SCIENCE À LA COQUE: When science illuminates art: the role of the Synchrotron in the study of heritage.

Heritage conservation relies on the study and protection of tangible and intangible cultural assets, due to their aesthetic, historical, scientific, or social value. To address questions related to the composition, manufacture, provenance, and degradation of objects, "heritage sciences" employ interdisciplinary approaches combining the humanities, art history, conservation-restoration, and STEM disciplines. Analytical methods, often based on the interaction of light and matter, allow for the examination of materials in situ or in the laboratory, and even at the synchrotron for advanced analyses.

As part of my doctoral research, I contributed to the CoPaiM (Conservation of Painted Metals) project, which aims to deepen our understanding of historical painted metals, comprehend their degradation mechanisms, and develop appropriate conservation solutions. This project, conducted in collaboration with several laboratories, heritage institutions, and the SOLEIL synchrotron, illustrates the complementarity between scientific research and heritage conservation. This presentation will highlight the interdisciplinarity of heritage sciences, the application of physico-chemical methods to the study of historical materials and the journey of the museum's collections to the synchrotron.