A nanoscale study of paint chips from works by Pablo Picasso has strengthened historians’ claims that he may have been one of the first master painters to shift over from traditional oil paints to house paints.  Researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory and Art Institute of Chicago discovered levels of zinc oxide and iron in Picasso’s work that matched the levels of 1930’s household paint brand Ripolin.  “We have opened the nanoworld to culture heritage.” Says researcher Volker Rose . (more…)