A06_P03

Integrated methodology for the investigation of paintings – The rediscovery of Jan Ruyscher

Fiorillo F¹, Hendriks L²,  Hajdas I³, Huysecom E⁴

¹The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, ²School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Fribourg, Switzerland, ³Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland, ⁴Faculty of Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

The challenging reconstruction of the history of a painting involves several questions: when the object was made being the easiest one to answer based on scientific evidence, while defining the authorship is more complex.

Within the context of heritage sciences, ¹⁴C analyses are gaining popularity owing to advances in microsamples. The integration of radiocarbon dating on the support, the natural organic binder and lead white pigment, with spectroscopic techniques used to investigate the paint layers, offers a complementary approach to characterise an artwork.

To illustrate its potential, this combined methodology was applied to a case study: a landscape painting bearing the signature of Jan Ruyscher, one of the ‘Little Dutch Masters’ of the 17th century. Radiocarbon analysis of the support dated the wooden panel to the mid-18th century; however, spectroscopic analyses identified titanium white in the paint layers, a pigment put into commerce only in the 1930s.

From an historical perspective, Jan Ruyscher vanished from art history after his death and was rediscovered in the 1930s. The combination of art historical information and scientific findings shed new light on the story of the object; a painting of a less-known painter was made in a specific timeframe, likely following an increased demand of its artworks. The deliberate re-use of an old panel revealed the forger’s intent to deceive.

The methodology provides critical arguments for the identification of a period of creation of the painting, a possible reconstruction of its history, and its classification – in this case, a forgery.