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Facture: Conservation, Science, Art History, Volume 2: Art in Context, edited by Daphne Barbour, senior object conservator and E. Melanie Gifford, research conservator for paintings technology at the National Gallery of Art, Washington

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Giotto, Madonna and Child, c. 1310/1315, tempera on panel, 85.4 x 61.8 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection

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Paint cross section of Giotto, Madonna and Child, c. 1310/1315, tempera on panel, 85.4 x 61.8 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection, from the gilded background (paint layers are numbered beginning with the lowest layer): (1) white gesso preparatory layer; (2) green bole; (3) red bole; (4) gold leaf

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False-color infrared reflectogram (RGB channels assigned to three wavelength bands: blue, centered at 1000 nm, green at 1200 nm, red at 1600 nm) of Giotto, Madonna and Child, c. 1310/1315, tempera on panel, 85.4 x 61.8 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection. The wash that contains green earth appears pink in this rendition.  It was applied in long, even, broad strokes, and is present under all the flesh tones.

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Photomacrograph of Giotto, Madonna and Child, c. 1310/1315, tempera on panel, 85.4 x 61.8 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection, showing strokes of verdaccio that were left uncovered to create shadows around and in the Madonna's eye socket.

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Giotto, Madonna and Child, c. 1310/1315, tempera on panel, 85.4 x 61.8 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection (detail) in visible light

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False-color infrared reflectogram of Giotto, Madonna and Child, c. 1310/1315, tempera on panel, 85.4 x 61.8 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection. The position of the rose as sketched in outline was moved in the final painting to be closer to the Christ Child's hand.

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Andrea Briosco, known as Riccio, The Entombment, 1516/ 1520s (here dated 1507-1513), bronze, overall: 50.4 x 75.5 cm, gross weight 53.071 kg, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection.

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X-radiograph of Andrea Briosco, known as Riccio, The Entombment, 1516/ 1520s (here dated 1507-1513), bronze, overall: 50.4 x 75.5 cm, gross weight 53.071 kg, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection.

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Kate Simpson and Auguste Rodin in his studio, 1903

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Auguste Rodin, The Thinker (Le Penseur), model 1880, cast by 1903, copper alloy, 71.5 cm height, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mrs. John W. Simpson

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X-radiograph of Auguste Rodin, The Thinker (Le Penseur), model 1880, cast by 1903, copper alloy, 71.5 cm height, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mrs. John W. Simpson, showing core-to-core joins present as white lines around the thigh and the lead counterweight undersupport.

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Interior of Auguste Rodin, The Thinker (Le Penseur), model 1880, cast by 1903, copper alloy, 71.5 cm height, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mrs. John W. Simpson, showing the juncture of two separate core sections inside the right thigh identified by excess metal along the juncture.

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Detail of Auguste Rodin, The Thinker (Le Penseur), model 1880, cast by 1903, copper alloy, 71.5 cm height, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mrs. John W. Simpson, showing dark brown patination streaks on the legs.

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John Marin, Woolworth Building No. 28, 1912, watercolor and graphite, 47 x 39.6 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer.

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False-color MSI image of John Marin, Woolworth Building No. 28, 1912, watercolor and graphite, 47 x 39.6 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer. The false-color MSI map visually separates the red pigments: red false color represents areas rich in madder, blue represents red iron oxide, and green areas represent a mixture or layering of the two.

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False-color luminescence image of John Marin, Woolworth Building No. 28, 1912, watercolor and graphite, 47 x 39.6 cm National Gallery of Art, Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer. Luminescent areas, typical of madder, coincide with the red false-color areas in the MSI image.

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Photomacrograph of Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1947, mixed mediums on canvas, 98.4 X 70.8 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Rothko Foundation, Inc. Areas of paint dotted with bubble holes suggest that Rothko was manipulating his paints with diluents or additions to create distinct surface effects.

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Cross section from Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1948, mixed mediums on canvas, 98.4 X 70.8 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Rothko Foundation, Inc., showing admixtures with which Rothko modified his paints ( paint layers are numbered beginning with the lowest layer). Thin orange-red paint corresponding to final composition (layer 6) lies above a series of distinctly colored layers indicating a number of revisions: white paint tinted with blue and red particles (5); a thin dark blue layer(4); bright green paint (3); thick light green paint with red, yellow, and white particles mixed in (2). Layer 1 is the artist's thick, yellow ground: large yellow and white particles with an added large, dark red agglomerate.

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Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1949, mixed mediums on canvas, 228.9 x 112 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

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Detail in specular light of Untitled, 1949, mixed mediums on canvas, 228.9 x 112 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., revealing Rothko's careful modulations of surface sheen.

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Detail of the tacking edge from Untitled, 1949, mixed mediums on canvas, 228.9 x 112 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc. The grounds of the later multiforms begin to exhibit a stained appearance.

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Cross section from Untitled, 1949, mixed mediums on canvas, 228.9 x 112 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., showing little evidence of reworking (paint layers are numbered beginning with the lowest layer). The thin green paint (layer 3) corresponds to the final composition. It overlaps a red layer that contains large dark red pigments with smaller white and tiny black particles (2), above a dense white paint with scattered red and blue particles (1). The ground layer is not present in the sample.

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Bernardino Luini, Portrait of a Lady, 1520/1525, oil on panel, 77 x 57.5 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, after treatment.

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X-radiograph of Bernardino Luini, Portrait of a Lady, 1520/1525, oil on panel, 77 x 57.5 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, with overlay in blue of the outline of the figure. The gold chain and white cuffs, which contain lead white, can be seen, but the hands and face appear dark because they were not underpainted with white lead.

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Infrared reflectogram  (1100-1400 nm) of detail of of Bernardino Luini, Portrait of a Lady, 1520/1525, oil on panel, 77 x 57.5 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, revealing a simple underdrawing comprised of basic outlines of the head and neck, with a little heavier sketching at the bottom of the chin. Only the facial features are fully realized.

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Andy Warhol, A Boy for Meg [1], 1961, 168.9 x 133cm, Collection of Bill Bell, image courtesy Acquavella Galleries, © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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Andy Warhol, A Boy for Meg [2], 1962, 182.9 x 132.1 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Burton Tremaine © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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Facture, National Gallery of Art's Conservation Journal, Features New Research on Works by Giotto, Marin, Rodin, Rothko, Warhol, and More

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