London - Some of the world’s priceless paintings are deteriorating, with yellows turning brown and paint simply falling off.
Now scientists have discovered why masterpieces such as The Joy Of Life by Matisse and Flowers In A Blue Vase by Van Gogh are losing their vivid hues.
After taking flakes of paint from impressionist, post-impressionist and early modernist painters, they found the effect was the result of a chemical reaction with a paint called cadmium yellow, which began to be used in the 1800s.
The pigment – cadmium sulphide – reacts with sunlight to become cadmium sulphate, which is beige. Scientists from Belgium, the US and France said this then dissolved in moisture created by the humidity in the air, deteriorating further.
Jennifer Mass, head of the US research team at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware, said: “This provides us with the information to digitally restore the damaged paintings, creating a computer-generated image that reveals the artists’ original intent for the work.”
Daily Mail