Download or read book The Science of Paintings written by W.Stanley Jr. Taft and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-04-18 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The physics and materials science behind paintings: the pigments, binders, canvas, and varnish that go into making a painting appear the way it does. The text discusses the physical principles behind the colors seen and how these change with illumination, the various types of paint and binders used in both old and modern paintings, and the optics and microscopic structure of paint films. Chapters on dating, binders, and dendochronology have been contributed by experts in the respective fields.