2019-01-01_Discover

80 DISCOVERMAGAZINE.COM

FROM TOP: RMN-GRAND PALAIS (MUSÉE NATIONAL PICASSO-PARIS); JOHN DELANEY, NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON AND KEIKO IMAI, POLA MUSEUM OF ART, JAPAN; POLA MUSEUM; DELANEY; ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO (2); RMN-GRAND PALAIS (2)

Light Show

In some cases, researchers hoping to discover something new must borrow technology from a seemingly unrelated

ield. John Delaney, a physicist working at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., knows this as well as

anyone. Working with other physicists, as well as chemists and conservators, the senior imaging scientist has been

using spectroscopy to probe famous artwork.

This new kind of research is non-destructive, so it conserves existing paintings and sculptures for future

generations while revealing secrets about their provenance. Some of the insights he gained

into the works of Pablo Picasso this year illustrate the kind of art inds we

can expect in the future.

CHEMISTRY

& PHYSICS

Physicists rediscover lost arts and useful materials. BY STEPHEN ORNES

The same team

also used X-rays

to analyze 39

sculptures from the

Picasso Museum,

in Paris, identifying

the mix of metals

within and even

tracking them to

particular foundries.

Researchers collaborating with Delaney on La

Miséreuse accroupie (The Crouching Beggar) revealed

that, in another case of recycling, the Spanish artist

painted over an existing canvas, this one containing

another painter’s work. The scientists could see both

the previous painting and how Picasso incorporated it

into his work.

In April, Delaney studied Mother and Child by the

Sea, Picasso’s 1902 painting. Near-infrared imaging

revealed the unmistakable shapes of letters in newsprint

lurking behind the paint, originating from a 1902 issue

of Le Journal. It conirmed the date of the painting and

suggests Picasso covered a canvas he’d previously painted

on with newspaper before starting a new painting.

Mother and Child by the Sea,

oil on canvas, 1902 Hidden painting

The Crouching Beggar,

oil on canvas, 1902

Tête de femme (Mougins), cast-iron sheet, polychrome,

Tête de femme (Fernande), bronze, 1909; elemental analysis 1962; infrared scanner

Hidden painting

Traces of 1902

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