Macroscopic x-ray powder diffraction imaging reveals Vermeer’s discriminating use of lead white pigments in Girl with a Pearl Earring

S. De Meyer; F. Vanmeert; R. Vertongen; A. Van Loon; V. Gonzalez; J. Delaney; K. Dooley; J. Dik; G. Van der Snickt; A. Vandivere; K. Janssens

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax1975

Research ArticleCHEMICAL PHYSICS

Macroscopic x-ray powder diffraction imaging reveals Vermeer’s discriminating use of lead white pigments in Girl with a Pearl Earring

View ORCID ProfileS. De Meyer¹,*,
View ORCID ProfileF. Vanmeert¹,
View ORCID ProfileR. Vertongen¹,
View ORCID ProfileA. Van Loon²,³,
View ORCID ProfileV. Gonzalez²,⁴,
View ORCID ProfileJ. Delaney⁵,
View ORCID ProfileK. Dooley⁵,
J. Dik⁴,
View ORCID ProfileG. Van der Snickt¹,⁶,
A. Vandivere³ and
View ORCID ProfileK. Janssens ¹

¹AXES, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
²Conservation and Science Department, Ateliergebouw Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands.
³Paintings Conservation, Mauritshuis, Plein 29, 2511 CS The Hague, Netherlands.
⁴Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, Netherlands.
⁵National Gallery of Art, Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20565, USA.
⁶Conservation Studies, University of Antwerp, Blindestraat 9, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium.

↵*Corresponding author. Email: steven.demeyer{at}uantwerpen.be

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Science Advances 30 Aug 2019:
Vol. 5, no. 8, eaax1975
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax1975

S. De Meyer

1AXES, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.

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For correspondence: steven.demeyer@uantwerpen.be

F. Vanmeert

1AXES, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.

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R. Vertongen

1AXES, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.

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A. Van Loon

2Conservation and Science Department, Ateliergebouw Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands.

3Paintings Conservation, Mauritshuis, Plein 29, 2511 CS The Hague, Netherlands.

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V. Gonzalez

2Conservation and Science Department, Ateliergebouw Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands.

4Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, Netherlands.

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J. Delaney

5National Gallery of Art, Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20565, USA.

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K. Dooley

5National Gallery of Art, Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20565, USA.

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J. Dik

4Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, Netherlands.

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G. Van der Snickt

1AXES, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.

6Conservation Studies, University of Antwerp, Blindestraat 9, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium.

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A. Vandivere

3Paintings Conservation, Mauritshuis, Plein 29, 2511 CS The Hague, Netherlands.

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K. Janssens

1AXES, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.

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ORCID record for K. Janssens

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Macroscopic x-ray powder diffraction imaging reveals Vermeer’s discriminating use of lead white pigments in Girl with a Pearl Earring

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