A first for the Wooster Tree Ring Lab (WTRL) – dating a 17th century painting from the Rembrandt Studio in the Netherlands.
Nick Wiesenberg, technician in the lab (right) and the owner of the painting James Elchlinger from Zora Advisory Group. The painting is titled “A Scholar in His Study” possibly painted by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout of Rembrandt Van Rijn’s studio. This panel painting was on an oak panel that had over 240 rings. The mission was to measure the ring widths and then to use dendrochronology to assign calendar dates to each ring by comparing (aka crossdating) ring-width measurements to a master chronology that is calendar-dated. A tree-ring date would help validate the authenticity of the painting.
A close-up of the painting.
The first step was to prepare the surface of the oak panel by carefully sanding the top of the painting to be sure that the wood cells within each ring were visible. Dr. Hernán Medina (standing; Wooster Spanish Professor) and Anika Knowles (lower right; Wooster Earth Science/Spanish major and Alaska Tree Ring worker) look on.
The oak panel is made of three panels glued together, and is only about 5 mm thick; the back of the painting is bolstered by a “cradle” of oak laths. This detail shows the ring porous structure of the individual oak rings (rings are horizontal) the vertical lines in the wood are rays of the oak tree. Toward the top of the image is a portion of the oak cradle.
Nick scanned the prepared (sanded) top edge of the panel (note the painting is upside down). From the image on the computer screen he was then able measure the ring widths from the image. The images and measurements were then sent to a lab in Hamburg Germany that specializes in dating artwork and other materials from Northern Europe using tree-rings.
A closeup of the scanned image showing the oak rings.
As Gerbrand van den Eeckhout was an understudy in the Rembrandt Van Rijn studio of the Netherlands, Adam Wood is an understudy in the Wooster Tree Ring Lab in Northeast Ohio.
It was such a pleasure working with Greg and Nick on this project. They were both incredibly welcoming and enthusiastic about the painting from the moment I first spoke with them, and I really appreciated how much time they took to explain the process and share their wealth of expertise with me. They handled the panel with great care and professionalism, but what I enjoyed most was simply how genuinely interested and curious they were throughout the examination.
I’m very grateful to Greg, Nick, and the College of Wooster for making what could have been a rather technical process such an enjoyable experience. It was a pleasure meeting you both, and I hope we have the opportunity to work together again!
What a cool story. Sanding the side of such an old painting must have been a bit nerve-wracking. This should be a college news item. It shows a classic intersection of science and art. Please update us when you get the results from Germany.