Microfading Tester International Discussion Group

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  • 1.  Looking for MFT expertise & watercolor case studies

    Posted 03-26-2026 10:16

    Hi everyone! I'm Ana Paula Gómez, writing from a museum in Bogotá, Colombia. We recently got an MFT (it seems it might be the only one in Latin America so far), and I wanted to ask if anyone could recommend an expert in MFT operation/data interpretation who might be willing to offer us some more advanced training beyond what we received from Instytut Fotonowy.

    Also, I'd love to know if anyone here has worked on MFT analysis of 19th‑century watercolors. Any insights or references would be super helpful.

    Thanks so much



    ------------------------------
    Ana Gómez Uribe
    Storage collections manager
    Banco De La Republica - Colombia
    Bogotá
    Colombia
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Looking for MFT expertise & watercolor case studies

    Posted 03-26-2026 15:49

    Hello Ana, and welcome! 

    I do not know of anyone anywhere near you who does this sort of consulting work, but I can share some comments on watercolors. Because of their semi-transparent nature, some of the signal you collect will be contributed by the underlying paper, so always start by running a blank spot of paper if at all possible, and look closely at how the spectrum changes with light exposure, comparing the initial and final spectra. It may bleach, it may darken and yellow if the lignin content or sizing are photo-reactive, and for newer papers there may be fluorescent whitening agents that are exhausted by light exposure.  These behaviors may then be echoed to some extent in the painted areas, depending on how opaque or translucent the area is.

    Experience is a great teacher; you might try making an expendable "object" with markers and paints with somewhat predictable behavior to practice on. 

    And post lots of questions here, of course! 

    best regards,



    ------------------------------
    Cindy Connelly Ryan
    Library of Congress
    Silver Spring MD
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Looking for MFT expertise & watercolor case studies

    Posted 04-07-2026 15:30

    Dear Cindy,

    Thank you very much for your message, and please excuse the delay in my response.

    I really appreciate your generous and thoughtful advice - your comments on watercolors are extremely helpful and will be very useful for our work. And thank you as well for encouraging us to keep asking questions.

    Many thanks again for taking the time to share your experience and expertise.

    Best regards,
    Ana



    ------------------------------
    Ana Gómez Uribe
    Storage collections manager
    Banco De La Republica - Colombia
    Bogotá
    Colombia
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Looking for MFT expertise & watercolor case studies

    Posted 04-17-2026 02:28

    Hello Ana,

    I am nowhere near you, Sweden, but I am very familiar with the Fotonowy MFT (I was one of the scientists that started the initiative; I am a distributor for the instrument; and I deliver training on the instrument around the world), and I am very familiar with 19th centruy watercolours as my PhD at the Tate and UCL focused on watercolours by Turner, their characterisation, degradation, and means to mediate this degradation. I would be happy to discuss additional training for you, onsite or over video. 
    best regards,

    Jacob



    ------------------------------
    Jacob Thomas

    jacoblthomas@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Looking for MFT expertise & watercolor case studies

    Posted 05-05-2026 23:12

    Dear Ana Paula,

    Apologies for the late response, but excited to know there is an MFT in South America!

    I previously shared these watercolor links with you, but thought I'd post them again in case it's helpful for others:

    And since Jacob mentioned his dissertation, here's a link to the document titled "Evaluation of Reduced Oxygen Display and Storage of Watercolours"

    Regarding training on MFT operation and data interpretation, the MFT-IDG team has talked about posting videos of the Whitmore, Fotonowy, and Retroreflective MFTs in action, as well as discussion about the Spectral Viewer software and lighting budgets. But in the meantime, I agree with Cindy that practice on the instrument is a great teacher and will help refine your questions that you hopefully ask here!



    ------------------------------
    Vincent Laudato Beltran
    Scientist, Getty Conservation Institute
    Chair, MFT-IDG
    vbeltran@getty.edu
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Looking for MFT expertise & watercolor case studies

    Posted 16 days ago

    Dear Vincent,
    Thank you very much for your kind response. I must admit that I forgot to reply earlier, but I really appreciate you taking the time to reference and share all this information.
    I would really love to attend the workshop in Scotland, as it is exactly what we need right now. Unfortunately, the travel distance and associated costs make it difficult for us to participate.
    We acquired our MFT in December and have been doing our best to build our expertise. We recently had a very helpful discussion with Tomasz Soczewka from AGH University of Kraków, but we still feel that what we need most is more hands-on practice with the instrument.
    Would there be any possibility of you coming to Colombia for a small practical training session? If not, what alternative would you recommend for gaining more practical experience?
    As far as we know, we may currently be the only institution in Latin America with this equipment, so training opportunities are quite limited.

     

    I would greatly appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.
    Best regards,

     

    Ana Paula Gómez Uribe


    ------------------------------
    Ana Gómez Uribe
    Storage collections manager
    Banco De La Republica - Colombia
    Bogotá
    Colombia
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Looking for MFT expertise & watercolor case studies

    Posted 13 days ago

    Dear Ana,

    We're definitely keen to support MFT practice in Colombia and South America. I think it might be best to begin with a series of Zoom meetings to learn more about your instrument and needs, and remotely guide some MFT runs and data analysis. We also had the idea to create a video demonstrating use of the Fotonowy MFT, and our discussion will help inform how to structure such a video. I'll reach out to you by email to discuss further. More soon!

    Regards, Vincent



    ------------------------------
    Vincent Laudato Beltran
    Scientist, Getty Conservation Institute
    Chair, MFT-IDG
    vbeltran@getty.edu
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Looking for MFT expertise & watercolor case studies

    Posted 16 days ago

    Dear Jacob,
    Thank you very much for your kind response. I must apologize for not replying sooner-your message from April unfortunately slipped through the cracks.

     

    I really appreciate your willingness to discuss training opportunities. It is especially interesting to hear about your work on both the Fotonowy MFT and 19th-century watercolours.
    Beyond learning to use the instrument, one of our main interests is understanding how to formulate better research questions. We already have some watercolours in our collection that we would like to investigate, but we are also interested in developing a stronger baseline understanding of these materials and their degradation. In other words, we would like to better understand what kinds of questions microfading and related analyses can help us answer.
    I'm particularly interested in your approach to watercolour research. If you would like, please feel free to contact me directly by email, as I would be delighted to continue the conversation and learn more about your work.
    Thank you again, and I look forward to hearing from you.
    Best regards,
    Ana Paula 


    ------------------------------
    Ana Gómez Uribe
    Storage collections manager
    Banco De La Republica - Colombia
    Bogotá
    Colombia
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


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