Museo d'Arte e Scienza - Museum of Art and Science

The courtyard of Bonacossa Palace,
site of the "Museo d'Arte e Scienza"
via Q. Sella,4 -20121 Milano- Piazza Castello

Themes treated in the various rooms:
Rooms 1 and 2, Leonardo Citizen of Milan. Room 3, Scientific Laboratory. Room 4 offices and entrance. Room 7a, Furniture. Room 7b, Carpets and Tapestries. Room 8a, Excavated Ceramics. Room 9, Paintings, Icons, Books, Art Prints, Ivory, Gemstones. Room 9, Porcelain, Glass, Dolls, Pipes, Walking Sticks, Clocks and Watches, Fabrics. Room 10, Silver and Bronzes. Rooms 11 and 12, Treatise on Painting. Room 13, Buddhist Art and specialized Exhibitions. Rooms 14-18, African Art

Opening hours: Mon-Fri. 10-18
Entrance: Euro 8 - reduced Euro 4
For Information: Tel.+390272022488. Fax.+390272023156.
e-mail: info@museoartescienza.com

to enlarge

Few people know !

On the lower floor of the Museum of G. Matthaes Foundation it is still possible to see the secret tunnel, built in Leonardo’s day, which led to the Sforzesco Castle.


		Partners

Didactic sections of the Museum of Art and Science
for the authenticity ascertainment in art and antiques

Founded in 1990 as a Teaching Museum for recognizing authenticity in the field of art and antiques, the Museo d'Arte e Scienza, with its 18 rooms and new theme itineraries, aims to guide visitors on an interesting tour of authentic objects, copies and fakes. Each room is dedicated to a specific sector, ranging from furniture, tapestries, carpets, paintings and icons to excavated pottery. In addition to these broad themes, a great variety of materials are analysed including, among others, ivory, metals, glass and porcelain. For each topic, art collectors, art buffs or just curious spectators are shown how to recognize all the signs for telling authentic items from imitations with the help of tangible examples and small practical demonstrations.

⁭⁭ Room 7a - Themes treated: to determine the authenticity of furniture, sculptures, and wooden object.

⁭⁭ Room 7b - Themes treated: to determine the authenticity of Carpets and Tapestries.

⁭⁭ Room 8 - Themes treated: to determine the authenticity of excavated pottery.

⁭⁭ Room 9 - Themes treated: to determine the authenticity of paintings on panel and canvas, icons and prints.

⁭⁭ Room 9 - Themes treated: to determine the authenticity of ivory and amber objects.

⁭⁭ Room 9 - Themes treated: to determine the authenticity of ceramics and glass objects.

⁭⁭ Room 9 - Themes treated: to determine the authenticity of metal, silver, Sheffield and bronzes objects.

Every section has explanatory panels, written in three languages, which clearly describe the exhibited objects and the specific characteristics that the visitor must observe.

All the treated themes are moreover largely described in the 3 volumes issued by the Museum: "The Art Collector's Illustrated Handbook", of which you may have all the information visiting www.ArtAndScienceHandbook.com

ADDITIONALLY, in the Museum rooms there are nine interactive test stations at the disposal of visitors for simple tests for ascertaining the authenticity of antiques.


Test station room 7: identification of glues and other synthetic materials with Wood’s light	Test station room 8: sniff test on excavated pottery	Test station room 9: test for revealing use of plastic


Test station room 9: identification of authentic icons with Wood’s light	Test station room 9: examination with a magnifying glass of signs of wear and decorations on china	the microscope distinguishes authentic patinas and encrustations from faked ones


loptical examination of signs of wear to identify an authentic piece of silverware	shadow reveals industrial or handcrafted manufacture of glass	the dull sound of a porcelain item reveals hidden restoration work

The Scientific Laboratory of the Museo d'Arte e Scienza

An laboratory at the service of art

⁭⁭ Rooms 3-3a

The Museum laboratory’s mission is to improve existing scientific methods and elaborate new methods for the ascertainment of the authenticity of art objects. The laboratory’s instruments and know-how for the determining of authenticity are at the disposal of collectors, art experts, restorers, art galleries and museums.
(The staff of the laboratory, who speaks the main European languages, is at your disposal for any explanations).

