This book is intended for those both inside and outside the field of art
who wish to gain insight into the making of paintings. It is directed toward
students, teachers, and scientists in engineering, physics, and chemistry as
well as those in art, art history, and art conservation. This book grew out
of the interdisciplinary undergraduate-level course Art, Isotopes, and Analysis
taught at Cornell University by the two authors and supported in lectures
and seminars by three of the contributing authors: Dr. Richard
Newman, of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Dr. Dusan Stulik, of the
Getty Conservation Institute; and Prof. Peter Kuniholm, of Cornell University.
Students enrolled in the course represented a broad range of majors
and expertise in both art and science (they were not expected to have
taken college-level math, physics, or chemistry). The course gave inspiration
and structure to the book, which developed from a student text compiled
by the authors and other contributors to the course. Much of the
information in the Technical Appendices is derived from these lecture notes.