Chemical Imaging of Works of Art at the Macro Scale: Exploring Degas’s Materials and Method in Ballet Scene

Summary: This symposium, the culmination of a five-year grant by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, covers the technological development and implementation of imaging instrumentation, key findings obtained when applied to works of art, and the implications for art history. Scientists, conservators, and art historians document the success of this project and highlight state-of-the-art work occurring at the National Gallery of Art and other institutions around the world using imaging methods based on reflectance spectroscopy in the visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared, and x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Michelle Facini, paper conservator, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, speaks about what new information obtained from chemical imaging tells us about the working methods of Degas in creating his pastel Ballet Scene (c. 1907). Facini spoke at a one-day symposium held at the National Gallery of Art on September 21, 2015, which was supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.