How soap shaped civilizations — and ‘ruined’ famous art

About this episode

This episode explores the impact of soap on art, particularly focusing on Vermeer's paintings and the chemistry behind soap's effects on oil paintings.

In the heart of The Hague, Netherlands, the museum Mauritshuis displays some of the world’s most iconic art in its Royal Cabinet of Paintings, including ones from Rembrandt and Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. But there’s another oil painting by Vermeer that is also quite famous, called View of Delft — it's of his hometown, created around 1660. The painting is a cityscape — the only one Vermeer ever painted — a snapshot of the Dutch city of Delft from across the Schie River. In it you see the city’s beautiful architecture on full display, including buildings with striking red roofs. Well, at least they used to be red. Today they have a pink-ish hue and if you looked at the painting up close, you’d see that they are covered in white spots. And what may come as a surprise is that they are, in fact, soap. In today’s episode of Tiny Matters, we’re going to talk about the weird chemistry of soap, what ancient soap was like, and why scientists are finding soap in old oil paintings. Send us your science facts, news, or other stories for  a chance to be featured on an upcoming Tiny Show and Tell Us bonus episode. And, while you're at it,  subscribe to our newsletter ! All…

Topics covered

• soap
• art conservation
• chemistry
• Vermeer
• oil paintings
• cultural history

Keywords

• soap
• art
• Vermeer
• oil paintings
• chemistry
• cultural history
• Mauritshuis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mauritshuis

Books & works: Girl with a Pearl Earring, View of Delft

Places: The Hague, Delft, Schie River

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