C2ST in the News

Physicists and X-ray help solve Picasso mystery

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By Ted Gregory, Chicago Tribune

Originally published at: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-10-10/news/ct-met-picasso-csi-20121010_1_picasso-pieces-paint-art-institute

Some call the collaboration between the Art Institute and Argonne National Laboratory “Picasso CSI.”

It lacks a heart-pounding chase scene of a TV drama, though, and nothing explodes in flames. But there is a love story, cutting-edge science and a piece of equipment likened to the gun of adventurer Lara Croft, tomb raider in a tight outfit. And there’s eBay.

The end remains unwritten, but the partnership has produced an answer to a heated topic that has vexed the art world for decades: Pablo Picasso was the first artist to use common house paint in his work and spread that practice widely, Argonne said.

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Blog Post

Exploring the Universe from the Bottom of the World

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Our quest to understand the origin, evolution and makeup of the Universe has undergone dramatic and surprising advances over the past two decades. Much of the progress in understanding the makeup of the Universe has been through observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Slight variations in the intensity of the CMB light provide a glimpse of the Universe as it was 14 billion years ago.

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An Interview with Conservation Scientist Dr. Francesca Casadio

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Francesca Casadio PhD., joined the Art Institute of Chicago as its first A.W. Mellon Conservation Scientist in July 2003, filling a critical role in establishing and directing a conservation science program. Her primary activities focus on equipping an in-house laboratory with state-of-the-art instrumentation, and conducting analyses of works of art in the collections.

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Press Release

Bottom of the World

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Exploring the Universe From the Bottom of the World

Our quest to understand the origin, evolution and makeup of the Universe has undergone dramatic and surprising advances over the past two decades. Much of the progress in understanding the makeup of the Universe has been through observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Slight variations in the intensity of the CMB light provide a glimpse of the Universe as it was 14 billion years ago.

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Press Release

CSI Picasso

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C2ST Presents: CSI Picasso, an affiliate event of Chicago Ideas Week

To learn more about the famous artists whose works cover the walls and halls of the Art Institute of Chicago, conservation experts don’ t simply pore over dusty tomes and speculate as to materials used and techniques employed; they peer through high-tech microscopes, use X-ray machines, and examine samples as small as tiny grains of salt to uncover long-held mysteries.

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Conservation Scientist Francesca Casadio and Paintings Conservator Allison Langley will discuss the works of Pablo Picasso

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Francesca Casadio PhD., A.W. Mellon Conservation Scientist and Allison Langley, Paintings Conservator at The Art Institute of Chicago, will discuss the works of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), one of the most important artists of the 20th century, at CSI: Picasso on October 10th at IIT.

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