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Modern painters' art is not only different from canvas created earlier, but also shows high internal variability. Being aware of the conditions arising from art history, we used paintings from three art movements—Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Expressionism, to see if we are able to respond to claims made by art theorists by using methods specific to social sciences, and validate the paintings as stimuli which might evoke different emotional reaction based on the movement they were created in. We wanted to conduct an exploratory analysis comparing the mean assessment of valence, arousal, and dominance among the three art movements. A total of 60 different paintings were selected (20 for each art movement) showing figurative works and visible human figures. They were assessed on five different affective scales: valence, arousal, dominance, origin, and subjective significance with use of Self-Assessment Manikins. The results showed expected differences in affective reactions to Expressionist paintings compared with those of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist ones. Therefore, we provided the very first dataset of emotional stimuli with validated affective norms, categorised by the art movement that they were created in and ready to be used in future experimental studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the research recently undertaken to characterise and identify early synthetic dyes (ESDs) and synthetic organic pigments (SOPs) as well as study their degradation pathways with a focus on cultural heritage applications. Since the invention of the first fully synthetic dye in 1856, these materials have been used in a variety of historic objects and artworks, such as textiles, furniture, prints, paintings, drawings, etc. The synthesis of new dyes and their implementation into pigment formulations were rapid phenomena, so that by the beginning of the 20th century, thousands of new molecules were patented and commercialised. This review will focus on these early formulations synthesised up to approximately 1914 and the outbreak of World War I. ESDs and SOPs represent a challenge from an analytical point of view. Molecular databases are fundamental for the unequivocal identification of these compounds, but reference materials are not always readily available. A combination of analytical techniques is often needed for characterisation, especially in the case of SOPs, which have both organic and inorganic components. Furthermore, the degradation of these molecules can jeopardise their detection in historic objects that have been exposed to light, humidity and temperature fluctuations. Nevertheless, ESDs and SOPs are important research tools. As the dates of their first synthesis are often known with precision, based on patent information, their detection can be used to refine the production date of objects. Additionally, their trade from Europe to the world and their adoption in artistic practices around the globe is an active area of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fracture toughness in opening mode GIc for selected oil paints from Mecklenburg's Paint Reference Collection after approximately 30 years of natural ageing was determined using the procedure adopted from the ASTM D5528–13 standard in which double cantilever beam specimens are split in tensile tests. The careful reglueing procedure allowed multiple fracturing tests to be carried out that not only improved statistics of the measurements but also provided insight into the variation of the fracture toughness across the paint film observed for some paints. The latter was due to pigment sedimentation or chemical change of the oil binder as a result of the easier access of oxygen from the side open to the air. For the lead white paint, used over centuries both in paint films and oil grounds, the GIc values more than doubled from 18 to 39 J/m2 for three consecutive cracks formed at an increasing distance from one side of the paint film. The study demonstrated that fracture toughness corresponding to the first crack formation in aged oil paints ranged between 10 and 40 J/m2, relatively low values compared to the animal glue-based ground in paintings. In consequence, oil paints are more vulnerable to crack initiation and growth induced by tensile stress than the ground layer. The measurements filled the gap in the knowledge required for the analysis of fracturing or delamination processes in paintings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent non-destructive analytical campaign at Museo Civico, Castello Ursino, in Catania, Italy, several paintings in the permanent collection were investigated by MA-XRF scanning, with a special focus on Matthias Stomer's production. On one depiction of the Mocking of Christ (ca. 1640) donated to the municipality of Catania by G.B. Finocchiaro in 1826, the analysis documented the use of Naples yellow. Sb with Pb was detected in yellow areas of the Mocking of Christ, but not in his work Tobias healing his father. This finding possibly suggested an early use of lead antimonate yellow in South Italy, although it is generally accepted that this pigment was introduced in painting in the eighteenth century. Further details on his technique and later conservation treatments are provided, as well as literary comparisons with the artistic production during the same period, in Sicily and elsewhere. A systematic study of Stomer's works, for example examining paintings produced while he was in Naples or Rome, might determine whether this material choice depended on local availability. Overall, it would shed light on his technique, as well as on the history of Naples yellow in southern Italy and beyond, before this pigment became so popular in the eighteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabrication of waterproof decorative paintings has attracted a great deal of interest. In this work, in situ reaction using poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane with amino group at end (amino-POSS) was utilized to fabricate coatings at surfaces of papery/cloth decorative paintings via spray, which endowed the decorative paintings with excellent hydrophobicity, transparency, and weather ability. Firstly, ring opening of epoxy groups in PGMA, cross-linking structure in coatings, and strong coating/painting interface adhesion were achieved. Then, surface morphology of coatings was observed, and high surface roughness was confirmed. Next, high transparency and thermal stability of coatings were confirmed. Finally, surface water-contact-angles (WCAs) of coatings with various substrates were tested as a function of POSS content. Weathering resistances of coating surface on cloth substrate were studied. Coatings exhibit excellent properties such as high light transmittance (over 80%), high glass-transition temperature (upper limit ~ 113 ℃), high hydrophobicity (maximum WCA ~ 149°), and strong weathering resistances (the aged WCAs over 140°). Work innovation lies in simultaneously gained high hydrophobicity, good transparency, and strong weather ability. This work might pave a road for fabricating excellent coatings for protecting decorative paintings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city of Valencia (Spain) is famous for its Gothic bridges, built in the 16th century. Today, the bridges no longer cross over the Turia River but have become walkways over one of the most extensive gardens in Europe. One of these bridges is the Serranos Bridge, the oldest bridge in the city and for centuries, it was the only one that existed. This research narrates the evolution of the historical changes related to this bridge, using Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) technology. The Serranos Bridge (and related Serranos Towers) were recorded with the help of terrestrial laser scanning, and parametric 3D modelling was followed after scan-to-HBIM. By referring to historical documents and traces from the past, the height of the historic wall of the city was obtained and used to recreate the urban footprint of the area. In addition, the details of the historical bridge components and the subsequent volumetric changes were reconstructed through HBIM. This investigation shows that there is a common symbol in the historical bridges of Valencia, called Casilicium, of which no traces can be identified in the present bridge. The effective integration of historical data, geomatics and HBIM can be used to understand the past and its complex transformation over six centuries with unprecedented expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Салоникийские братья святые Константин-Кирилл и Мефодий прочно вписаны в нашу религиозную, национальную и культурную традицию. Первые их художественные изображения связаны с эпохой национального возрождения в XIX веке. До этого времени их художественное воплощение прошло сложный путь развития, который зависел не только от стилистической манеры, но и от политической ситуации в обществе. В этой статье даем основную информацию о начале их художественного изображения и жанрового развития в перво ой половине ХХ века. Мы покажем две манеры: реалистическую и экспрессивно-абстрактную, которые являются основными линиями в произведениях художников. Основная идея статьи - демонстрация этой проблематики на примере авторов, работающих со 2-й половины XX века до первых десятилетий двухтысячных. Выбранная тема будет развита на материале плоскостных изображений (живопись, графика) путем описания стиля, композиции, атрибутов и т.