Masterpiece under the Microscope
July 28, 2009 – February 21, 2010
What can science tell us about art? Joseph Barabe, a scientist at McCrone Associates of Westmont, Illinois, examined paint samples under a microscope and viewers could see what a painting looks like in an X-ray. Curator Jonathan Canning and conservator Maura Checconi interpreted these scientific discoveries in light of the art history and painting practices of 18th-century Spain.
This exhibition was part of Science Chicago: Life’s a Lab.
Image: Portrait of a Jesuit Saint: San Francisco de Borja, 1726, Bernardo Lorente Germán, Spanish (Seville), oil on canvas. In loving memory of Marilyn M. Simpson, given by her devoted husband and children, 1997-01.
