H2020 grant links nanotechnology with art

A researcher from the Van’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences in the Netherlands has received a Horizon 2020 grant within the NANORESTART (NANOmaterials for the RESToration works of ART) programme to study the impact of newly developed materials on chemical and physical changes in artwork.

Dr Katrien Keune will undertake the research as part of wider University of Amsterdam project ‘S4A-PAinT’, which seeks to ‘improve the scientific basis for conservation strategies of oil paintings through the better understanding of the paint ageing process’. Keune’s research will be carried out in direct collaboration with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Cultural Heritage Agency of The Netherlands.

The NANORESTART programme sees new nanomaterials and nanotechniques used for the conservation of modern and contemporary art that is highly susceptible to decay. It is understood that there is currently a lack of appropriate conservation materials and methods to preserve such fragile objects for future generations.

NANORESTART is an international research project with 29 partners, including the Rijksmuseum; University of Florence; Tate (London); University College Cork; MBN Nanometerialia Spa; Universita ca’ Foscari Venezia; University College London; and The Art Institute of Chicago.