Rathgen Research Laboratory

The Rathgen Research Laboratory (

The Laboratory also provides services to a number of international bodies, such as the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM).

Facilities

The laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art analytical equipment, methods and procedures, including:

• ESEM
  )
• Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS)
• X-ray fluorescence and Micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF and XRF)
• X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD)
• UV spectroscopy
  (UV-Vis)
• Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
• High performance liquid chromatography
  (HPLC)
• Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS)

Other methods for the investigation of materials include a weathering chamber to simulate environmental conditions and mobile measuring systems for monitoring the physical and chemical environment for art works in situ.^[1]

Achievements

The Rathgen has exposed several scandalous forgeries, including paintings in the Beltracchi affair. Analysis of annular rings in the original frames demonstrated that the wood was indeed old but came from trees that had once stood tightly side by side, unlikely for diverse works such as Fernand Léger and Max Ernst.^[2]

See also

• Friedrich Rathgen
• Berlin State Museums
• Institute for Museum Research
• Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation

References

External links

• Rathgen Laboratory in English
• Rathgen Laboratory Foundation (Förderkreis des Rathgen-Forschungslabors e.V.) in German

52°31′07″N 13°17′44″E / 52.518659°N 13.295511°E / 52.518659; 13.295511