The laboratory of the Museum of Art and Science is a no profit facility
and is independent from every point of view.

Tests carried out by the laboratory:

Spectroscopic dating and characterization of wooden objects

Microscopic tests on paintings, antique bronzes, excavated pottery etc.


Examination of underlying layers using infrared reflectography		Analyses of paint layers with a duroflexometer	Analyses with Wood’s light, UV and IR

FURTHER ANALYSES PERFORMED IN THE LABORATORY:
Spectroscopic chemical analyses on pigments, glues, encrustations, patinas, products of corrosion. Scientific, practical and instrumental tests of authenticity on: ivory, amber, archaeological glass, pigments, metals, stones, carpets, tapestry, prints, books, clocks and watches, china.

PRICES: the average cost of analyses is 75 Euro for each test; some tests are conclusive in telling fake and authentic items apart, such as wood dating and tests on the encrustations on pottery and bronzes.
For more information contact: Dr. Chem. Peter Matthaes (laboratory's director) Tel. 0039-02-72022488 - Fax. 0039-02-72023156 - Email: info@museoartescienza.com

Acknowledged value
of the museum’s scientific laboratory and its methods
for determining authenticity

Attitudes towards and use of scientific methods are influenced by local laws and customs.

Basis of judgment: the situation in Italy (where the museum is located)

The prime institution for the fight against forgery and imitations is the Guardia di Finanza or Financial Police. The most recent catalogue on the determination of authenticity in art, published by the same in June 2007, contains an exclusive six-page presentation of the scientific laboratory of the Museo d’Arte e Scienza in which its methods for dating paintings, furniture, and objects in ivory and other materials are illustrated in detail and their validity, in effect, endorsed.

Judicial proceedings. The probatory value of the spectroscopic dating method is crucial to the outcome of civil and penal judgments involving the determination of the actual age of art works.

The art market: the percentage of unauthentic art works currently on the market is very high. As a consequence a section of the trade rejects scientific methods out of economic necessity. Furthermore, when dating tests give negative results, dealers often tend to maintain that it is not the art work that is at fault but the scientific test result, or that the method is unknown!!

Art lovers and investors. Copies and fakes will continue to be offered as originals as long as buyers of art refuse to follow the same line of conduct adopted when acquiring other “products”, that is to say insisting on a dependable guarantee of the object’s authenticity as the condition for its purchase. It is senseless to content oneself with the personal opinions of experts alone in this age of technology and science. The art market will become trustworthy only when the art lover becomes a connoisseur and, as envisaged by the law, demands a valid certificate.

NOW OPERATIVE !

Branch of the Milan scientific laboratory for determining the authenticity
of valuable antique art objects

The announced laboratory in Germany to serve central Europe is
now operative for the taking of samples from wooden objects to be dated and for the issuing of certificates.

Please contact Dr. Martin Matthaes
+49 (0) 17676305108 – mm@museoartescienza.com

The house, which has belonged to the Matthaes Foundation (Museo d’Arte e Scienza) for 45 years, is situated on the shores of Lake Constance, near Lindau.

Other requests may be sent, as always, directly to the Milan laboratory at the following address:

Museo d’Arte e Scienza
Via Q. Sella 4 – 20121 Milano
Tel. 0039 02 72022488
Fax 0039 02 72023156
e-mail: info@museoartescienza.com

For further info:

www.Museoartescienza.com www.Spectroscopyforart.com
www.PaintingsAuthenticity.com www.AfricanArtAuthenticity.com and other sites

Section of the Museo d'Arte e Scienza
dedicated to the Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci

⁭⁭ Room 1 - Permanent exhibition: "Leonardo Da Vinci Citizen of Milan"

An overview is given of his intense activity during the twenty years spent in Milan, the city where Leonardo gave expression to all the aspects of his universal genius.

Themes treated: Leonardo Da Vinci's activities in Milan, Leonardo ingenious painter, Leonardo expert of optics and perspective, Leonardo master of revels at the ducal court, Leonardo military engineer.

⁭⁭ Room 2 - Themes treated: chronology of Leonardo Da Vinci's activities in Milan, the characteristics of a genius, Leonardo sculptor, Leonardo expert of flight, Leonardo expert of inland waterways.

