When it comes to sunflowers, Vincent Van Gogh's series of paintings is burnt into our collective consciousness. Of course, his late 19th-century studies weren't completely faithful representations of flowers in a vase - the Dutch painter was, after all, a post-Impressionist artist unafraid to embellish reality. But, somehow, when we think of these vibrant blooms we think of French fields full of yellow heads arching towards the sun, and Van Gogh the artist.
And, in one peculiar way, Van Gogh's series was more realistic than perhaps he ever intended. Because, just as the genuine article begins to wither, lose its lustre and finally decay into a brown mush, the brilliant chrome yellow paint Van Gogh used also began to turn brown. For more than a century, the reasons for this decay have been the subject of much scientific debate - not least because not all Van Gogh's sunflowers painted with chrome yellow have suffered the same fate.
But, using samples of paint left over from tubes used by 19th century artists - astonishingly, some of the paint still exists - scientists at the University of Antwerp discovered the culprit: a combination of Van Gogh's own techniques and that perennially deadly enemy of art preservation: the sun. Sunlight, the Analytical Chemistry journal reported last month, begins a chemical reaction which first oxidises the oil in the paint and then turns the yellow pigments green. The mix of green paint with the oxidised oil ends up producing - you've guessed it - a brown colour.
Nevertheless, that doesn't fully excuse Van Gogh. For the chemical reaction takes place only in the paintings in which he used white pigments to lighten the yellow paint. The irony wasn't lost on the leader of the Antwerp research group, Koen Janssens. "Van Gogh intended to make a lighter yellow paint, but through this effect, nature darkens it," he said last month. "While he wanted to show a light, pale and delicate yellow, it instead becomes a darker, brownish yellow."
One might wonder why such research is important, but the findings do have a purpose. The conclusions - that such discolouration can be halted by reducing light levels and installing air conditioning units to keep paintings cool (heat accelerates the chemical reaction) - will be digested with interest by galleries around the world. After all, it's not just Van Gogh's sunflowers that are under threat - at the National Gallery in London, nearly every painting by Turner has discoloured, as has Bacchus's cloak in Titian's Renaissance masterpiece Bacchus and Ariadne.
Increasingly, art is becoming entwined with science in this way - not just in preserving valuable work as it was intended to be seen, but also in uncovering the history behind some of the great paintings. And if the techniques used to delve into the stories behind classic images sound like something out of a geeky science-fiction film - the National Gallery uses the magnificently titled gas chromatography-mass spectrometer to understand how paintings were made - then the results of such research are immensely crowd-pleasing. Last year, the National Gallery's Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries was a hugely popular exhibition that used science to shed light on some of the art world's most disputed paintings.
It was no surprise that the National Gallery was at the heart of such research. Its scientific department was founded in 1934 and has become a world leader in the study of painting materials and techniques. So does the director of scientific research, Ashok Roy, go along with the idea that the change in the colour of Van Gogh's Sunflowers should be celebrated because it mimics the process of decay?
"This is an interesting point about the 'life history' of old master paintings," he says. "But although in this case the discolouration of the chrome yellow paints reflects the kind of colour change that a decaying sunflower might display, in most cases the type of colour change shows no such correlation. Our interest is to preserve paintings, so we would like to minimise the effect of changes in paint as far as possible."
Roy isn't being a killjoy. He goes on to explain that many Dutch still-life paintings now show blue-coloured foliage where the yellow glaze has faded from on top of a stable blue underpaint. But the role of director of scientific research isn't just about leading the charge to preserve paintings. As the Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries exhibition proved, science can also help us to understand the history of art. One memorable section of the show, for example, highlighted how X-ray imaging proved a 17th-century painting by Pieter De Hooch entitled A Man With Dead Birds was originally painted with a wounded man at its centre, rather than the titular deceased birds. They were added later to appeal to more conservative 19th- century sensibilities.
"Part of the point of studying paintings by scientific means is to understand the history of painting technique," Roy says. "The more that is known about this, the more we are able to interpret the technical history of painting."
In the exhibition, the National Gallery showed off its infrared imaging work - which allowed us to appreciate the original intentions of Giovanni Bellini's 15th-century A Dominican With The Attributes of Saint Peter Martyr, before it was adapted. Elsewhere, electron microscopy - where an image is magnified far beyond what the human eye can see - enabled restorers to return an old Hans Holbein picture to its original glory. But while Roy is at home talking of X-radiography, infrared reflectography, and mass-spectrometry, he thinks the most important development in scientifically understanding paintings in his career has been the humble computer.
"That's perhaps surprising," he says. "But the application of digital technology to imaging paintings and imaging materials from paintings has probably had the greatest impact, partly because digital records are much easier to handle and compare, and partly because digital records can be shared with colleagues around the world with great speed.
"Of course, the technologies involved in analysing paintings have also expanded very considerably in the past 20 years. One major change is that the instruments used to analyse paint are very much more sensitive now, so smaller quantities of material are required for analysis. All this has accelerated advances in knowledge in our field enormously."
In fact, the University of Antwerp scientists are hardly the first to suggest sunlight is partly to blame for the browning of Van Gogh's Sunflowers; at the National Gallery, they've known for some time that light-related damage is caused by the ultraviolet component of daylight, and it has led to UV effectively being blocked from entering the gallery's exhibition space.
So, does all this mean that science can solve every artistic mystery and help preserve every painting in the future? Possibly. But the feeling that the Fakes, Mistakes exhibition imparted was actually one of awe, that the fakers and copyists had somehow thrived for so long. As the researcher Rachel Billinge said at the launch of the exhibition: "Sometimes the faker has gone to such lengths, you can respect their techniques."
As for Roy, he's more excited about the establishment of internationally accessible databases of the methods and materials of Old Master paintings. Which just goes to show, this work isn't just the preserve of geeks in lab coats. It's part of a quest for knowledge - and a desire to preserve the great paintings for many centuries to come.
Six things you need to know about UAE Women’s Special Olympics football team
Several girls started playing football at age four
They describe sport as their passion
The girls don’t dwell on their condition
They just say they may need to work a little harder than others
When not in training, they play football with their brothers and sisters
The girls want to inspire others to join the UAE Special Olympics teams
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Rest
(Because Music)
Company profile
Name: One Good Thing
Founders: Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke
Based in: Dubai
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 5 employees
Stage: Looking for seed funding
Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,470,000 (est)
Engine 6.9-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,350rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.0L / 100km
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Selected fixtures
All times UAE
Wednesday
Poland v Portugal 10.45pm
Russia v Sweden 10.45pm
Friday
Belgium v Switzerland 10.45pm
Croatia v England 10.45pm
Saturday
Netherlands v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Denmark 10.45pm
Sunday
Poland v Italy 10.45pm
Monday
Spain v England 10.45pm
Tuesday
France v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Wales 10.45pm