д. Будут использованы только художественные произведения словацких, или в Словакии живущих авторов, относящиеся к церковной традиции западного обряда. Художественные изображения, связанные с восточной церковью - иконы, не являются предметом данного исследования. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the article is implementation into scientific use the proposed time limits and names of creative path's periods of artist Mykola Hlushchenko (1901-1977). Based on analysis of well-known facts of his life and creativity, studies of artist's artistic heritage from 1940s-1970s artworks collection of Dnipro Art Museum. The research methodology is based on the methods of art-stylistic and comparative analysis of Mykola Hlushchenko's paintings, considered in art-historical and cultural-historical aspects. The scientific novelty of research consists in scientific 1940s- 1970s creativity periods determination of M. Hlushchenko based on research of Dnipro Art Museum collection and additional attribution of individual painting artworks according to the proposed stages. Conclusions. Based on the analysis of Mykola Hlushchenko's paintings from Dnipro Art Museum collection and study in accounting fund documentation of the institution, considering biographical and autobiographical information, socio-political and historical-cultural context, we proposed a refined periodisation of the artist's work. Division of creative stages of M. Hlushchenko for more detailed periods will allow a more thorough and deeper analysis of the well-known today artist's creative heritage. Using the example of Dnipro Art Museum collection, we concluded that a certain number of works in the museum collections of Ukraine require additional attribution. In addition, the creative heritage of outstanding Ukrainian artist Mykola Hlushchenko remains insufficiently studied and requires comprehensive research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explains the aesthetic element of the hand in the artworks of Slovenian regionalist painter Ive Šubic (1922-1989). It elaborates the reasons why the author believes that Šubic's work was a unique combination of regionalism and partisan art. During his professional life, after he participated in the partisan uprising against occupational forces in WW II, Šubic was considered a genuine partisan painter. He was highly praised by the Communist establishment, and he received several prestige awards. However, after the middle of the 1950s, when he slowly and quietly withdrew from the public life, he gradually became nostalgic. The hands on his paintings and public murals, portrayed as overworked hands with thick fingers and knuckles affected by hard farm work, are the central link between Šubic's experiences of war and his perception of the once genuine experience of rural life in Poljane Valley, lost for good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artists understand the importance, value, and freedom of the studio space as a place within which the interpretation of their creative thoughts transforms into diverse art forms. Throughout history, art has been born there. For the religion of Spiritualism, which supports a belief in life beyond death, the séance appears to be the studio space for pioneer spirit art mediums such as Victorians Georgiana Houghton, Anna Mary Howitt, and David Duguid, and, in modernity, Susan Barnes, Shannon Taggart and myself, to retire to in order to conjoin with believed-to-be communications from the spirits of deceased persons and produce spirit inspired, and created, art. Information has been sought from Houghton’s biographical journal, Howitt’s notations on her spirit art, plus the scribed statements from Duguid’s séance in 1872. This information, accompanied by spirit drawings and paintings, is explained alongside contemporary ethnographic experiences. Spirit inspired paintings and drawings are the backdrop for this paper which seeks to unearth the significance of the séance as a studio space for the mediums who create and created spirit art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Color is one of the fundamental elements of paintings. This paper proposes a set of measurements for color usage in a painting, including basic color elements, global and local color harmony, and color statistical properties, characterizing color features from both the spatial domain and frequency domain. We also collect a painting set including 1059 abstract paintings, 1012 oil paintings, and 1003 Chinese ink paintings. Applying the measurements to this painting set, we are able to observe the roles of color in the three genres of paintings. We report our findings in detail on the effectiveness of these measurements. Chinese ink paintings are significantly different from abstract and oil paintings in color usage, while abstract paintings emphasize color more than the two other genres. The measurements may serve as tools for the classification of paintings. The work is the first of this kind and points to further investigation of color usage in other forms of art and design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I trace Safavid paintings depicting women's imagery online and explore the possibility of digitally mapping Safavid (1501–1736) paintings featuring women on publicly accessible platforms. Along with the practice of online mapping that led me to digital museums, I investigated the descriptions presented on three digitized paintings on different platforms to address the questions, "Where and how can Safavid paintings be digitally encountered" and "In light of the theoretical developments in the scholarship on pre-modern discourses of Safavid gender and sexuality, how do the descriptions of Safavid paintings reflect gender discourses online?" By following Safavid paintings of women online and probing the textual descriptions attached to them, and using netnographic research methods to document my experience and encounter with the digitized Safavid paintings, I explore whether the online descriptions accompanying the images could contribute to the making of decolonial knowledge about non-Western gender discourses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a short review on a subject shared by dermatology and visual art - the centrofacial dermatosis rosacea. From the early renaissance paintings to the New Sobriety of the early 20th century, rosacea has been part of portraits and other types of paintings. This reflects the tight connections of dermatology and visual arts. Furthermore, training in arts can improve dermatological skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of complementary techniques for materials analysis can play a key role in both art conservation and academic research. Nowadays, the correlation of x‐ray fluorescence (XRF) with hyperspectral reflectance imaging in the visible and infrared region has become a valuable tool for palette identification, painting techniques studies and for the diagnostic support dedicated to restoration and conservation. Moreover, both techniques enable researchers to reveal fascinating underpaintings, “pentimenti”, or even preparatory drawings offering new details on the creative process of the artist. This background has been a strong motivation for the development of a new multimodal tool for art and conservation: IRIS. IRIS is a mobile and reconfigurable scanner designed to address a wide range of demanding application, exploiting the opportunities given by simultaneous MA‐XRF and hyperspectral reflectance scanning in the visible‐near‐infrared (VNIR) and short‐wave‐infrared (SWIR) range from 400 to 2500 nm. The system has been designed for in‐situ, fast and non‐invasive scanning of the sample without compromising spectral resolution and high throughput performance. The scanner acquires co‐registered XRF/VNIR‐SWIR data, thus allowing the user to obtain the maximum profit from