Van Gogh gem uncovered

Researchers from the Netherlands have used a new X-ray technique to reveal details of a portrait by Vincent Van Gogh hidden underneath his landscape painting, "Patch of Grass." Their study appears in Analytical Chemistry.

European researchers have used a powerful new imaging technique -- Synchrotron Radiation-based X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Elemental Mapping -- to reveal with unprecedented detail the portrait of a woman painted by Vincent Van Gogh hidden underneath his landscape painting, Patch of Grass. Conventional imaging techniques previously showed that the painting contained the hidden image of a woman's head, but the details were blurred. The study, by Joris Dik of the Deltf University of Technology and colleagues, could provide new insights into the hidden details of other paintings. It reveals more detailed information about the chemical composition of the hidden paint layers, allowing the scientists to construct a clearer and more colorful image of the hidden head. The image even includes brush strokes and facial features such as eyes, nose, mouth, and chin, according to the study, which is scheduled for the July 29 online issue of ACS' Analytical Chemistry. (Delft University of Technology, Antwerp University and the Kroller Muller Museum)