Research on Paintings: Technical Art History and Connoisseurship
17 December 2012 - 22 September 2013
Prints & Drawings, Room 90
Free admission
'The embarkation of Saint Helena in the Holy Land' by Jacopo Tintoretto, oil painting, about 1555, Museum no. 1361-1869
During a recent research programme over 2 years, 200 of the Museum's paintings were re-attributed or re-identified.
The display provides a rich account of the principles and methods applied by researchers to establish the nature and origins of oil paintings: close examination (connoisseurship), documentary research and technical analysis. The 11 case studies will provide a step-by-step introduction to a subject which is often considered the preserve of art historians, conservators and other specialists.
The paintings will be displayed together with reproductions of X-radiographs, infra-red photographs and illustrations of comparative materials.
This display has been mounted with the assistance of the National Inventory Research Project in collaboration with the University of Glasgow, the National Gallery and with the support of the Kress Foundation.
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