About two years ago, we wrote about a ‘modified medical technique’ (Laser Speckle Imaging) that Wageningen researchers used to peer into the exciting world of drying paint. This technique has now come of age within the start-up company NanoMoi, founded by CEO Jesse Buijs. As proof of the practical potential of the technique, an extensive analysis of the painting Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, ‘The Night Watch’, has just been carried out, with the aim of making a scientifically sound decision on cleaning methods.
‘You can see this as the end product of our research’, says Buijs, who spent half a PhD and two post-docs on the project. ‘In the last few years, we have mainly focused on what you can measure, what happens to the paint and how it interacts with solvents. Then we slowly moved on to real paintings.’
More recently, the focus has been on making a portable setup and automating the data analysis, but practical implications have also come into play. Buijs: ‘How does a conservator use the technology? How do we make sure the instrument is not in the way? Which tests are interesting and which ones do you need to reach a conclusion? All this research ultimately leads to a recommendation on the best way to clean.’
Read the entire article on our website C2W International.
