Noninvasive Technique Gauges Art Canvas Health
非破坏性的技术检验艺术作品画布健康状况
Iconic works of art get exhibited worldwide. But as those paintings age, they can become too fragile to withstand travel around the globe. The paint can be visually examined to gauge its integrity. But the only way to check the canvas had been to remove a piece destructively.
标志性的艺术作品在世界各地展出。但是随着这些画年岁的增长,它们可能经不起世界各地的旅行了。可以通过观察检验画作的完整性。但是检验画布的方法只能是破坏性的扯下一块。
So a team of researchers in Europe devised a new method for diagnosing the health of old paintings similar to testing blood sugar without using a needle.
因此,一个欧洲的研究团队发明了一种新方法,这种新方法可以检查古画的健康状况,类似于无针监测血糖。
The scientists took samples from nearly 200 old canvases or canvas linings from the 19th and 20th centuries. They shined infrared light on the fabric to assess the type of fibers and their relative fragility. With those results as a reference, the scientists then scanned 12 paintings by Salvador Dalí.
科学家从19和20世纪将近200块古画布或者帆布衬里取样。他们用红外线照射这些布料,从而评估不同的纤维以及它们的脆弱程度。用这些结果作为参考,科学家接着扫描了萨尔瓦多达利的十二幅作品。
Luckily, all 12 are still in stable traveling condition. But they found that the oldest Dalís are starting to weaken. The research is in the journal Analytical Methods.
幸运的是,这十二幅作品还都适合旅行展出。但是他们发现达利最老的作品有些开始变差了。这项研究发表在《分析方法》杂志上
The scientists stress that the technique has only been validated for 19th- and 20th-century canvases with no synthetic fibers. But Dalí would have appreciated this marriage of science and art. After all, one of his works is called Homage to Crick and Watson.
科学家强调,这项技术只适合分析没有合成纤维的19到20世纪的作品。但是达利应该会对这次科学和艺术的结合很高兴。毕竟,他的一幅作品叫做参拜克里克和沃森。
—Cynthia Graber