Seeing Through Paintings: Physical Examination in Art Historical Studies

Front Cover
Yale University Press, Jan 1, 2000 - Art - 328 pages

This prize-winning book offers the only comprehensive discussion available on materials, techniques, and condition issues in Western easel paintings from medieval times to the present.

“An essential handbook for the pro, and also a beautifully illustrated primer for the layperson. Kirsh and Levenson teach the most valuable lessons about painting of all: how meanings, material, and techniques are bound up together.”—John Walsh, former director, J. Paul Getty Museum

“Every element of Kirsh and Levenson's book is smart, concise, and informative. . . . [It is] the essential book on its subject.”—Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

“A long overdue book with direct relevance for modern students of the history of art.”—Libby Sheldon, Burlington Magazine

 

Contents

The Support
5
A Panel Fragment?
16
An Artists Gift Records His Change 54 124
54
The Ground and Preparatory Layers
69
Pinpoint Proof
92
The Paint Layer
101
Pigment Identification Confirms the Fortune
107
The Varnish Layer
214
A Famous Gossaert Rediscovered with the Help of Ultraviolet Studies
223
Beyond the Painting
242
Pigment Identification
260
Notes
267
Bibliography
287
Glossary
312
Photography Credits
328
Copyright

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About the author (2000)

Andrea Kirsh is an independent scholar and critic. Rustin S. Levenson is conservation director of Rustin Levenson Art Conservation Associates, New York City, and Florida Conservation Associates, Miami.

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