their possible correlated information: the two techniques can provide enhanced or complementary information on the same spot of analysis with minimum effort in terms of data processing and no need for spatial alignment. In the present work, the qualitative and quantitative performance of IRIS are explored, together with the presentation of in‐lab analysis on reference samples and a brief insight on a real case‐study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paintings are essential components of cultural heritage all over the world. They consist of organic molecules such as oils, waxes, gums, sugars, polysaccharides, and proteins that can support the growth of various microorganisms. In this study, in order to identify the microbial community possibly involved in deterioration of paintings in the storeroom of Mouze Makhsus, culturable bacteria and fungi colonizing the paintings were isolated. The identification of isolated bacteria and fungi was performed through morphological analyses and either PCR amplification and DNA sequencing of 16srRNA gene, for bacteria, and ITS genomic region, for fungi. Based on the obtained 16S rRNA gene sequence of bacteria and ITS region sequence of fungi, a phylogenetic tree was constructed using the Neighbor-Joining method. The study also evaluated, in vitro, the cellulolytic activity of the bacterial and fungal isolates. The results highlighted the diverse array of microbial groups colonizing the sampled paintings. Culture-based analyses revealed 27 isolates of bacteria and fungi. Detected fungi fell in seven genera including Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Alternaria, Curvularia, Chaetomium, and Trametes. The majority of isolated bacteria belong to Bacillus genus, whereas to a lesser extent Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Paenibacillus, Arthrobacter, Heyndrickxia, Priestia, and Rathayibacter were isolated. Qualitative and quantitative assessment of cellulolytic enzyme production showed that the fungal isolates present important cellulolytic activity, and they are potentially dangerous to the paintings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Imaging spectroscopy discloses the secrets of Picasso's painting "La Copa Blava". • Reflectance hyperspectral imaging enabled visualisation of earlier versions of the painting. • New-insights on the Picasso Blue period are gained with imaging spectroscopy. • Reflectance hyperspectral imaging has a potential for museums educational tasks. Reflectance hyperspectral imaging (HSI) in the Visible and Near-IR (VNIR) to the Short Wave IR (SWIR) ranges is acknowledged as one of the most effective techniques for non-invasive examination of paintings. Recently, in some important museums worldwide a new trend has emerged towards a more systematic use of reflectance HSI, which is applied as advanced imaging technique to attain at once analysis and documentation of the painted surfaces and inner layers. As an example of this trend, in the framework of the interdisciplinary program "Picasso: Blue Project" recently carried out at the Museu Picasso in Barcelona, a selection of paintings of the Blue Period (1901–1904) collection were revisited through the eye of cutting-edge analytical techniques, including reflectance HSI. The present paper focuses on the painting "The Blue Glass" (La Copa Blava, 1903), which was examined by using a high-performance reflectance HSI instrumentation. Under its visible surface, this iconic oil on canvas featured a stratification of different compositions that perfectly witnessed the Picasso's creative process. The HSI data enabled an unprecedented visualisation of the artistic metamorphosis of this painting. The well-known Picasso's creative practice of repainting on his own canvas was brought to the light by means of HSI images, which offered unique materials for visualising the hidden layers of the painting, by disclosing subsequent and unknown earlier versions and the artistic evolution of the painting. The outcomes of the project were disseminated in an exhibition, that addressed the ambitious objective of sharing with the wide public scholarly advanced knowledge hitherto gained on the Picasso Blue Period. Within this context, reflectance HSI proved to be exceptionally effective, not only for addressing analytical tasks, but also for educational purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major challenge in heritage science is the non-invasive cross-sectional analysis of paintings. When low-energy probes are used, the presence of opaque media can significantly hinder the penetration of incident radiation, as well as the collection of the backscattered signal. Currently, no technique is capable of uniquely and noninvasively measuring the micrometric thickness of heterogeneous materials, such as pictorial layers, for any painting material. The aim of this work was to explore the possibility of extracting stratigraphic information from reflectance spectra obtained by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). We tested the proposed approach on single layers of ten pure acrylic paints. The chemical composition of each paint was first characterised by micro-Raman and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopies. The spectral behaviour was analysed by both Fibre Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS) and Vis-NIR multispectral reflectance imaging. We showed that there is a clear correlation between the spectral response of acrylic paint layers and their micrometric thickness, which was previously measured by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). Based on significant spectral features, exponential functions of reflectance vs. thickness were obtained for each paint, which can be used as calibration curves for thickness measurements. To the best of our knowledge, similar approaches for cross-sectional measurements of paint layers have never been tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate alterations in depicted penis size by evaluating nude male paintings from the 15th to 21st centuries. Materials and Methods: Nude‐male paintings were identified from various art history websites and analysed to determine changes in penis size over time. Two observers organised the paintings according to the century in which they were created and made the calculations. Penile length to ear length (PtEL) or penile length to nose length (PtNL) were calculated to standardise the measurements using professional image analysis software. PtEL was first attempted for all paintings; if PtEL could not be ascertained, then nose length was used instead of the ear, as the nose length is defined as equal to ear length according to the golden ratio. Thus, PtNL was ensured and both ratios were then referred to using a common term: penis depiction ratio (PDR). Further analysis was performed by dividing the paintings into three groups according to the historical development of art: Renaissance Period (1400–1599; 15th–16th centuries), Baroque–Rococo and Impressionism Period (1600–1899; 17th–19th centuries) and Contemporary Art Period (1900–2020; 20th and 21st centuries). Results: Of 232 identified paintings, 72 (31.1%) were excluded because they depicted images of adolescents or an erect penis. The PDR was found to differ significantly between paintings created in different centuries (P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis revealed that paintings from the 21st century demonstrated significantly higher PDRs than paintings from previous centuries (P = 0.001). Conclusions: In paintings depicting nude males, the size of the penis has gradually increased throughout the past seven centuries, and especially after the 20th century. This observation illustrates the changing sociocultural inputs into male body image and emphasises the need for improved understanding of the sociocultural factors associated with the perception of penis size in men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we compare Western oil paintings and Chinese ink paintings on their composition, by extracting and computing 28 composition features of the paintings, including visual balance and relationships between different regions (segments). Among the extracted segments, we compute average distance and rule-based features based on three layout rules, rule of thirds, golden mean and golden triangle. A total of 2253 paintings including 1138 oil paintings and 1115 Chinese ink paintings are collected. By comparing the results of the features on these paintings, our study investigates the difference and similarity between the two types of paintings on composition. Their composition designs are similar in visual balance and their tendency of composing along two diagonal