Page 223 - Copper and Bronze in Art: Corrosion, Colorants, Getty Museum Conservation, By David Scott

P L A T E 6 2 Two photomicrographs of copper ortho-
arsenite: , viewed under plane polarized light; and
A
B, viewed under crossed polars (both in melt-mount
R I 1.662, magnification χ 347).
P L A T E 63 James Ensor (Belgian, i860-1949) , Christ's
Entry into Brussels in 1889, I888 . Oil on canvas.
H : 252.5 cm; w: 430.5 cm. This seminal painting, which
was not shown in public until 1924, made extensive use of
Schweinfurt green (emerald green), among other vivid
colors. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum (87.PA.96) .

P L A T E 64 Photomicrographs of sample of Schweinfurt
green taken from Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889:
A, viewed in plane polarized light; and , viewed under
B
crossed polars. X-ray diffraction studies show that the
synthetic pigment has suffered no degradation over the
past one hundred years. The small spherical particles
62A
seen under crossed polars are typical for many synthetic
copper pigments. Samples of this pigment often show
circular or lobed rounded forms with a dark cross.
Brushes of light can be seen to cross when the sample is
rotated (both in melt-mount R I 1.662, magnification χ23θ) .

62B

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