The Complex Painting Examination Laboratory is in the fortunate position to announce: in addition to the greatest art institutions of the world (such as Rijksmuseum, Getty Conservation Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art), one of the high-tech measuring instruments of the 21st century will be available here, in Central Europe, Hungary.

Coming soon: non-destructive micro-XRF (X-Ray fluorescence) spectrometer, the latest instrument of the Complex Painting Examination Laboratory. We are planning to make this world-class service available here as early as November 2020.

The BRUKER M6 JETSTREAM non-destructive micro-XRF can determine the chemical composition of paints not only on the top, visible layer, but also in a possibly existing bottom layer composition. 

After mapping the chemical composition of the object, the instrument presents the measured elements in a map-like manner. Based on the measured data, we can even associate colours with an element, generating a ‘colourful radiograph’. This makes the digital reconstruction of a lower, older painting possible without the removal of the upper, younger layer.

Photograph of the painting under normal light and its element map (Picture of ‘Homer’ by Rembrandt, Courtesy of Maurithuis, Den Haag. Measurement data courtesy of Prof. J. Dik., G. van der Snickt, TU Delft)

We recommend this type of examination in cases when a very high resolution is required to determine an element. Naturally, the instrument is suitable for other types of objects too, not only paintings. The 100-micrometre accuracy is excellent for identifying the materials of archaeological objects as well as for examining miniatures of illuminated manuscripts.

F. de Goya (Don Ramón Satué), 1823, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam NL. Photograph of the painting under normal light, and the element map of the ‘invisible’ painting of the bottom layer.

We are planning to share plenty of interesting researches during our daily work, because art is the secret itself and BRUKER M6 JETSTREAM. can take us a step closer to solve it.