Van Gogh's painting grounds: Quantitative determination of bulking agents (extenders) using SEM/EDX

A series of historically accurate oil paint reconstructions have been examined with SEM/EDX. The proportion of extender was measured using standardless analysis of the EDX data. The relative error was 10% or better. The same method has been used to determine the ground composition of real samples from Van Gogh paintings. In addition to compositional analysis we have also used spectral imaging to accurately determine the distribution and morphology of the phases in the ground mixture.