idea 32 · build only
Materials reference
Materials mapped to what they mean for handling and display.
Mauritshuis, The Girl in the Spotlight
The scans identified high-quality ultramarine in the blue headscarf from the lazurite particles, and mapped how Vermeer built the painting up in layers.
https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/explore/restoration-and-research/girl-in-the-spotlight/Materials
What it is made of, and what that means
Ground lazurite. Stable in oil, and expensive enough that its presence is itself evidence about a commission.
Darkens in the presence of sulphides. Handle with the usual precautions for lead.
Eats its own paper over time. Storage humidity is the whole battle.
Degrades, off-gasses and can ignite. Cold store, separately, and check it.
Light does not undo. Fifty lux, and rotate off display.
Tough and chemically stable. The risk is dropping it.
Moves with relative humidity. The cracks follow the grain.
Fades and yellows in light. Facsimile on display, original in the dark.
Patina is protection until it is corrosion. Wash and wax annually.
Nine materials with a risk band and one line on what the risk actually is. Visitors read it because it explains why a room is dark. Volunteers read it because nobody remembers which plastics off-gas. Your conservator supplies the real list and signs it off.