Yesterday it became national news in the Netherlands: light appears to discolor paintings in the Van Gogh museum Amsterdam. The lights have already damaged the paintings so much that purple colors have turned into blue. The museums thinks that the blue will fade even further if they continue to use the same lights and light intensity. They have started to dim the lights, but will it be enough to stop the decay of the master’s paintings?
Another solution could be to let the paintings take turn in the museum rooms. To me it is not understandable that the museum has not already done so, before purple flowers turned blue. All the paintings are made of is color. Having this damaged will change the paintings for ever and the paintings have already changed appearance beyond repair. How is it possible that less damaging lights are not used? And, I wonder, are paintings in other museums damaged as well?