A first for the Wooster Tree Ring Lab (WTRL) – dating a 17th century painting from the Rembrandt Studio in the Netherlands.
Nick Wiesenberg, technician in the lab (right) and the owner of the painting James Elchlinger from Zora Advisory Group. The painting is titled “A Scholar in His Study” possibly painted by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout of Rembrandt Van Rijn’s studio. This panel painting was on an oak panel that had over 240 rings. The mission was to measure the ring widths and then to use dendrochronology to assign calendar dates to each ring by comparing (aka crossdating) ring-width measurements to a master chronology that is calendar-dated. A tree-ring date would help validate the authenticity of the painting.
A close-up of the painting.
The first step was to prepare the surface of the oak panel by carefully sanding the top of the painting to be sure that the wood cells within each ring were visible. Dr. Hernán Medina (standing; Wooster Spanish Professor) and Anika Knowles (lower right; Wooster Earth Science/Spanish major and Alaska Tree Ring worker) look on.
The oak panel is made of three panels glued together, and is only about 5 mm thick; the back of the painting is bolstered by a “cradle”