NA.MY.ST.O. (Science. Art. Studies. Education)
With the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture (NAFAA), and the Khanenko Museum, we implemented the innovative educational project NA.MY.ST.O. (Science. Art. Studies. Education).
The project combined lectures and practical workshops for students with a professional seminar, “The Armed Eye,” designed for museum professionals and specialists working in the cultural heritage sector.
NA.MY.ST.O. provided students with a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the investigation of cultural heritage objects and to improve their professional skills. At the same time, it broadened museum professionals’ understanding of the role of technological examination in the attribution and study of artworks while introducing best European practices in heritage science and interdisciplinary research.
Educational Publication
As part of the project, a methodological handbook entitled “Science. Art. Studies. Education. Technological Examination of Artworks from the Khanenko Museum Collection” was published and made freely available in digital format.
The publication was created to support students, conservators, museum professionals, and researchers interested in technical art history and conservation science.
The digital version of the guidebook is now available at the following link
Educational Programme
As part of the project, students attended lectures on technological methods for the examination of paintings and received practical training with scientific equipment used in conservation and heritage science. The programme introduced participants to contemporary analytical instruments and provided direct experience in their application.
This project is supported by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation #SupportedByUCF, #NORDProgram #UCFGrantee
During the practical workshops, students from NAFAA worked alongside experts from ART-LAB and art historians from the Khanenko Museum to investigate cultural heritage objects from the museum collection. One of the case studies involved the technological examination of the Portrait of Infanta Margarita of Austria.
The workshops focused on optical examination methods, including photography and image analysis in ultraviolet and infrared light. Students learned how these techniques reveal information about artists’ materials, conservation history, and the creation process of artworks.
Further sessions introduced participants to scientific methods used in heritage research, including:
• X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) for the analysis of pigments and ground layers;
• ATR-FTIR spectroscopy for materials identification;
• sampling techniques and analytical interpretation;
• interdisciplinary approaches to technological examination and attribution.
Art & Science II Exhibition
On 10 October 2019, the exhibition “Art & Science II: Investigating Paintings” opened as part of the NA.MY.ST.O. project. The exhibition presented five innovative methods of examination applied to five paintings from the Khanenko Museum collection. Visitors were able to learn how scientific research contributes to the study, interpretation, attribution, and preservation of artworks. A series of public lectures accompanied the exhibition and introduced audiences to the latest methods used in the technical examination of paintings.
Events will take place in the exhibition hall of the Asian Exhibition Building.
Address: 17 Tereshchenkivska St.
The exhibition presented the results of the NA.MY.ST.O. project through five case studies from the museum’s collection, demonstrating how scientific methods can contribute to the study, attribution, and interpretation of artworks.
Visitors were introduced to five different examination techniques applied to five paintings, gaining rare insight into the research processes that usually remain hidden behind museum displays.
A series of public lectures accompanied the exhibition on 13, 20, and 27 October, providing visitors with an opportunity to learn about the project, the scientific methods employed, and the discoveries made during the investigation of the selected artworks.
Schedule of lectures for the ART&SCIENCE II exhibition:
October 13 at 12:00 PM
October 20 at 4:00 PM
October 27 at 4:00 PM
The exhibition became an important platform for communicating conservation and heritage science to a broad public audience and for demonstrating the value of interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers, conservators, students, and museum professionals.
Methods of Research
 Scientific and technological expertise is carried out through a set of non-destructive and non-contact methods of research in the visible, ultraviolet, infrared and X-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, as well as on the basis of the selected micro-samples in the clearly marked and designated locations for infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transform (FTIR), and on the basis of the complex micro-chemical analysis. The clear positioning of sampling locations allows us to compare the results with the studies in the other expertise centres.
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Reference sample base
Art-Lab has an access to the existing databases of IR and Raman spectra – Irug/Infrared and Raman Users Group/, Nicodom and Kremer pigment database (the spectra of the substances used in painting/, as well as to the common databases like Interpol database, Japanese Scientific Spectral Database for Organic Compounds, etc.
BSNE Art-Lab has its own reference sample base of paints and pigments. The laboratory has bought and is constantly replenishing the samples of paints directly from the producers (the so-called “dyeings”). It also has its own spectra and has formed its own libraries.