In the 1840s, a new painting by Jean Francois Millet was unveiled in Paris. But, horror of horrors, no one seemed to like it! Some critics thought the images were too violent; others thought the paint was applied too thickly. After that, the painting simply disappeared, and everyone assumed Millet had destroyed it.

 

　　Now fast forward to 1983. Using X-ray technology, art restorers were examining another Millet painting, a portrait called The Young Shepherdess. The X-ray film revealed a ghostly outline of a second painting completely concealed by the portrait. And–you guessed it–this hidden painting was the very one that had sparked such controversy 150 years before.

 

　　X-ray technology not only can help art historians find long lost paintings, but also see fascinating revisions painters have made. The artist–or even another painter–may have painted over original layers of paint for many reasons. Perhaps an arm didn’t look quite right, or an entire figure was painted over.

 

　　Because paint easily absorbs long wavelength X-rays, they’re most commonly used to reveal hidden paintings. First, X-ray film is placed directly behind the painting. When X-rays pass through the painting from the front, they’re absorbed by different types and thicknesses of paint to greater or lesser degrees.

 

　　For example, paint made with lead or cadmium absorbs more of the X-ray than paint made with chromium or cobalt. And thick paint absorbs more than thin layers. The resulting X-ray film may reflect a ghostly image not only of the painting visible on the surface, but also the painting hidden beneath.

 

 

 

　　如何利用X射线检测米勒的艺术品

 

　　19世纪40年代的时候，米勒的一幅新画在巴黎公之于众。但最糟糕的是，似乎没有人喜欢这幅作品！一些评论家认为画面太过暴力；其他人则认为颜料使用过重。此后，这幅画作便消失了，每个人都猜测米勒已经毁了它。

 

　　现在快速跳转到1983年。通过使用X射线技术，艺术修缮家正在检测另一幅米勒的画作，一幅名为“牧羊女”的肖像画。X射线胶片上出现了另一幅画作的影廓，它完完全全的隐藏在了肖像当中。你可能已经猜到了，这幅隐藏的画就是150年前引起争议的那幅作品。

 

　　X射线技术不仅可以帮助艺术历史学家找到绝迹已久的画作，还可以发现画家所做的绝妙修改。艺术家或是另一位画家可能会在原画中继续作画，这出于很多原因，可能是胳膊看起来不太对，或是整体感觉太过浓墨重彩。

 

　　由于波长较长的X射线易被颜料吸收，因此经常会被用于发掘隐藏的画作。首先，把X射线胶片直接放在画作后面，当射线从前面照进画作时，它们会被不同型号和厚度的颜料吸收，程度大小不一。

 

　　例如，相比由铬和钴制成的颜料来说，铅和镉制成的颜料能够吸收更多的X射线。同时，厚重的颜料层要比薄的颜料层更易吸收X射线。X射线胶片最后可能显现出的不仅仅是表面图画的影像还包括隐藏其中的影像。