lines, but are fairly different on many other aspects. For example, oil paintings are inclined to place objects on the bottom horizontal dividing lines of rule of thirds and golden mean. Having discovered the most important features that can differentiate the two types of paintings, we analyze the differences in the features and discuss their possible relationships to the culture and artists' backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past 20 years, THz pulsed time-domain imaging has been used to study the internal structure of various paintings. The main advantage of this technique is that it can nondestructively provide depth profiles, as well as conditions of preparation and support layers, which are important in conservation planning. We have applied THz pulsed time-domain imaging to artworks with linings, which are additional layers of fabric or paper adhered to the back of an original painted work on canvas or paper to reinforce it, usually for conservation purposes. If the lining material or the interface between the lining and the original canvas or paper deteriorates over time, there is a risk of further problems. Therefore, THz pulsed time-domain imaging is expected to be suitable for examining lined paintings. In this paper, the investigation of artworks with lining layers using the THz pulsed time-domain imaging technique is presented, in addition to previous studies of Japanese panel screens and modern oil-canvas paintings with wax-resin linings, as well as a detached fresco painting mounted on a canvas by the "strappo" technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the perspective of cultural relics of tea sets in the Ming Dynasty, the paintings of the Ming Dynasty with tea drinking scenes and the cultural relics of tea sets in the Ming Dynasty are mutually compared and confirmed, which provides powerful physical evidence for the study of the "Yue drinking style" in the Ming Dynasty. The aesthetics of tea sets in the Ming Dynasty highlights the taste and interest of Chinese traditional culture and reflects the aesthetic orientation and the significance at that time, having profound impacts on later generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explored students’ artistic preferences for musical and visual arts (paintings) from different world cultures, outside the dominant Western European and Anglo-Saxon art field. The main goal of the research was to examine the possibility of predicting these preferences based on multicultural personality traits, within the concept of multicultural effectiveness. A total of 427 participants took part in the study. The following instruments were used: General Data Questionnaire, Multicultural Personality Inventory, Musical Preferences Questionnaire, and Painting Preferences Questionnaire. The resultsindicated a significant correlation between age and musical preferences, as well as between artistic experience (attending theatre productions and art exhibitions) and musical/painting preferences. Among the multicultural personality traits, only open-mindedness and cultural empathy positively correlated with artistic preferences. Results of regression analysis in which preferences were used as criteria showed that, after demographics of participants and their artistic experience have been controlled for, open-mindedness positively predicted musical and painting preferences, while both open-mindedness and cultural empathy proved to be significant positive predictors of painting preferences. Other significant predictor for both preferences was attending art exhibitions. Musical preferences were related with older age, while vocational high school education predicted higher preferences for paintings. Although predictors explained relatively small amount of criterion variance, the obtained results confirmed that multicultural personality dispositions have little, but significant contribution to world artistic preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores two phenomenologies of image consciousness that were formulated by Ingarden and Blaustein, both of whom were students of Husserl. Both philosophers analyze image consciousness in the context of the phenomenon of contemplating a painting. The article is divided into seven sections. Section 1 presents the historical background of Blaustein's and Ingarden's explorations. In Section 2, Ingarden's description of a painting as different from an image is reconstructed. In Section 3, Ingarden's analysis of Husserl's image consciousness is discussed. Section 4 concerns Blaustein's theory of intentionality, which was formulated in a critical elaboration of Husserl's philosophy. Section 5 discusses the detailed components of Blaustein's theory of intentionality, i.e., his theory of psychic representations. This theory is then used in Section 6 in an analysis of Blaustein's reading of § 111 of Husserl's Ideas I. Section 7 summarizes both theories in order to draw parallels and differences between Ingarden and Blaustein. In this regard, it is argued that both philosophers refer to different theoretical contexts when discussing Husserl's idea of image consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the history of the Western world, there has always been an association between good and beautiful. Starting from a brief history of beauty, two questions arise: is beauty linked to good even in art? How important are people's religious beliefs in aesthetic and vitality judgments? The psychology of art could answer these questions by studying people's reactions to the images of Saints as testimonials of goodness. Moreover, the study of Saints' paintings would allow us to investigate vitality, understood as one's perception of a living being. The research aimed to investigate the aesthetic and vitality judgments of faces representing the dead, Saints and non-Saints. More than a hundred participants were asked to evaluate the aesthetics and vitality of these paintings; moreover, two tests assessing spirituality and religiosity were administered. Overall, these data suggest Saints were judged more beautiful than non-Saints, and non-Saints were judged more vital than Saints. This might suggest a relationship between ethics and aesthetics, also in the perception of art, and offers reflections on the theme of vitality. The religion and spirituality of participants are not correlated to aesthetic or vitality judgments; this fact could support that these judgments are linked to the basic bottom-up reactions to images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating complementary information from many available technologies is a question of growing interest among the Cultural Heritage community, due to the complexity of the cultural assets under study and of their contexts. Recently, this need has pushed the development of appropriate data fusion procedures for this sector, among which the authors wish to propose their approach for treating multi-source data from image-based methodologies, experimented with in a representative case study. The Chigi Palace of Ariccia hosted our investigation campaign on a precious monochrome painting by Giuseppe Cades (1788), the Graecia Vetus. The study encompasses a photogrammetric survey and two acoustic diagnostic methods, the innovative Frequency Resolved Acoustic Imaging technique and the more traditional Acoustic Tomography. The photogrammetric survey allows reconstruction of the surface morphology of the painting, generating a 3D Digital Elevation Model, while the acoustic methods detect the structural damage beneath the surface due to detachments and flaws, generating 2D images. The output of this heterogeneous datasets fusion is a multi-layer map, each layer representing a type of dataset that clearly shows how some deformations of the surface morphology appear correlated with the presence of sub-surface anomalies, wide air cavities and more superficial detachments revealed by the acoustic diagnostic methods. Beside the exam of the conservation state of the Graecia Vetus, the proposed procedure effectively guarantees access to the integrated information, offering the possibility to understand the correlation between the causes and the effects of the decay process, as well as the retrieval of the single analysis in order to deepen one specific aspect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how the evolving molecular composition of an oil paint layer on its transition to an aged solid film affects its dimensional change and mechanical properties is fundamental to the assessment of material durability and more broadly risk of degradation of oil paintings. Tensile properties—modulus of elasticity and strain at break—as well as cumulative shrinkage were determined