THE UNVARNISHED TRUTH: exploring the material history of paintings

McMaster Museum of Art
August 27 – 19 December 2015

The Unvarnished Truth brings together discoveries made by an international team of nearly 30 researchers―scholars of applied radiation sciences, anthropology, art history, biomedical engineering, as well as conservators, conservation scientists, forensic art historians, and curators―who worked together to examine nine historical paintings from the collections of the McMaster Museum of Art including our works by Van Gogh, Van der Neer and Jawlensky (full list below). In addition to the touring exhibition, this research project includes a publication, a website, and a series of public events.

The Unvarnished Truth was conceived by Brandi Lee MacDonald at McMaster University in 2010 as a series of conversations about the potential for non-destructive techniques to analyze works of art, and quickly evolved to become a multidisciplinary, collaborative study. Initial research questions on themes including painting technique, materials, attribution, connoisseurship, and stability, led to even more interesting questions. The result is a series of unique narratives not only about the paintings but also about the research process itself.

The complementary website, to launch at theunvarnishedtruth.mcmaster.ca, will allow everyone to see the research, zoom in on high resolution details, and explore beneath the surface of the paint. See layers revealed only by IRR, Xray, RTI and UV analysis as well as researchers’ notes.

ARTISTS

Vincent van Gogh
Aert van der Neer
Alexej von Jawlensky
Workshop of Adriaen Brouwer
Manner of Edwaert Collier
Circle of Jan Gossart (called Mabuse)
Alexander Mikhailovich Rodchenko
Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens
Unknown Venetian (16th century)

The presentation at McMaster also includes a painting by Edwaert Collier, generously loaned by the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation, Houston, Texas.

PRIMARY RESEARCH TEAM

Brandi Lee MacDonald (Research Associate, Dept of Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University)
Nenagh Hathaway (PhD Candidate, Art History, Queen’s University)
Fiona McNeill (Department of Medical Physics & Applied Radiation Sciences and Associate VP, Research, McMaster University)
Ihor Holubizky (Senior Curator, MMA)
Ron Spronk (Professor, Art History, Queen’s University and Radboud University, The Netherlands)
Gianfranco Pocobene (Head of Conservation, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston)
Alison Murray (Associate Professor, Art Conservation, Queen’s University)
Julie Bronson (Collections Administrator, MMA)
Carol Podedworny (Director/Chief Curator, MMA)

Events

(all are free and open to the public)

RECEPTION

Thursday, September 17, 2015, 6 – 8 pm

TALK/TOUR

September 25 at 12:30 pm
with Brandi Lee MacDonald (Research Associate, Dept of Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University).
A Culture Days and Lifelong Learning Week event

LECTURE BY RESEARCHERS

Thursday, October 1, 1:30 – 2:20 pm
Brandi Lee MacDonald (Research Associate, Dept of Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University).
Nenagh Hathaway (PhD Candidate, Art History, Queen’s University)

PANEL DISCUSSION

Thursday, November 12, 6 – 8 pm

Moderator:
Fiona McNeill (Professor, Department of Medical Physics & Applied Radiation Sciences / Associate-VP Research, McMaster University)

Panelists:
Lloyd DeWitt (Curator of European Art, Art Gallery of Ontario)
Brandi Lee MacDonald (Research Associate, Dept of Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University)
Alison Murray (Associate Professor, Art Conservation, Queen’s University)
Ihor Holubizky (Senior Curator, McMaster Museum of Art)
Mike Noseworthy (Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering, McMaster University)