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Heritage Science
Fig. 11 | Heritage Science

Fig. 11

From: The dark halo technique in the oeuvre of Michael Sweerts and other Flemish and Dutch baroque painters. A 17th c. empirical solution to mitigate the optical ‘simultaneous contrast’ effect?

Fig. 11

A Michael Sweerts, a Game of Backgammon, c. 1646–54. Oil on canvas, 75 × 100 cm. Salomon Lilian (Amsterdam). Image courtesy of Studio Redivivus. B MA-XRF Pb-L map displaying several halos along the figures in the composition. C MA-XRF Fe–K map. This map shows that iron is present throughout the painting, indicating that the composition is painted on a reddish brown ground layer. D MA-XRF Cu–K map, displaying a copper-rich halo along the standing figure in the center of the composition. The broad horizontal bands visible in the left part of the Fe and Cu maps are scan artefacts resulting from the presence of the stretcher and easel (upon which the painting was scanned), causing the background in the XRF spectra to be more intense in some regions

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