'Material X': AR meets Technical Art History
A3 - Futures Project
Jessica Cammaert Raval
“After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are artists as well.” Albert Einstein
What is 'Material X'?
'Material X' is my proposed app that will bring cutting edge research discoveries from the field of technical art history to the classroom. Inspired by a recent visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario's Picasso: Painting the Blue Period exhibit, which showcases the multi-institutional work of technical art historians, curators, and conservation scientists in uncovering hidden portraits behind the legendary artist's well-known (or believed to be well-known) works, this app leverages Augmented Reality (AR) to create an immersive and transformative learning experience for art history students.
But first - what is 'technical art history?'
Technical art history is a relatively new branch of art history that explores artwork as a 'physical object'. The field seeks to examine the materials, techniques and production methods that are involved in the creation of artwork. This focus is closely intertwined with an attention to the artists frame of mind during the artworks creation, as well as the processes by which the artwork is created. In terms of technologies used, state-of-the-art imaging and analytical technologies are employed. Examples of such technologies include, but are not limited to: x-radiography, macro x-ray fluorescence (XRF) scanning, infrared reflectance imaging spectroscopy, and paint sample microanalysis. These techniques allow experts who may have a 'hunch' there is something 'more' or 'behind' the painting to support their hypothesis with tangible scientific proof.
Exhibition Examples
Before we delve into the 'how' of the app, let's look at the 'why'? Where is the gap in education, and why is this field - and its discoveries - so important that an app should be created to support art history learners?
Take a look at the discoveries made by researchers involved in the Picasso project, as well as those of the University of Glasgow's Technical Art History Group and its 'Take An Object' Exhibition. The selected videos provide a clear sense for how these technologies are used, and how they have (re-)shaped the way artists, and their artworks, are understood.
Picasso: Painting the Blue Period
Note: copyright precludes me from posting photos taken during the exhibition/photos of the selected works. Please click on the left image for the AGO site.
'Take an Object' Exhibition, Technical Art History Group, University of Glasgow
Click on the left image from the 'Take an Object' webpage
Techniques Used by the Research Team on 'The Blue Room'
There are a variety of techniques in the technical art history toolkit. For 'The Blue Room', researchers used Infrared Reflectance Imaging Spectroscopy to manipulate spectroscopic data. This emphasizes textured brushstrokes. When the team rotated the painting 90 degrees clockwise, they saw a man with a crooked nose wearing a dark jacket and white bowtie. The false-colour IR image shows The Blue Room is positioned over the portrait of the man. The relationship between the two paintings is evident through this technology.
Infrared Reflectography was also used, and when filters were applied to the painting, surface colours became more transparent, revealing the hidden painting below.
X-radiography simply suggested a "ghostly" image under The Blue Room.
XRF Scanning involves a x-ray laser beam with a diameter of less than 1 mm. This laser beam produces fluorescence in an area of the artwork, indicating chemical elements that can identify the pigments.
This analysis can be done to pain samples that are cracked or worn away, and can provide details about pigment mixtures and paint layering. This process can tell you about pain application and characteristics of the mixtures. Each layer can be analyzed to provide more information about composition.