This book is a collection of scientific papers written over 30 years by Karin Groen on aspects of the painting of Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Leyster, Vermeer, Van Gogh etc. The author tracks the historical development of the application of scientific techniques in research into artists techniques and materials and examines phenomena such as the changing of green pigments to blue, the use of red in preparatory layers, binding media, blanching and organic pigments. Contents: In memoriam: Karin Groen Introduction: Perspectives on the evolution of science for art history and conservation, and its current state Part I - Grounds and binding media Chapter 1 - Halcyon days for art history Chapter 2 - Grounds in Rembrandt's workshop and in paintings by his contemporaries Chapter 3 - Earth Matters. The origin of the material used for the preparation of the Night Watch and many other canvases in Rembrandt's workshop after 1640 Chapter 4 - In the beginning there was red Chapter 5 - Investigation of the use of the binding medium by Rembrandt. Chemical analysis and theology Part II - Changing colours Chapter 6 - Towards identification of brown discolouration on green paint Chapter 7 - Towards identification of brown discolouration on green paint revisited Chapter 8 - The foliage tends almost to blue Chapter 9 - Scanning electron-microscopy as an aid in the study of blanching Part III - Study of painting techniques Chapter 10 - Frans Hals: a technical examination (Co-author: Ella Hendriks) Chapter 11 - Judith Leyster: a technical examination of her work (Co-author: Ella Hendriks) Chapter 12 - Scientific examination of Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring (Co-authors: Inez van der Werf, Klaas Jan van den Berg and Jaap J. Boon) Summary Samenvatting Bibliography Acknowlegdements

Paint Lab is packed with unique and experimental techniques and ideas in painting. Organized into 52 units, which may, but don't need to be explored on a weekly basis.

Paint Lab for Kids: 52 Creative Adventures in Painting and Mixed Media for Budding Artists of All Ages helps parents and teachers get children working and creating with paint.

This root-and-branch re-evaluation of Darwin’s concept of sexual selection tackles the subject from historical, epistemological and theoretical perspectives. Contributions from a wealth of disciplines have been marshaled for this volume, with key figures in behavioural ecology, philosophy, and the history of science adding to its wide-ranging relevance. Updating the reader on the debate currently live in behavioural ecology itself on the centrality of sexual selection, and with coverage of developments in the field of animal aesthetics, the book details the current state of play, while other chapters trace the history of sexual selection from Darwin to today and inquire into the neurobiological bases for partner choices and the comparisons between the hedonic brain in human and non-human animals. Welcome space is given to the social aspects of sexual selection, particularly where Darwin drew distinctions between eager males and coy females and rationalized this as evolutionary strategy. Also explored are the current definition of sexual selection (as opposed to natural selection) and its importance in today’s biological research, and the impending critique of the theory from the nascent field of animal aesthetics. As a comprehensive assessment of the current health, or otherwise, of Darwin’s theory, 140 years after the publication of his Descent of Man, the book offers a uniquely rounded view that asks whether ‘sexual selection’ is in itself a progressive or reactionary notion, even as it explores its theoretical relevance in the technical biological study of the twenty-first century.