both delaminating and relatively intact white areas were investigated with light microscopy, SEM-EDX, and ATR-FTIR imaging to obtain more information about the stratigraphy and condition of the paint layers. Two stages in metal soap formation were identified in the delaminating areas. The first stage consists of noncrystalline zinc soaps or zinc ions bound to carboxylate functional groups in the polymerized oil network. Crystalline zinc soaps, which represent the second, final stage of metal soap formation, are generally linked to the development of zinc soap related deterioration phenomena. In this case, they were found at the interface between the delaminating paint layers. Possible implications for treatment and factors that might trigger further delamination will be discussed.

Historical recipes have been used as sources of information on artists’ materials and methods since the nineteenth century, first in the field of art history, more recently also in conservation studies and the history of science. The reliability of recipes as historical sources remains an important issue. This paper examines the relationship between recipes for preparatory layers for oil painting and artistic practice by investigating the authors, their intentions and the recipes themselves. Preparatory layers or grounds are applied to prepare a support (e.g. canvas, panel, copper) for painting. Their influence on the visual characteristics of paintings and their stability with age makes preparatory systems an important topic in art technological studies. Ground recipes were written by artists, amateurs and lexicographers, for artists, amateurs and the general audience. Dutch writers had strong international connections, evidenced by translations, re-workings, references to earlier foreign sources, and by the export of their recipes. Comparison between ground recipes and actual grounds in paintings shows similarities in ground layering and colour, but also demonstrates that recipes may be repeated long after artists have abandoned the ground types described.