![]() Moreover, in some areas, the white matter seems to have flaked off through the years without leaving any sign of damage. In this case, the white substance seems to lie on top of the paint. Thierry Ford, Paintings Conservator at the National Museum, subscribes to that opinion as "bird excrements are known to have a corroding or macerating effect on many materials, a statement that most car owners can confirm". However, Prof. Tine Frøysaker (University of Oslo), who has been recurrently confronted with bird excrements in the Norwegian Stave churches where she worked throughout her career as conservator, was less convinced by the bird droppings theory as the white spots do not look anything like bird droppings under the microscope. This work differs from the others not only in the fact that it is considered as the earliest version, but also because it features a series of enigmatic white splatters on the surface. Although one of the versions was sold in 2012 for a staggering 119 million dollars, the most renowned version is undoubtedly the painting that is part of the collection of the Norwegian National Museum. "In the final years of the nineteenth century, Edvard Munch made four versions of the Scream, a painting that is nowadays considered as vital for the later development of Expressionism," explains Dr Nils Ohlsen, Director of Old Masters and Modern Art at the National Museum in Oslo. The "Scream" has become an icon of the European art canon. "But I did not associate it with easel paintings, and certainly not with quintessential masterpieces that are valued over 100 million dollars." and brand new cars", says Van der Snickt, cultural heritage scientist at the University of Antwerp. "Bird droppings can pose a significant threat for monuments, outdoor statues. ![]() As seen on the right, photographs were conserved showing the artist in the snow midst a series of paintings, merely sheltered by a wooden shed. The painting entered the National Museum's collection directly from the artist's studio and the white splatters have always been present. All of this resulted in a theory that Munch would have left the Scream outside and that birds flying by literally added another layer of meaning to Munch's Masterpiece. ![]() It is known that Munch painted several of his large drafts outdoors and that he liked to expose his paintings to the forces of nature. Instead, the X-ray examination shows that the patches are made of wax, which probably dripped from a candle in Munch's studio on the painting. Contrary to popular assumption the stains are not bird droppings - and neither simply white color. Geert Van der Snickt of the University of Antwerp unravelled the nature of mysterious white spots on the famous painting "The Scream" by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. With the help of the brilliant X-ray radiation from DESY's research light source PETRA III, scientists have solved a decades-old mystery from the world of art: A team led by Dr.
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