To many people, Van Gogh means light blue and soft yellow. <br /><br /> But now scientists say he used different colours. The original colours have aged. <br /><br /> The ink of his sketches has even dissolved.<br /><br /> Scientists want to find the colours Van Gogh used originally. <br /><br /> Ella Hendriks, art restorer, works at a restoration centre in Amsterdam where she studies and restores Van Gogh’s sketches and paintings.<br /><br /> For a few months, she has been working on the painting “Field with Irises near Arles.” She knows every millimetre of it. <br /><br /> First she removes the varnish applied by an earlier restorer in 1927. These days this would never happen.<br /><br /> “Using microscope techniques we have determined which red pigments have vanished from this painting that caused the colour changes,” explained Ella. Here, the coccinelle is well-preserved in the deep layers of the paint. It is the same colour that has vanished from the colour of the iris.<br /><br /> ICT expert Eric Postma said: “We intend to go back in time, to see what it originally looked like and on the other hand to look into what effect our work will have in the future: the long-term effect of removing the varnish or other treatments.”<br /><br /> The centre wants to know how Van Gogh’s work will age, something that’s important if we still want to enjoy his art 100 years from now.
