Science and Art

This volume shows a global solution to a long-discussed problem: how to get scientists, art historians and conservators working together. The book presents a host of projects where collaboration has allowed all of these groups to learn from one another. Some chapters describe the science and techniques, useful for scientists wishing to work in a similar setting; others focus on the art, showing how the results of scientific studies have led to a deeper understanding of a corpus of artifacts, linking to particular cultural traditions.Science and art also provides an excellent read for art historians, who will instantly recognise the famous pieces that have been studied, while giving them insight into how a painting was constructed, what it is made from, or how the colours would have looked when they were freshly painted.

Antonio Sgamellotti is an Academician of Lincei and Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Perugia. He is also Co-founder of the Center of Excellence SMAArt (Scientific Methodologies applied to Archaeology and Art). His research interests include advanced computations on chemistry, electronic and structural properties of molecules and inorganic materials, spectroscopic properties and characterization of archaeological and art-historical artefacts.

Brunetto Giovanni Brunetti is a Full Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Perugia. He is also the coordinator for the European project CHARISMA (Cultural Heritage Advanced Research Infrastructures: Synergy for a Multidisciplinary Approach to Conservation/Restoration) and President of the Center of Excellence SMAArt (Scientific Methodologies applied to Archaeology and Art).

Costanza Miliani is a researcher at the CNR Institute of Molecular Science and Technology (CNR-ISTM) and coordinator of the mobile laboratory MOLAB of the CHARISMA project. His research interests include non-invasive spectroscopic techniques for in-situ investigations on cultural heritage.