⁭⁭ Room 2 - Section dedicated to Mona Lisa

THE MONA LISA’S MYSTERIOUS SMILE
In 1950, for the fifth centenary of Leonardo’s birth, the Louvre Museum, owner of 7 of his 15 paintings, organized a study of his singular painting technique. The Milanese museum, by re-examining this material, came to some interesting conclusions.

X-ray photographs normally heighten the contrasts between black and white, showing up the brushwork and the use of colours.
This is exemplified by the X-ray of Rembrandt’s self-portrait. The X-ray photograph of the Mona Lisa, instead, offers only an evanescent image below the visible layer.

The mysterious allure of Leonardo’s portraits lies, therefore, in his invisible brushwork. Leonardo applied his colours in layers that were almost imperceptible, building up layer upon layer in order to achieve the desired effect in every point of his painting. With this technique the outlines of objects and details disappear.

A clear demonstration of the lack of outlines is given by this enlarged photograph of the Mona Lisa’s lips. The lips with the famous smile do not exist, they are only nuances of colour

The mystery of her smile, which has haunted generations of admirers, can be said to lie in the fact that it is not real. Its form and the emotion it elicits are a figment of the imagination of the observer.

	The impossibility of copying Leonardo A copyist, unable to copy this technique, can only reproduce the colours and outlines as they appear to him. The examples chosen here are the eyes and mouth of a well-executed recent copy compared with the same features of the Mona Lisa
Recent copy by F. Pari		Leonardo’s Mona Lisa

⁭⁭ Rooms 11-12

Permanent exhibition on Treatise on Painting:
"Appreciating Art through the Eyes of Leonardo Da Vinci"

The most important articles of the Treatise on Painting, containing his ideas and advice to painters and sculptors, are explained with practical examples and interactive stations.

Themes treated: sculpture and painting compared, the sculptor, faces, drapery, bass-reliefs, light and shade in sculpture. Painting, the painter, the art of copying, colour, light and shade in painting.





End of section dedicated to Leonardo

Section of the Museo d'Arte e Scienza
dedicated to the Extraeuropean Art

⁭⁭ Rooms 14 -15 - African Art

One of Italy’s major permanent exhibitions with over 300 items of high historic/artistic value which tell us what life was really like in Black Africa: the different social status of men and women, cults, masks, everyday objects, curiosities connected with the traditions of a number of tribes, and contacts with the West.

Themes treated: the world of women, dance, fertility, kitchen utensils, Yoruba twins, the wooden couple of the Baulé, Dan masks, zoomorphic and multi-face masks.

⁭⁭ Rooms 16 -17-18 - African Art

Themes treated: the cult of the dead, oracles, the world of men, instruments of power, musical instruments, coins, the warrior, contact and reciprocal influence between African art and the West.

For more information: www.AfricanArtAuthenticity.com

⁭⁭ Room 13 - Oriental Art

150 high-quality items from South-East Asia go to make up a fascinating exhibition and help an understanding of the Buddhist spirit and iconography.

Themes treated: Buddhist art of South-East Asia and minor Asian arts; stone, wood, bronze and ivory objects

Publishing

Detailed information on The authenticity of objects of art and on Leonardo da Vinci’s Treatise on Painting to be found in following books of the Museo d'Arte e Scienza:

The Art Collector’s Illustrated Handbook How to tell authentic antiques from fakes		Appreciating Arte through the Eyes of Leonardo

The most complete and updated Handbook about the Authenticity ascertainment in Art and Antiques with 540 pages and more than 2000 colour illustrations in 3 Volumes and 3 languages (Italian, English and German).		An abridged edition of the famous “Treatise on Painting” of Leonardo da Vinci. 157 pages and numerous colour photos. Printed in Italian and English. Available also in German and French online (www.LeonardoTeacherofPaintinginMilan.com).



