Today the Combined Course Cold Case / Art & Science kicked off. During the course, the students work with a famous cold case originating in Belgium: the theft of the panel ‘The Just Judges’, which is part of the altarpiece ‘The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’ by the Van Eyck brothers.
From the perspective of Art & Science, the students will investigate the technical aspects of the Mystic Lamb under the guidance of curator Patricia Ortiz. In doing so, the students will investigate the circumstances under which the panel could be seriously damaged. This is relevant to the question of what the consequences are for the panel when it is exposed to unregulated climatic conditions.
Together with lecturer Frans Alkemade, the students will analyse the art theft using Bayesian statistics. Many scenarios have been drawn up and, using an objective evaluation of the evidence, the students will answer the probabilistic question of which scenario is the most likely.
And finally, of course, the students will search for the whereabouts of the robbed panel. The students have in fact formulated their own scenario. You will undoubtedly hear much more about this in the near future.
