Heritage Science

Table 1 Samples from the background of Girl with a Pearl Earring

From: Fading into the background: the dark space surrounding Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring

Sample number	Sample type^a	Location on the painting: (Fig. 1)	Previous analyses: 1968: Kühn [1] 1998: Groen et al. [2], Appendix 2	Analysis 2017–2019
5	B	Dark paint, probably from background	1998: LM of cross-section	THM-Py-GC/MS of fragments
19	A	Background	1998: LM, SEM–EDX of cross-section	LM, SEM–EDX of cross-section (Fig. 2)
21	A	Background	1998: LM, SEM–EDX, FTIR of cross-section; microchemical test of fragments	LM, SEM–EDX of cross-section (Fig. 3); UHPLC of fragments
26	B	Probably background	1998: SEM-EDX of cross-section; cross-section prepared as thin-section, FTIR of thin-section; HPLC and wet chemical tests of fragments	LM of thin section in transmitted light
34	B	Probably background	1998: LM of cross-section; DTMS and Py-TMAH-GC/MS of fragments	LM, FIB–STEM, FTIR–ATR of cross-section (Fig. 4)
Hg. 11	A	Right edge, near lower right corner	1968: LM, ESA of cross-section	–
Hg. 12	A	Left edge	1968: LM, ESA of cross-section	–

^a‘A’ samples were those sampled from a known location in 1968 or during the 1994 treatment. ‘B’ samples are dislodged fragments that became stuck to the surface in an unrelated part of the painting, and were preserved as sample material. Based on the stratigraphy, pigment composition, and comparison to other samples, an educated guess could be made as to the general area they originated from. For a complete list of ‘A’ and ‘B’ samples re-examined in 2017–2019, see [9], Appendix S1

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