TECHNIQUE OF X-RAY PHOTOGRAPHY ON VIEW AT FOGG ART MUSEUM

Fogg Museum's Technical Research Department has arranged an exhibition of over a hundred photographs taken by infra-red, ultra-violet and X-ray photography of some important European and American paintings, it was announced today.

In a few cases the original paintings are shown with the photographs. This exhibition replaces the one got together for the Tercentenary, which is now on loan as an exhibition in the Cincinnati Museum of Art. This display will be on view for two months, but it is planned to always have an exhibition of this type in the third floor gallery of the Museum.

X-Ray Technique

Among the problems illustrated are the restoration of damaged and repainted pictures, the cleaning off of layers of opaque varnish, and the study by means of the prints of the X-ray shadowgraph of not only the condition of a painting but also of the technique of old masters.

The usefulness of the X-ray in penetrating to the under layers of paint without damaging the work is illustrated. In one case, it is shown, the X-ray indicates that the Fogg Museum probably possesses a true portrait by the colonial artist Copley, and not an inferior copy. The picture's authenticity had been questioned because the surface painting is inferior to the artist's usual work.

The X-ray demonstrated, however, that the underpainting was probably in Copley's own bold style, but that the picture had subsequently been damaged and had been touched up by a later artist, who was not content to fill in the gaps, . . . but repainted the whole surface.

Oriignals Sought Beneath Surface

Similarly in another instance the X-ray shadowgraphs probed beneath the surface of a sentimental and flat painting of a "Madonna and Child" attributed to the 15th century Italian, Antonazzo Romano, and discovered underneath it a much more forceful painting. When an accurate copy has been made of the outer painting, or when a colour photograph has been taken, the Fogg technical staff plans to clean off the outer layers of paint and reveal the original and more important work.

The way in which a skillful restorer can similate the surface quality of an old master is seen in the painting of the "Pieta" by Carlo Crivelli, a 15th century Italian artist. The whole central portion of this picture was destroyed, and early in the 20th century restoration was undertaken by an able Italian artist, who entirely repainted the center portion, following other original works by Crivelli, and imitating the master's materials and technique very closely. Even with the X-ray it is hard to tell where Crivelli's work leaves off and the modern artist's begins, but by careful observation it can be seen that in addition to repainting the destroyed section, the modern artist also tampered with the undamaged portions.