Damaging biocides can be detected on old wooden sculptures,
hidden wall paintings can be made visible again and the layered structures of
pieces of art analyzed. Using terahertz scanners restorers will soon be able to
identify quickly, and completely non-destructively, what is happening with an
object of art. Fraunhofer scientists will introduce a new generation of such scanners
at the denkmal trade fair (Hall 2, H30), from November 22 - 24 in Leipzig,
Germany.
It was a special moment for Michael Panzner of the
Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden, Germany
and his partners: in the Dresden Hygiene Museum the scientists were examining a
wall picture by Gerhard Richter that had been believed lost long ago. Shortly
before leaving the German Democratic Republic the artist had left it behind as
a journeyman‘s project. Then, in the 1960s, it was unceremoniously painted over.
However, instead of being interested in the picture, Panzer was far more
interested in the new detector which was being used for the first time here.
Using it, the scientists gained important information about the layered
structure of the wall and the structure of the picture area being examined.