National Gallery of Canada

About: National Gallery of Canada is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Contemporary art & Photography. The organization has 21 authors who have published 22 publications receiving 77 citations.

An investigation into the cause of corrosion on indoor bronze sculpture

Abstract: Corrosion noted on a number of nineteenth and twentieth century indoor bronze sculptures in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada was the cause for a major condition survey of its Canadian, American, and European bronzes. The results led to a comprehensive study, which included material analysis. This article outlines the steps undertaken to determine the extent and type of corrosion, its possible cause(s), and potential remediation. The survey included 136 bronzes, of which 40 were selected for an in-depth study. Indoor air quality tests of the current building, housing the collection since 1988, were carried out. The dossiers and database records of the selected sculptures were reviewed to investigate their condition, treatment, and storage history. The metal, patina, and corrosion products were subjected to analysis. More areas of corrosion were generally associated with predominantly green patinas and chloride-containing compounds identified in either patina or corrosion samples. Th...

Recovery of Degraded-Beyond-Recognition 19th Century Daguerreotypes with Rapid High Dynamic Range Elemental X-ray Fluorescence Imaging of Mercury L Emission.

Abstract: A daguerreotype image, the first commercialized photographic process, is composed of silver-mercury, and often silver-mercury-gold amalgam particles on the surface of a silver-coated copper plate. Specular and diffuse reflectance of light from these image particles produces the range of gray tones that typify these 19th century images. By mapping the mercury distribution with rapid-scanning, synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) imaging, full portraits, which to the naked eye are obscured entirely by extensive corrosion, can be retrieved in a non-invasive, non-contact, and non-destructive manner. This work furthers the chemical understanding regarding the production of these images and suggests that mercury is retained in the image particles despite surface degradation. Most importantly, μ-XRF imaging provides curators with an image recovery method for degraded daguerreotypes, even if the artifact’s condition is beyond traditional conservation treatments.

Element distribution in crosssections of paintings studied by the x-ray macroprobe

Abstract: The study of the structure and materials of ancient works of art has been much intensified with the development and use of improved analytical techniques. It was considered desirable to apply an X-ray fluorescence technique which could scan polished cross-sections of paint materials embedded in plastic. Layer thicknesses of 20–50 μ were successfully surveyed with an X-ray macroprobe attached to a fine-focus vacuum X-ray spectrograph. Elements above atomic number 16 in areas of 50 μ diameter were successfully detected and precisely located in the cross-section. The method has been applied particularly to the study of the technique of Rembrandt and Lievens paintings.

Object:Photo. Modern Photographs, The Thomas Walther Collection, 1909–1949

Abstract: Note: OBJECT:PHOTO. Modern Photographs: The Thomas Walther Collection 1909–1949. An Online Project of The Museum of Modern Art is a related interactive website at www.moma.org/interactives/objectph...