Close Examination at National Gallery

Close Examination at National Gallery explores the ways in which science has been used to prove or disprove who actually painted certain pictures and brings to light a wealth of information on exciting discoveries made in the world of art history over the years.

Close Examination at National Gallery
Using high tec scientific equipment and careful analysis, close examination of various historic paintings has been key to revealing important details about the painter and the art itself. Whether it has been to establish if the painting was a forgery or to confirm that a painter of great significance was behind the work, the National Gallery has relied on such techniques to help them in their quest to add to their collection, and in this exhibition you can see exactly what mistakes and great discoveries have been made.

Fakes, mistakes and discoveries
Having been founded in 1934 the Scientific Department has been helping out with studying the materials that make up paintings and assisting curators and conservators in investigating significant finds. Bringing their specialist knowledge into the limelight for this exhibition, Close Examination at National Gallery gives you the chance to undestand the tricky processes involved and to see exactly what kind of challenges these artistic science experts face.

Pioneering work
The National Gallery has been behind several major coups in obtaining some of the best known works in the artworld. Here you can discover exactly how those discoveries were made and see 40 different paintings and artworks, all with a fascinating scientific story behind them. With six rooms devoted to Close Examination at National Gallery, visitors can see pieces by Botticelli, Raphael, Durer, Rembrandt and many others.

Exhibition highlights
One of the main highlights of the Close Examination exhibition is the room devoted to Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. Two supposed works by Botticelli were purchased by the National Gallery in 1874, one of them being the iconic Mars and Venus which is now one of the most iconic and popular paintings at the gallery. The other piece however, turned out to be by a follower of Botticelli's rather than the great painter himself, and this room in the exhibition gives visitors the chance to compare and contrast the pictures, and see if they can judge better than the National Gallery buyers in the 1870s.

The exhibition Close Examination at National Gallery takes place from Wednesday 30th June - Sunday 12th September 2010. Entrance is free.

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