Craquelure in the painting “Mother of God with Child” through the lens of a microscope

Zespół z Instytutu Katalizy skanuje obraz

Another work of sacred art was placed under the lens of our HIROX microscope. This time it was a panel painting “Mother of God with Child” by an unknown author from the Treasury of St. Mary’s Basilica in Krakow. What were we looking for under the microscope? The answer is unusual: we studied the characteristics of the crack pattern covering the surface of the painting. It is part of our GRIEG project. Scanning the image and then its digital reproduction allows you to freely analyze the so-called craquelure in microscale.

The painting was made using the tempera technique on a wooden support with dimensions of approx. 31.2 cm x 24.2 cm. The time of its creation is estimated at the 14th century. The painting is believed to be a gift from Queen Jadwiga to St. Mary’s Church. We obtained this information courtesy of Aleksandra Hola and Maria Zając, who are carrying out conservation and restoration works on the painting.

The image was scanned by our team: Noemi Zabari, Sergii Antropov and Łukasz Bratasz. Scanning with x90 resolution took 3.5 days, which resulted in a set of 43,600 small fragments, which “sew” together will allow you to create a digital image of the work. They will take about 3 weeks to assemble, and the effect will be similar to Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” – https://www.micro-pano.com/pearl/

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