Natural sciences can provide fascinating information on the artist’s creative methods: the composition of the paints used in completing works, their build-up layer by layer, secrets hidden under the painting layer, etc. Such clues may allow conservators and conservation scientists to obtain information about the dating and attribution of art works.

Chemical analyses begin with non-destructive analyses conducted using portable equipment like X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) in situ at the works of art and, thereafter, analyses continue using (semi-)destructive methods, for which tiny pieces of original material have to be removed from the work of art.

Samples can be prepared as cross-sections, which allow us to see the stratigraphy of the paint layers, from the ground and lower paint up to the varnish. One branch of analytical chemistry is instrumental analysis, in other words the use of different aparatus for several examinations, including the identification of the composition of complicated materials (paints, varnishes, adhesives etc.). These analyses are carried out in the University of Tartu chemistry laboratories using methods like infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS).