One of the students, Victoria Irvine, examines Nicolaes Maes 'Woman with Fan' under the microscope

Introduction

The Hunterian Art Gallery holds a collection of seventeenth century Dutch paintings. We, History of Art students at the University of Glasgow, were given the opportunity to research a selection of these works in more depth.

Microscopic examination provided insights into the making of the paintings and revealed some interesting discoveries regarding attribution, individual studio practice and artistic collaboration.

As a class we carried out a practical exercise reconstructing 17th century oil painting techniques following recipes and instructions from contemporary treatises. This along with our technical and art historical research has contributed to a fuller understanding of these art works.

Through still lifes, portraits, landscapes and genre, we will take you into a virtual exhibition that will also give a general cultural, social, and economic background of the period and its artistic production.