for a selection of oil paints from Mecklenburg's Paint Reference Collection now after approximately 30 years of drying. The oil paints were found to get stiffer and more brittle with diminishing plastic deformation and increasingly elastic behaviour. For some paints, the increases in stiffness and decreases in the strain at break were dramatic during the late stage of drying. The observations modify the current physical model of paintings in which the mismatch in the response of glue-based ground layer and unrestrained wood or canvas support to variations in relative humidity (RH) has been identified as the worst-case condition for the fracturing of the entire pictorial layer. This study demonstrated that some paints were more brittle than the glue-based ground layer and as a consequence more vulnerable to cracking. The shrinkage of paints due to molecular relocation and/or evaporation of organic medium as they dry and age was measured. This shrinkage can exceed their strain at break and lead to fracturing of the oil paint layer if it is restrained by a dimensionally stable substrate. Consequently, after long-term drying, the cumulative shrinkage can cause oil paints to crack even in absence of fluctuations in RH or temperature. An example of cracking developed in an oil paint layer on the top of an undamaged ground layer in a historic panel painting was made evident by the X-ray microtomography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research deals with part of the lost works made by Mexican muralist Alfredo Ramos Martínez in the old tourist complex Playa Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico. The first part explains why the hotel was built on this site, and the second part describes some of the paintings that disappeared and on whom the muralist based them; it concludes with some reflections on what should be done to preserve the works that still remain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent UK lockdowns restricted mobility, altered access to the outdoors and led to changes in the environment (e.g., reduced traffic, pollution and crowding). This is likely to have altered the way people evaluated outdoor environments. Here we investigated aesthetic and emotional responses (liking, openness, relaxation) to paintings and photographs depicting landscapes and urban scenes in three UK cohorts: pre-lockdown, spring 2020 lockdown, and winter 2021 lockdown. Participants (N = 334) reported higher levels of liking, openness and relaxation for landscapes and urban scenes during the two lockdown periods compared to pre-lockdown levels. Importantly, evaluations in the lockdown groups were influenced by the types of places visited most frequently. These findings aid our understanding of the psychological effects of lockdowns on evaluations of outdoor environments and are relevant to the development of policies for the promotion of well-being, including the design of more open and relaxing urban spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manuscript now preserved as Indien 745 in the Manuscript Department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) contains 137 paintings by an Indian artist, each accompanied by an explanation in French. These paintings depict deities and sages in static posture or narrative mode, as well as icons associated with temples. The present contribution forms a preliminary study of this manuscript in our project on South Indian manuscripts with paintings of deities preserved in the BnF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines what we mean by a text: is it verbal (whether written or oral), mental, visual, or a combination? All of these forms are found within the various types of artistic expression centred on the Rāmāyaáa tradition. I start with the relief sculptures, some of which are centuries early than any extant manuscripts. After a brief comment on the evolution of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaáa text, I then survey in turn some prestige illustrated Vālmīki Rāmāyaáa manuscripts, less notable Vālmīki Rāmāyaáa manuscripts, illustrated manuscripts of the Rāmcaritmānas and other vernacular versions, and sets or series of paintings illustrating the Rāma story (including some single paintings), showing the diverse range of forms it has taken over time and something of the adaptations it has undergone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artistic expressions provide visual stimulation and information, promote cultural awareness, and evoke thoughts and feelings. A very interesting component of artistic expression is the ability of the art form to produce a state of well-being in both the artist and the observer. This article (1) investigates the connection of my art to a specific purpose and fulfillment, (2) explains how artistic expressions can promote well-being through neurostimulation, (3) provides an example of how artistic expressions can assist in productivity, (4) expounds on the ability of artistic expressions to elicit cultural awareness, and (5) presents reflections on my paintings and their possible influence on an observer. The article reenforces the concept that artistic expressions extend beyond surface observation and stimulation and can penetrate the inner being and spirit of the artist and the observer, thereby affecting thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and well-being. Artistic expressions are forms of communication that can connect individuals across geographical boundaries, cultures, and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fleury Richard was a colorist painter of the early 19th century. He practiced the oil technique inspired by the Renaissance at a time when advances in chemistry were introducing many new synthetic pigments. His color-mixing cabinet has been kept intact at the Musée des Beaux Arts de Lyon. This original study is based on the analysis of more than 40 color powders using different spectroscopic techniques (X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy), color index estimation, and the comparison of the results obtained from three pictural works painted by the artist. It allows us (i) to identify and reference the pigmented powders and pictural choices in connection with historical manuscripts describing the artist's practice, and (ii) to identify the most judicious analysis methods and question the difficulty of analyzing paintings in a non-destructive way, where pigments are put into a matrix and mixed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the preservation of painted cultural heritage on wooden substrates, it is important to understand the fracture mechanisms in the multilayer system of which they are constructed and how the environment plays a role in the composites' physical properties. Past research has investigated the material response of each constituent layer but much more needs to be done to represent the heterogeneous composite structure of easel paintings. In recent years fracture mechanics concepts have been applied to glue and glue/chalk multilayers. However, few experiments have been conducted on multilayers that include oil paint, due to its very long, and impractical drying time, which can be a few years up to decades depending on the type of study. The paper presents a methodology for the use of thermally aged alkyd paint in easel painting reconstructions for mechanical testing, specifically as a substitute for naturally aged traditional linseed oil paint. Elastic and failure properties of the paint have been obtained from environmentally-controlled tensile tests on thin free-film samples. To obtain the characteristic properties of increased elastic modulus and reduced ductility, a thermal ageing protocol has been experimentally developed. The results are compared with data from the published literature, theoretical models and with 30-year-old samples of cold-pressed linseed oil lead white paint tested within this research work. The final methodology provides the research community with a viable way to produce samples that can be used to understand the behaviour of a (simplified) but complete multilayer system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) has recently commissioned the new Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS). The gain in brightness as well as the continuous development of beamline instruments boosts the beamline performances, in particular in terms of accelerated data acquisition. This has motivated the development of new access modes as an alternative to standard proposals for access to beamtime, in particular via the "block allocation group" (BAG) mode. Here, we present the recently implemented "historical materials BAG": a community proposal giving to 