“A holistic view on the role of egg yolk in Old Masters’ oil paints”, an unassuming article published on March 28, 2023 in Nature Communications, has gained widespread publicity in the popular press under titles as silly as “Yolk proteins in oil paints make art egg-cellent” or as spectacular as “Scientists identify secret ingredient in Leonardo da Vinci paintings”.The references in the Nature Communications article date back as early as 1997, so the media has had ample time to write about the identification of proteins in early Italian paintings. Could it be that it was the name Leonardo da Vinci which appears in the first paragraph of the article's introduction that made the difference? When it comes to technical studies and art conservation, if you mention the right name, the world will take note.
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