The BBC reports on the Art Institute of Chicago’s recent discovery about their Renoir. Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, they’ve recreated what they think the painting looked like when the reds were still very red:

The picture of Madame Valentine Clapisson was painted by the great French Impressionist more than 130 years ago.

The original’s impact has been degraded and dulled by the action of light.

But by using the latest analytical tools, conservators have been able to recover a sense of Renoir’s rich reds.

“When we first brought this picture into the conservation studio for examination and removed the frame, we noticed that at the top and at the left-hand side there was a sliver of very intense colour,” recalls Dr Francesca Casadio from The Art Institute of Chicago.

“This tipped us off to the fact that the mood of this painting that is now pretty cool and restrained with light purples and blues was once far more vibrant,” she told BBC News.

Scientists recapture Renoir’s reds (BBC News)