10 European institutes the opportunity for guaranteed beamtime at two X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) beamlines—ID13, for 2D high lateral resolution XRPD mapping, and ID22 for high angular resolution XRPD bulk analyses—with a particular focus on applications to cultural heritage. The capabilities offered by these instruments, the specific hardware and software developments to facilitate and speed-up data acquisition and data processing are detailed, and the first results from this new access are illustrated with recent applications to pigments, paintings, ceramics and wood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While right-left hemispheric valence dichotomies have been demosntrated in various lesion stidues, it not entirely known if these dichotomies are portrayed in art. Methods: We examined 192 paintings to learn if there is an association between paintings that portray happy-positive or sad-negative scenes and the agent looking to the right or left side relative to their head's midsagittal plane. Results: There were 38 paintings with a positive valence and 32 with a negative valence in which the eyes were turned rightward or leftward. Of 38 positive valence paintings, 28 had the agent looking rightward, and 10 looking leftward. Of 32 negative valence paintings, 15 had the agent looking rightward and 17 leftward. Discussion: Hemisphere activation is associated with contralateral deviation of the eyes. Whereas the right hemisphere mediates negative emotions allocates spatial attention to both left and right hemispace, the left hemisphere primarily allocates attention to the right. Since the left hemisphere appears to mediate positive emotions and the right hemisphere negative emotions, results from this study are consistent with hemispheric emotional valence attentional hypotheses. However, the relationship between artist knowledge about gaze and the utilization of gaze direction to portray emotional experiences is not known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiocarbon dating of pictorial support is usually less used. It is accepted for paintings with the estimated age older than the Stradivarius limit (ca. 1600 - 1650 CE) as stated by A.J.T. Jull in 1997, and not as an authentication method. Considering this, a seventeenth century oil-based painting (Main Case Study) is reported. Based on the results obtained as terminus post quem , the painting cannot be attributed to the famous painter from the classical period, considered to be the author, according to the signature. Two other recently solved cases (Sample 1 and Sample 2) are briefly recorded and the information obtained was used for a more accurate interpretation of the Main Case Study. The multidisciplinary research aimed to put together, for the first time in the RoAMS Laboratory Romania, the information obtained through elemental analysis, ATR-FTIR, FT-Raman and XRF spectrometry. Radiocarbon dating process includes a comparative description of pictorial fragment pretreatments, of the textile fiber graphitization stage, and of AMS measurements used for determinations of isotopic ratio of carbon species, and general process parameter δ13C, of percent of Modern Carbon, and Conventional Radiocarbon Age, and of the Standard Deviations. The fragment of (Main Case Study) was first investigated using both FT-Raman and ATR-FTIR spectrometry. The spectra obtained reveal that the painting surface was covered with a thick layer of linseed oil, which hinders a complete analysis of the pigments through FT-Raman and ATR-FTIR spectrometry. However, the white pigment (lead white) and primer (calcium carbonate) were successfully identified. The findings from ATR-FTIR and FT-Raman spectra provide reliable information about the contaminants, information that is further used to select the most appropriate dating strategy. Before the AMS measurements, the cleaned textile fibers were investigated by elemental analysis, ATR-FTIR and micro-DRIFT spectrometry. The data obtained were compared with known natural and artificial textile fibers. The results reveal an almost complete decontamination, which additionally underlines the assumption that the textile support used exhibits a synthetic nature. Most likely, the canvas was made of synthetic nylon 6.6 fibers on a texture close to sailboat, used for sailing in the mid-twentieth century. The findings were finally confirmed by radiocarbon dating. 14C/12C isotopic ratios were close to RoAMS Laboratory background level, certifying a raw material from fossil deposits. The other fragments of canvas, those from recently solved cases (Sample 1 and Sample 2) are supposed to belong to the first part of the seventeenth, or to nineteenth / twentieth centuries (where the presumptions were made, and where the final results are placed, for Main Case Study). The comparative data reveal different particularities observed for each situation, offering pro and con arguments in determining the fibers age(s). The information provided by radiocarbon dating, elemental analysis and XRF spectrometry is in good agreement and demonstrates that it is unlikely that the authors designated for each case were those who created the paintings. The XRF spectrometry investigation highlighted the use of primers or pigments that generally appeared in the painting technique after the date when the painting creation was estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agar, a natural polysaccharide, has gained increasing popularity among conservators worldwide in the past two decades as a gelling material for water and aqueous solutions. Converting the aqueous medium into thermo-reversible hydrogels enables cleaning and humidification treatments to be performed with very strict control of the amount of water released. Even sensitive surfaces of different types of artworks can thus be treated with a good degree of selectivity. When the surface possesses sufficient cohesion and is compatible with a temperature of approximately 40°C, the semi-solid state of the agar gel represents the ideal means of application. From a practical point of view, however, restricting the application to limited areas may be difficult; furthermore, a homogeneous application to large areas may be even more problematic: in this near-solid state, the gel remains workable for only a short time. This contribution addresses both situations by introducing specific tools and the related methodology to treat both very small and large areas. A heated syringe-pistol can be easily assembled for the former situation, and a commercially available paint sprayer can be used for the latter. This novel spray application has been considered in detailed studies. It produces a flexible, ductile film with quite a different morphology from that of the film traditionally produced by warm application and cooling. The syneresis process is thus affected by the different gel structure. The extremely controlled release rate of water from a spray-applied hydrogel makes this application highly compatible with even the most sensitive surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hedonic (or aesthetic) preferences to repeated sensory stimulation can remain stable over time (Island of Stability Effect, ISE) or vary with prior exposures (Mere Exposure Effect, MEE).Objective: Here we compared the liking ratings of seniors with cognitive impairments (mostly mild-to-moderate dementia, DPs) and neurotypical senior controls (CNs) to audio and visual stimuli and examined whether those ratings conformed to the ISE or the MEE predictions.Method: Participants (n = 212) rated sets of stimuli repeated three times at weekly intervals: images of Picasso's paintings, PANTONE color cards, and avant-garde music clips.Results: The aggregated liking ratings of DPs and CNs were stable over time, in line with the ISE model. However, latent growth modeling indicated that those stable responses might have masked differences at the individual level, since seniors in both cohorts exhibited clusters of different responses over the time evaluated, supporting the predictions of the MEE. Notably, there was a dampening of hedonic experiences in DPs comparatively to CNs.Conclusion: The presence of hedonic responses (and individual variations) in DPs is relevant not only to their wellbeing and therapy interventions involving audio and visual stimulation, but also to the design of spaces that offset the downturn in hedonic experiences affecting seniors with cognitive impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to discuss the positive and negative dimensions of writing the art history in Turkey. Concerning the painting art history in Turkey, it is a well-known fact that there are general methodologies such as