Sunday, January 27, 2013

Rembrandt's Secret


Using macro X-ray fluorescence analysis, Brookhaven scientists are looking under the surface layer of a 380-year-old Rembrandt painting. Below the Old Man in Military Costume, painted in 1630-31, another portrait was painted which was only faintly discernable with extant technologies.  Art historians wondered who was depicted under the repainted picture.  Now with the new technology, they may be able to answer that question.  The question in my mind is why Ole Rem would hide another portrait under some of his works.  Apparently Van Gogh used this technique as well.  Without any method to detect the hidden layers in their day, what were they thinking?

3 comments:

  1. They had time machines for sure, and they wanted to be like, "Oh yeah future people who think they are all that with their Ipods and amazing gadgets, check out what we can do in the past, paint hidden portraits on our canvases! Take that!"

    Or maybe they ran out of quality canvas and were like, "Screw it, This other person is paying way more for their portrait than the other dude, so... PAINTING over!"

    lol.

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    Replies
    1. I'm with you Nik. I think it was a canvas thing. The researchers are all wondering who; I'm wondering, why!

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