These books are on sale at the Museum or can be sent by post. For further information and to purchase on line click here Prices: Illustrated Handbook Euro 40,00 volume 1 Euro 30,00 volume 2 Euro 30,00 volume 3 Appreciating Art Euro 20,00 + shipping charge Payment with Credit Card please ask for the authorization form Bank transfer SWIFT: VRBPIT2V041, IBAN: IT94L0518801600000000031328 Banca Popolare di Verona, Milano, Largo Cairoli 2A

*Some pages of the Illustrated Handbook* concerning** the sections Furniture and Paintings

Some pages from the book “Appreciating Art through the Eyes of Leonardo” The single articles of the “Treatise on Painting” (for instance Art. 43) are quoted with the original notes of the Master and illustrated with paintings and drawings.

The Founders and the permanent staff of the Museo d’Arte e Scienza

	Gottfried Matthaes Founder and President	Giovanna Cozzi Matthaes Co-founder


Dott. Chim. Peter Matthaes Lab. Director and CTU	Patrizia Matthaes Administration	Silvia Mayer Language and Communication	Dott. Avv. Martin Matthaes Lawyer - International Law


Chiara Civardi First lab assistant	Roberta Delmoro Art Historian (Freelance)	Marta Cugnasca Data processing	Sonia Checchini Conservation

OTHER SITES OF THE MUSEUM OF ART AND SCIENCE:

www.LeonardoDaVinciMilano.com - two permanent exhibitions: "Leonardo Citizen of Milan" and "Appreciating Art through the Eyes of Leonardo" from his "Treatise on Painting".

www.ArtAndScienceHandbook.com - The most complete and scientifically valid guide to ascertaining the authenticity of European and non-European antiques on an objective basis (540 pages and more than 2000 colour illustrations in 3 volumes and 3 languages)

www.AuthenticAfricanBronzesandCeramics.com - dedicated to the authenticity of African artworks in bronze, stone and pottery. The scientific laboratory of the Museo d’Arte e Scienza has developed valid methods for telling authentic African objects from copies and fakes.

www.Paintingsauthenticity.com - Information about the authenticity of modern paintings and antique paintings

www.AntiqueFurnitureAuthenticity.com - A list of possible methods for determining the authenticity of furniture based on objective factors.

www.Excavatedartauthenticity.com - "A list of all the possible ways of determining, on the basis of objective factors, the authenticity of excavated pottery, glass or bronze items from Southern Italy, the Mediterranean Basin, China and South America.".

www.AfricanArtAuthenticity.com - "Art and Life in Black Africa", The African Art didactic section of the Museum (5 rooms and over 350 objects).

www.SpectroscopyforArt.com - Scientific method for the dating of the wood and identification of the wood type used for art objects. Determination of their authenticity through analysis of colours, binders, pigments and other organic substances.

www.C14spectrodating.com - Spectroscopic measurements complementing dating obtained with the C14 method that appears uncertain or impossible.

www.DendroSpectroChronology.com - Spectroscopic measurements complementing the uncertain results of dendrochronological dating.

www.Matthaes.org - The history of the G. Matthaes Foundation from the opening of the painting school in Dresden in 1906 up to the Museum "Arte e Scienza" in Milan.

www.CopiesAndFakesInArt.com - Ample further descriptions for ascertaining the authenticity in art for the individual fields of antiques.

www.IvoryAuthenticityAndAge.com - Ivory, bones and horns can now be spectroscopically dated and recognized with precision.

www.LeonardoTeacherofPaintinginMilan.com - An abridged and illustrated edition of the “Treatise on Painting”.


	Over 2,000 items are on display in the Museum's 18 rooms covering the main sectors of antiques. Of particular interest are the two exhibitions on Leonardo da Vinci, the prestigious collections of excavated pottery, Buddhist Art and African Art, and Interactive equipment at the disposal of visitors .
THE MAIN SECTIONS OF THE MUSEUM:

Prices: Illustrated Handbook Euro 40,00 volume 1 Euro 30,00 volume 2 Euro 30,00 volume 3 Appreciating Art Euro 20,00 + shipping charge

The Founders and the permanent staff of the Museo d’Arte e Scienza

Prices: Illustrated Handbook Euro 40,00 volume 1
Euro 30,00 volume 2
Euro 30,00 volume 3
Appreciating Art Euro 20,00 + shipping charge

The Founders and the permanent staff
of the Museo d’Arte e Scienza