Based on his research, Joris Dik dismisses all romantic notions concerning painters as fairy tales. “Painters in the 17^th century weren’t solitary eccentrics, they presided over business-like workshops, where everyone had a task to fulfill, and where nothing was wasted. Everything was used and re-used, including canvasses, which were often used for several paintings. Artists already strived for sustainability back then,” Dik says with a smile.

Nightmare

The Professor of Material Science and Engineering from Delft and his team developed a mobile X-ray fluorescence scanner that can expose the different materials used by the painter, and - not unimportant - his team can conduct the research at the museum. “Hauling a piece of art to the location that houses a scanner is a security and logistical nightmare. A mobile installation was a great solution and we have used it in many parts of the world already.”

Using some works by Rembrandt as examples, he then continues to show to what extent paintings are tinkered with through the ages. A self-portrait reveals all kinds of elements that were added to the work in order to make it look more “Rembrandt-like,” and on De Staalmeesters (The Syndics) it’s as if the character of the secretary is moving across the painting. “Our scans first show this figure depicted right front, then a little more towards the middle, and eventually he ends up center at the back. Attempts by Rembrandt to enliven the painting. It’s as if we are looking over his shoulder while he is working.”

Lost works

Dik has also done research on works by Van Gogh. He too would often re-use canvasses to save money. “In his letters to his brother, Van Gogh talks about paintings that were believed to have disappeared in the course of time. Our research shows that these works are simply hidden beneath existing paintings. For instance, underneath the painting Patch of Grass, we discovered a portrait of a woman farmer that resembles his work from the time he painted the Potato Eaters. That got us a great deal of attention, even in Japan, and it really boosted interest in our research.”

Sometimes, Dik and his team have to disappoint art collectors, as was the case in their research on a painting that the owners believed to be very close to Rembrandt. “They were under the impression that it was a painted mirror image of an etching of an acknowledged piece by Rembrandt, perhaps made by an apprentice. But underneath, we discovered a completely different painting, a depiction of the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, placing it even further from Rembrandt. That didn’t exactly please the client, to put it mildly.”

X-ray canon

Dik has been working with Jom Luiten, professor of Coherence and Quantum Technology at TU/e, on the research project Smart*Light for over a year now. The intended result, a table-sized synchroton, will be a revolutionary step forward in their research. “At the moment, you could say we can make a nice picture lit by candlelight, but Smart*Light will give us the opportunity to analyze the chemical composition of artworks layer by layer.”

Luiten, who is also present at the lecture, is excited about how the project has moved forward. He says that the machine can be used not only for art research, but that other sectors have also showed interest, including medical diagnostics, high-tech industry (“such as ASML”), and the aviation, automotive and shipbuilding industries. Dik hopes to be able to X-ray the first painting with this technique by 2020. “I already know which painting: Picasso’s Guitar Player from his Cubism period. There are four other paintings underneath that painting that I hope will show us how he came to this style.”