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Aelbert Cuyp Research Project

Micrograph of a Bird

Project Researchers: Libby Sheldon (Director) Honorary Senior Research Associate, UCL; Gabriella Macaro (chief researcher) UCL teaching assistant (2011-2013); now at National Gallery London.

Project Funders: Private paintings collector; + Charisma grant archival study 2013


The aim of this research project has been to investigate the materials and techniques employed in the making of paintings produced by Aelbert Cuyp. Although the central focus is on Aelbert Cuyp himself, the project also encompasses works attributed to his followers and contemporaries in Dordrecht in the context of extant studies of the painting practices of other Dutch schools.

The intention is to reach a clear understanding of the technical practices of Cuyp by looking at issues such as patterns of pigment use, types of ground and brushwork characteristics. Studies have been carried out so far on paintings by Cuyp and his followers, in both public and private collections. A variety of analytical procedures has been employed, ranging from simple microscopy and microphotography to non-invasive portable X-Ray Fluorescence [XRF] examination of painting surfaces; and from optical microscopy (PLM) to energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis of minute paint samples. The project aims to help in vexed matters of attribution which have often haunted Aelbert Cuyp's work, and, by filling a gap, to make a firm contribution to scholarship in technical art history.