PhD Candidate in Conservation Science

What will you be doing?
As a PhD candidate in conservation science, you will research the micro-mechanical behaviour of paints used by Vincent van Gogh, affected by both chemical changes and environmental factors. The research will focus on paint models, with the aim of creating a strong basis for understanding the chemical and physical-mechanical behaviour of historical paintings. The research will be conducted in close consultation with the conservators, and carried out in collaboration with ASML, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, and the University of Amsterdam (UvA). You will be working for the Van Gogh Museum. The PhD candidate will carry out most of the practical work at the Ateliergebouw in Amsterdam, and the doctorate will be awarded by the University of Amsterdam.

As a PhD candidate, you will work in an ambitious and collegial environment, where you will have the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Conduct a literature review and develop a full doctoral proposal
• Reconstruct and artificially age paint systems
• Evaluate micro-mechanical test methods to study physical-chemical changes affecting paint properties
• Create a state-of-the-art chemical analysis that will provide a solid chemical understanding of paint degradation
• Initial focus will be on paint defects typically observed in paints using the Prussian blue pigment