Though science and art are vastly different disciplines, one can shed light on the other. That connection is on display in a recolorized version (above) of Vincent van Gogh’s The Bedroom.
The colors in the original work, a version painted in 1889, have faded over time. For an exhibit on display through May 10 at the Art Institute of Chicago, conservation scientist Francesca Casadio and colleagues conducted a number of tests to reveal the pigments van Gogh used.
A macro X-ray fluorescence scanner gave scientists a broad picture of the elements and minerals in the paint. A technique called surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy — which uses laser light to make molecules vibrate in a way that betrays their identity — gave clues to other pigments in the paint.
Finally, a microscopic sample taken from the painting (right) was especially revealing: The underside divulged the original purple color of the walls.
Casadio and colleagues then worked with a color theorist to simulate van Gogh’s paints, and with conservators and curators to create a digital version of the original painting that brings back “the emotional landscape of van Gogh,” Casadio says. “It’s a visualization that is not arbitrary; it’s informed by the science. But there’s still a process where you have to have the interpretive eye of those who know the artist.”