Why have Murillo's skies turned grey?

Smalt was one of the blue pigments the most commonly used by the artists between the 16th and 18th centuries. Unfortunately, this pigment is unstable and tends to fade with time. Researchers from the new European platform for research on ancient materials, the SOLEIL synchrotron, the National Gallery, London and the C2RMF found the key of this fading, described for four centuries. These results, obtained through the synchrotron analysis of microsamples of paint from works by Baroque painter Murillo and other artists, have been published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.

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