biographic, stylistic and formalistic ones which are commonly used in the making of the art history. However, there are other methodologies like sociological, feminist and iconographic one which are essential for the evolution of the aesthetics understanding. It can be argued that the lack of multidisciplinary approaches and methodologies may damage such understanding in Turkey. Therefore, our objective is to improve the interdisciplinary making of the art history in Turkey in the sense that both artists and historians should acknowledge the interaction between the different methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What makes a colored image, e.g. an abstract painting or a landscape, look pleasing? We hypothesized that a preference for complex color compositions, such as paintings and images of natural scenes, might be related to how natural the colors are perceived. We tested this possibility with two experiments in which the degree of naturalness of images was manipulated by rotating their color gamut rigidly in the color space CIELAB. This changed just the hue composition, but preserved saturation and lightness. In the first experiment we obtained individual scaling curves for perceived naturalness and for preference as a function of the angle of gamut rotation for a small set of images. The naturalness and preference scaling curves were found to be largely similar and their maxima were close to the original image. In the second experiment, we tested whether this effect generalized to a larger set of images. We used a simultaneous 5AFC procedure where in each trial participants had to select the most natural or the most preferred image from five different rotations of the color gamut. The results confirmed the first experiment and showed that, in general, the images perceived as the more natural tend to be the ones that are preferred. Together these results show that perceived naturalness and preference are indeed perceptually closely related and may be driven by related mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The emergent categorization involving paintings by renowned painters and their corresponding names was demonstrated by previous studies. However, the results of these studies suggest that the colors of the pictures may have played a preponderant role, obscuring other aspects of the stimuli that could be more directly related to the style of each painter. To verify this possibility, the present study used the same methodology of Ferreira et al. to investigate the establishment of emergent conditional relations between categories composed of black and white paintings and the names of their authors. Method: The procedure consisted of the training of relations between each of the ten paintings and an abstract picture, for each of the three painters Botticelli, Monet, and Picasso. Relations between each of the three abstract figures and the printed name of one of the painters were verified in sequence. Finally, tests of relations between five trained and five untrained paintings of each artist and the printed names were conducted. Results: The participants' performance suggests that the outcome was properly controlled by aspects pertinent to the paintings that belonged to each painter's category. Conclusions: The results reinforced the data obtained previously with colored pictures, suggesting that the process of emergent categorization involving artificial categories of paintings is robust. It also indicates possibilities for future investigations, for example, using stimuli of other artistic productions, such as sculpture and music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The axis and allied powers, mainly Germany and Britain, used propaganda in Turkey throughout Second World War in an attempt to persuade Turkey to become an ally. Britain was at the forefront of this movement and held films, conferences, language courses etc at the British Council, which was established in 1934, to promote English language, cultural accumulation, art and architecture. The council, the first office of which was opened in Ankara in 1940, succeeded in strengthening the diplomatic relationships between the two countries by extensively raising public opinion across the country through its activities. Exhibitions, which are a highly effective method of communication for large groups, were organized in the capital Ankara by the British Council during and after Second World War as a vehicle of cultural propaganda to exhibit art and graphics, architecture, educational institutions, books, urbanism, furniture and photography. The pro-British exhibitions provided the opportunity to establish close relations with Turkish Government officials; and so can be seen to have served Britain's propaganda efforts to secure Turkey as an ally, both during and after the war. Although Britain actually failed to persuade Turkey to become a war ally, these exhibitions carried out by the British Council did succeeded in introducing the English language, culture and lifestyle to the country, and thus creating positive Turkish-British relations even after the war. While the British Council continues to conduct such activities, the exhibitions held by the British Council, which are the subject of the study, are limited to those of the 1940s. The study uses archive documents, news in periodical publications and information obtained from exhibition catalogues to address questions such as the dates of the exhibitions, the areas and works exhibited, the views of the Turkish government, the public, and the press of these exhibitions, as well as the relevance of the exhibitions in their period and how they compared to similar activities by other countries. The study, which is entitled "The Cultural Propaganda Exhibitions of the British Council in Ankara in the 1940's" and focuses on the exhibition activities organized by the British Council in Ankara during the 10-year period between 1940-1950, concludes that reasons such as the propaganda that occured during World War II, the changing global political balances after the war, and the increasing importance of alliances, all lead the delegation to conduct an intense program of activities in Turkey during those years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed at understanding the use of paintings outside of an art-related context, in the English version of Wikipedia. Design/methodology/approach: For this investigation, the authors identified 8,104 paintings used in 10,008 articles of the English Wikipedia edition. The authors manually coded the topic of the article in question, documented the number of monthly average views and identified the originating museum. They analysed the use of images based on frequency of use, frequency of view, associated topics and location. Early in the analysis three distinct perspectives emerged: the readers of the online encyclopaedia, the editors of the articles and the museum organisations providing the painting images (directly or indirectly). Findings: Wikipedia is a widely used online information resource where images of paintings serve as visual reference to illustrate articles, notably also beyond an art-related topic and where no alternative image is available – as in the case of historic portraits. Editors used paintings as illustration of the work itself or art-related movement, but also as illustration of past events, as alternative to photographs, as well as to represent a concept or technique. Images have been used to illustrate up to 76 articles, evidencing the polysemic nature of paintings. The authors conclude that images of paintings are highly valuable information sources, also beyond an art-related context. They also find that Wikipedia is an important dissemination channel for museum collections. While art-related articles contain greater number of paintings, these receive less views than non-art-related articles containing fewer paintings. Readers of all topics, predominantly history, science and geographic articles, viewed art pieces outside of an art context. Painting images in Wikipedia receive a much larger online audience than the physical painting does when compared to the number of museum onsite visitors. The authors' results confirm the presence of a strong long-tail pattern in the frequency of image use (only 3% of painting images are used in a Wikipedia article), image view and museums represented, characteristic of network dynamics of the Internet. Research limitations/implications: While this is the first analysis of the complete collection of paintings in the English Wikipedia, the authors' results are conservative as many paintings are not identified as such in Wikidata, used for automatic harvesting. Tools to analyse image view specifically are not yet available and user privacy is highly protected, limiting the disaggregation of user data. This study serves to document a lack of diversity in image availability for global online consumption, favouring well-known Western objects. At the same time, the study evidences the need to diversify the use of images to reflect a more global perspective, particularly where paintings are used to represent concepts of techniques. Practical implications: Museums wanting to increase visibility can target the reuse of their collections in non-art-related articles, which received 88% of all views in the authors' sample. Given the few museums collaborating with the Wikimedia Foundation and the apparent inefficiency resulting from leaving the use of paintings as illustration to the crowd, as only 3% of painting images are used, suggests further collaborative efforts to reposition museum content may be beneficial. Social implications: This paper highlights the reach of Wikipedia as information source, where museum content can be positioned to reach a greater user group beyond the usual museum visitor, in turn increasing visual and digital literacy. Originality/value: This is the first study that documents the frequency of use and views, the topical use and the originating institution of "all the paintings" in the English Wikipedia edition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using George Bataille's concepts of continuity/discontinuity, eroticism, and death, I read the stories of Genesis 3–4 to demonstrate how these notions provide a hermeneutical framework to understand the myths of creation. I present a unique perspective around the idea of continuity/discontinuity, the role of work, and the possibility of killing latent in all humanity. I demonstrate how eroticism is part of the semantical potential of the stories and how the artistic renderings of Cain and Abel's tale by Albrecht Dürer, Jan Harmensz, Daniele Crespi, and Alexandre Falguière actualize it. I analyze how in the paintings the experience of pleasure in eroticism is tightly bound together with states of fear and pain. I demonstrate how the visual representations can contribute to decentering closed models of subjectivity and spirituality that emerge within the history of interpretation. Finally, I offer an alternative reading of Cain's mark using Bataille's notions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient paintings are a source of pride for any alert citizen of the world. But with the passage of time, these paintings get discoloured; develop cracks and many other defects. Knowing the materials of any given painting and its support allows for the proper restoration and conservation practices. Restoration includes repairing paintings that have suffered paint loss, weakened canvas, tears, water damage, fire damage, and insect damage. In this paper we have described the advantages of using lasers over many traditional techniques for the analysis and conservation of these artworks. The laser-based technologies reviewed for this purpose in this paper are: laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS); micro-Raman spectroscopy; optical coherence tomography (OCT); laserinduced fluorescence (LIF); photoluminescence; and combinations thereof. It has been argued that these technologies have an edge over the non-laser ones for the analysis, cleaning and restoration of ancient painted artworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Painting has played a major role in human expression, evolving subject to a complex interplay of representational conventions, social interactions, and a process of historization. From individual qualitative work of art historians emerges a metanarrative that remains difficult to evaluate in its validity regarding emergent macroscopic and underlying microscopic dynamics. The full scope of granular data, the summary statistics, and consequently, also their bias simply lie beyond the cognitive limit of individual qualitative human scholarship. Yet, a more quantitative understanding is still lacking, driven by a lack of data and a persistent dominance of qualitative scholarship in art history. Here, we show that quantitative analyses of creative processes in landscape painting can shed light, provide a systematic verification, and allow for questioning the emerging metanarrative. Using a quasicanonical benchmark dataset of 14,912 landscape paintings, covering a period from the Western renaissance to contemporary art, we systematically analyze the evolution of compositional proportion via a simple yet coherent information-theoretic dissection method that captures iterations of the dominant horizontal and vertical partition directions. Tracing frequency distributions of seemingly preferred compositions across several conceptual dimensions, we find that dominant dissection ratios can serve as a meaningful signature to capture the unique compositional characteristics and systematic evolution of individual artist bodies of work, creation date time spans, and conventional style periods, while concepts of artist nationality remain problematic. Network analyses of individual artists and style periods clarify their rhizomatic confusion while uncovering three distinguished yet nonintuitive supergroups that are meaningfully clustered in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conservation of paintings is fundamental to ensure that future generations will have access to the ideas of the grand masters who created these art pieces. Many factors, such as humidity, temperature, light, and pollutants, pose a risk to the conservation of paintings. To help with painting conservation, it is essential to be able to noninvasively study how these factors affect paintings and to develop methods to investigate their effects on painting degradation. Hence, the use of mobile nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) as a method of investigation of paintings is gaining increased attention in the world of Heritage Science. In this mini‐review, we discuss how this method was used to better understand the stratigraphy of paintings and the effect different factors have on the painting integrity, to analyze the different cleaning techniques suitable for painting conservation, and to show how mobile NMR can be used to identify forgeries. It is also important to keep in mind its limitations and build upon this information to optimize it to extend its applicability to the study of paintings and other precious objects of cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal carboxylate or soap formation is a widespread deterioration problem affecting oil paintings and other works of art bearing oil‐based media. Lead soaps are prevalent in traditional oil paintings because lead white was the white pigment most frequently chosen by old masters for the paints and in some cases for the ground preparations, until the development of other white pigments from approximately the middle of the 18th century on, and because of the wide use of lead‐tin yellow. In the latter part of the 19th century, lead white began to be replaced by zinc white. The factors that influence soap formation have been the focus of intense study starting in the late 1990s. Since 2014, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies have contributed a unique perspective on the issue by providing chemical, structural, and dynamic information about the species involved in the process, as well as the effects of environmental conditions such as relative humidity and temperature on the kinetics of the reaction(s). In this review, we explore recent insights into soap formation gained through solid‐state NMR and single‐sided NMR techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edvard Munch, an outstanding Norwegian painter and graphic artist, has created many artworks that still evoke a lively emotional response from the audience. The artist's life was full of losses, fears and contradictions; he struggled with himself and with his mental illness for most of his life. Having studied the history of Edvard Munch's life and creative path, we make an attempt to investigate his mental disorders and the influence they have had on his art. A review of available scientific sources has been made, information on the main stages of life and creative work of the artist has been systematized and briefly presented. The lack of information about the artist's mental illness is very extensive, but given his hereditary burden and symptoms described in the literature, we suggest that it is more likely he had schizophrenia comorbid with alcohol use disorder than a schizoaffective or bipolar affective disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]