
X-Rays Reveal Hidden Rembrandts
A sophisticated X-ray technology is paving the way to uncover the secrets of a 380-year-old Rembrandt masterpiece. Underneath the Old Man in Military Costume, painted by the Dutch artist in the years 1630-31, previous investigations spotted another portrait which was only faintly distinguishable with all applied technologies. For years, art historians puzzled over the question of who is depicted on the repainted picture.
Now, an international team of scientists has used a detailed mock-up to test different methods of looking beneath the original painting at DESYs X-ray source DORIS and at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in the U.S., as well as with a mobile X-ray scanner.
Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/01/x-rays-reveal-hidden-rembrandts