Technical Studies Where Science Meets Art

This chapter considers the history and use of scientific methods for material-based studies of cultural heritage objects within the practice of Art History. Nowadays, the study of the materiality of art is often referred to as “Technical Art History,” a field that, in its broadest sense, involves direct examination of objects combined with scientific analysis and art historical scholarship to inform studies of art. A short historical outline of the related disciplines of Technical Art History, Conservation, and Conservation Science is given. The focus, however, is to explain some of the most commonly used scientific methods and techniques, expanding upon the art historian's traditional field of knowledge. The inherent complexity of cultural heritage objects makes them challenging entities to investigate, yet at the same time, richly layered sources of information that can only properly be understood through collaboration between experts from different disciplines.