[ti:Modern Technology Helps Restore EI Greco's Famous Painting] [ar:] [al:Technology Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.06]this is the Technology Report. [00:05.57]In the late 1500s , [00:08.07]the artist El Greco created a large painting [00:11.96]called Saint Martin and the Beggar. [00:15.17]It is very famous. [00:17.55]The artist's real name was Dom¨¦nicos Theotok¨®poulos. [00:22.66]He was a Greek and lived from 1541 to 1614, [00:29.47]though he spent most of his life living in Spain. [00:34.03]El Greco means "the Greek" in the Spanish Language. [00:38.54]Art experts believe that he painted Saint Martin [00:47.23]and the Beggar sometime between 1597 and 1599. [00:53.92]Experts believe the painting was covered in the 1940s [00:58.92]with a clear protective varnish, [01:01.32]but the substance has discolored the art work. [01:05.21]Conservators have been attempting to repair the work [01:09.95]at the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C., [01:14.11]they are preparing it for a series of shows [01:17.76]marking the anniversary of El Greco's death. [01:21.45]Ann Hoenigswald is the lead conservator [01:26.30]at the National Gallery of Art. [01:28.36]She carefully cleans the painting millimeter by millimeter. [01:33.58]She say the art work needed treatment [01:37.27]because the varnish was turning yellow, [01:39.84]and changing the colors of the paints El Greco used. [01:44.29]"The whites turn yellow, the blues turn green. [01:47.18]It really dulls down the vibrancy of the tones [01:54.59]the artist intended," said Hoenigswald. [01:55.89]Before the repairs begin, scientists used microscopes, [02:01.58]special infrared cameras and even x-rays to see [02:06.46]if the painting had been damaged or changed. [02:10.17]These imaging tools let them see below the top layer of paint. [02:17.56]The examination showed [02:20.73]how El Greco made changes to the painting. [02:24.43]"Initially you can see the bridle was a little bit higher [02:27.34]and most likely because some of the paints [02:31.89]become more transparent as they age [02:33.99]that's why we're seeing this line under here," said Hoenigswald. [02:36.73]Ann Hoenigswald has been working [02:38.93]on Saint Martin and the Beggar for about a year, [02:42.34]her work has helped bring back the painting's original beauty. [02:46.74]"All of a sudden the depth of the painting, [02:49.63]the background seems to recede even more [02:53.84]and the foreground comes forward and, [02:56.40]as you can see in this picture, [02:58.40]the whites become so dramatic, and so dominant, [03:04.36]and the contrast between this gorgeous blue and the white [03:08.13]becomes much more forceful than it was before," said Hoenigswald. [03:11.93]After cleaning the painting, [03:14.29]the art conservators put another product on it [03:17.33]- varnish created in a laboratory. [03:20.59]But this synthetic varnish will not change in color as it grows old. [03:27.00]The art work is to be put in a protective cover [03:31.46]and sent to Toledo, Spain, the place where EI Greco painted it. [03:36.46]The National Gallery of Art is giving the painting [03:40.46]to the museum of Santa Cruz in Toledo for a short time. [03:44.83]It would be part of the show [03:47.08]marking the 400th anniversary of El Greco's death. [03:51.84]And that's the VOA Learning English Technology Report. [03:57.07]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com