UV - Van Gogh's friend (2)

• Design and technology
• Art and design
• +2
• Primary Education
• Lower Secondary (Key Stage 3)
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)

Introduction

Masterminds & Masterpieces – Using your own drawings and paintings, you’ll discover what a conservator-restorer sees when studying a painting with UV light. (Age 10 - 12)

Instructions

A curious, inquisitive attitude is required for the conservation and management of art and also for science and technology in general. This lesson is part of the Masterminds & Masterpieces series and makes use of the cross-curricular added value of inquiry-based learning (experimenting, trying out, looking, comparing, etc.). Masterminds & Masterpieces is a collaboration between the Van Gogh Museum and ASML.

Materials

• painting aprons and tablecloths 
• cloths to wipe the brushes 
• heavy-duty drawing or painting paper (not copy paper) 
• colouring pencils (not watercolour pencils or markers) 
• pot of diluted UV ink (2 parts water to 1 part ink); for example, this ink 
• brushes 
• acrylic paint 
• UV light, DIY (see lesson UV - Van Gogh’s friend (1) ) or readymade (365nm). Online search term: ‘UV light 365 nm’ 

When using the UV light, you need a space that’s as dark as possible.

Students are warned during the lesson never to shine UV light, or any other kind of light, into their own or other people’s eyes.

Variations

- Instead of coming up with their own subject for a drawing, the students can also copy one of the Van Gogh Museum‘s colouring-in pages.

- The various parts of the lesson can be used as separate assignments, spread out over a number of moments during the day or week.

- For students who can handle slightly more difficult material, the related lessons for higher-level students can be used.

Haven’t you done the lesson UV – Van Gogh’s friend (1)?

Then watch the video Van Gogh under UV light via the hotspot in slide 1.

UV: Van Gogh's friend

What is this lesson about?

A conservator-restorer examines and ‘repairs’ things that have become damaged or discoloured. In this case, it’s Vincent van Gogh’s painting Sprig of Flowering Almond in a Glass. UV light helps conservator-restorers to investigate works of art.

Watch the video

Van Gogh in UV light

If the students haven’t done the lesson UV – Van Gogh’s friend? (1), show them the video Van Gogh in UV light (hotspot, 3:41 min.).

Have they done the lesson? Then start with a short recap.

Experiment

This is what we’re going to investigate:

What does a conservator-restorer see under UV light?

1 or 2?

This experiment can be carried out alone or in pairs.

What not to do!

Never shine UV light, or any other kind of light, into your own eyes or anyone else’s.

Have a brief discussion of what’s coming up in the lesson and whether the lesson will be done individually (without swapping drawings) or in pairs (swapping drawings). Are the students going to swap? Then it’s a good idea for the pairs not to work at the same tables, so that they can’t see what their partner adds in the second stage.

Dit heb je nodig:

What do you need?

• heavy-duty drawing paper (not printer paper)
• colouring pencils (not watercolour pencils or markers)
• pot of diluted UV ink (2 parts water to 1 part ink)
• brushes
• acrylic paint
• a UV light

What's this?

This is a handheld UV light. But maybe you’ve already made a UV research light of your own!

The video (2:10) gives an explanation of the task.

What are you going to do?

• Make a drawing with colouring pencils. Use light colours.
• Finished? Then apply a layer of diluted UV ink to half of your drawing.
• Let it dry.

Are you working with a partner? Then swap drawings when they're dry.

1.

• Paint a few extra things at different spots in the picture. Colour something in or paint something new.
• Do you have someone else’s picture? Make sure that the changes aren’t too obvious and that your partner doesn’t see you making them.

If you’re working with a partner, swap again when the drawings are dry. You should have your own work back now.

2.

For this section, you’ll need around 30 minutes: 20 for drawing/colouring and applying the UV ink, and 10 minutes for ‘touching up’ the art.

For the second stage, emphasise that the students shouldn’t apply the paint too thickly.

What are you going to do?

• Take your art and a UV light into a dark space: a closet, cellar or attic, or maybe the toilet.
• Shine your UV light onto the paper.
• Look closely. What do you notice?

3.

If the lack of a dark space at school makes it impossible to carry out this part of the experiment, ask the students to do it as homework instead. Then discuss the results in another lesson. If the students don’t all have their own DIY UV lights, perhaps they can take it in turns to use the school’s UV lights.

What happens to your drawing under UV light?

Discuss the results with the students and write down keywords on the board. Answers can also be sent to the interactive whiteboard by mobile phone (click on ‘devices in the classroom’ ).

Ask questions such as:

- Could you see the additions?

- What did they look like under UV light?

Note: Various effects and outcomes are possible. The effects depend on factors including the wavelength of the UV light, the type of pencils, paint and UV ink – and whether the space was really dark or not.

What was Inssaf's result?

More research?

Then take a look at these things under UV light:

a peeled boiled egg, toothpaste, a glue stick, marker pen, tonic, lemon juice, almonds, banknotes, washing powder for the whites wash, gummy bears...

And what else can you discover?

The video shows the result of the filmed experiment and demonstrates that other things glow under UV light. You can give the students the opportunity to explore this in another lesson or at home. More information about materials that glow in UV light can be found here. 

ASML is a large technology company based in Brabant, The Netherlands. They use UV light in their chip-making machines. Not the edible kind of chips, but the technology that’s inside your phone or tablet. You can use UV light to make really thin lines on the chips. The thinner the lines, the more information will fit on a chip. And that makes your telephone or tablet faster and more powerful!

UV light is used in sunbeds to help people tan faster.

The police use UV light to detect blood and finger prints.

Did you know…

... that UV light is also used outside the museum?

Of course you did!

Do you have some time left? This slide is about other uses of UV light. Can any of the students provide other examples?