Frans Hals geldt als een van drie grootste schilders uit de Hollandse Gouden Eeuw, samen met Rembrandt en Vermeer. Naar de precieze omvang van het oeuvre van Frans Hals is echter verrassend weinig diepgaand onderzoek gedaan. Ook is er nog zeer weinig technisch-materieel onderzoek verricht naar Hals in vergelijking met Rembrandt en Vermeer. Diverse technische onderzoeksmethoden zijn zelfs nog nooit of vrijwel nooit op schilderijen van Hals toegepast. In deze pilotstudie staat de afbakening van het oeuvre van Frans Hals centraal. Allereerst wordt geanalyseerd welke criteria enkele vooraanstaande Hals-kenners gebruikten en gebruiken bij het bepalen of een schilderij een ?echte? Frans Hals is, of niet. Deze criteria worden gerelateerd aan de zeventiende-eeuwse context waarin de schilderijen zijn ontstaan. In drie case studies wordt vervolgens met behulp van materieel-technisch onderzoek beoordeeld of deze criteria door nieuwe kunnen worden vervangen dan wel met nieuwe kunnen worden aangevuld. Bij dit pilotproject gaat het museum een samenwerking aan met hoogleraren en studenten van de Universiteit van Amsterdam, en worden faciliteiten van het Rijksmuseum ingezet (mobiel laboratorium). De nieuwe inzichten die uit dit onderzoek voortkomen, leveren de bouwstenen voor de tentoonstelling Frans Hals/niet Frans Hals in het Frans Hals Museum| De Hallen Haarlem (2020) en mogelijk de Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Deze studie legt een belangrijke fundament voor het Frans Hals Kenniscentrum dat het Frans Hals Museum| De Hallen Haarlem (FHM|DHH) zal oprichten op 1 september 2016, 350 jaar na het overlijden van Frans Hals.

Damage caused by fluctuations in museum climate is regarded as one of the main risks to museum collections. Therefore very strict standards for climate specifications have developed, leading to high implementation and energy costs. Based on research done since the 1990s, these specifications are now seen as unrealistic and unnecessarily strict, however, extensive research is required to convince the conservation community that these specifications can be relaxed without causing damage to susceptible objects, such as wooden panels (paintings and furniture). The aim of the Climate4Wood proposal is (1) to identify the RH fluctuations that decorated wooden panels can safely sustain (the allowable fluctuations) and (2) in consequence to develop rational guidelines for the climate specifications in the museums. Therefore it is important to understand the response of wooden panels and the damage failure criteria. The project outcome enables the development of a decision-making model that will help museums to become more sustainable, by balancing the cost and preservation of the collection. Based on a museum study (PhD 1), consisting of a systematic analysis of a collection of decorated panels, reconstructions will be made to measure the hygrothermal properties of oak. The results are used as input for a material and mechanical modeling study (PhD 2), to model climate and age induced stresses and deformations. A postdoc will determine and model the relevant non linear elastic material properties. It is expected that combining this information will help museums throughout the world to develop rational guidelines for climate specifications. Keywords: Sustainability; indoor climate; panel paintings; decorated furniture; collection risk assessment; wood technology; modeling; aging; structural assessment.

Neutron tomography on bronzes has proven its value in revealing intriguing features otherwise hidden in the inaccessible interior of statues[1,2], as shown in Figure 1. Neutron transmission has shown promise for quantitative analyses of bronze alloys using neutron techniques [3]. By combining neutron and gamma-ray tomography we aim to elevate the non-invasive method of neutron tomography to the next level by identifying the chemical composition of all structures in the interior, quantitatively. Neutron and gamma-ray tomography are highly penetrating techniques and are therefore the only non-invasive methods to achieve such quantitative information throughout the entire bulk of an art object. The quantification of the spatially resolved chemical composition is determined by data fusion of neutron and gamma-ray tomography, where the specific sensitivities of both techniques serve as mutual boundary conditions in the reconstruction of the 3D elemental model. The data generated by our research will deliver unprecedented insight in the ancient production process of these art objects and reveal in-depth information on possible past restorations. Such information is essential to (technical) art historians who study the material, cultural and religious context of these objects. Information on their chemical and physical stability will, in turn, enable conservators to develop a scientifically grounded strategy for the preservation of this precious cultural heritage. Besides delivering quantitative compositional information about the statues interior to scientists, the detailed graphical information of our reconstruction is an appealing and straightforward means to communicate the story behind the art object to the general public, a way to underline the societal impact of NICAS programmes.

Brazilian coffee beans, erotic perfumes, sulphuric acid, ozone, incense and industrial fumes: during the avant-garde these and other smells were considered powerful means to address the audience in direct and provocative ways. Symbolists, Futurists, Dadaists and Surrealists, such as Raoul Hausmann, Marcel Duchamp and F.T. Marinetti. deliberately engaged the sense of smell in their artistic practices, both in their artworks and through their manifestos and poetry. Symbolist artists staged theatrical pieces with scents, while Surrealists diffused coffee, cedar and erotic perfumes in galleries to deliberately confuse the visitors and change their state of mind, while the Futurists used regional aroma?s (lavender, Chianti, volcanic fumes) and smells of war (sulphur and gunpowder) to add a sensory dimension to poetry recitals and heighten the sense of realism. Artists organized scented dinner parties, transforming culinary experience into a multi-sensory performance and they created aromatic toys to train the senses of the child, following the Montessori method. Unfortunately, the scents used by avant-garde artists have mostly been lost, partially due to a lack of interest in the lower senses (smell, taste, touch) both in the academic and the heritage world, but unavoidably also because of their ephemeral nature. In this project scholars, heritage institutions and the fragrance industry will join forces, first to reconstruct the olfactory landscapes and aromatic works of art once created by avant-garde artists and, secondly, to investigate the impact and effectiveness of smell on museum visitors and other audiences.

The surface a painter works on is prepared with a ground - an evenly applied layer that smooths the canvas or panel and provides a pleasant surface to work on. During the Middle Ages, Dutch artists worked on white grounds. But over the course of the sixteenth century, they started using coloured grounds. This transition gave rise to a new way of painting, with light-dark contrasts and more natural effects. Down to the Ground investigates the spread of coloured grounds and its impact on painters working methods. This gives insight into the success and unique qualities of Dutch seventeenth-century painting.