Microbes Show Exquisite Taste in Art

June 6, 2005 — -- More than a century ago, the French artist, Edgar Degas, crafted intricate sculptures from beeswax, lard, clay, and odds and ends such as cork, wood, wire, and rags. Now scientists have found that colonies of bacteria and fungi appear to be feasting on the work.

"They noticed that the statues were 'sweating,'" said Kristen Bearce, a microbiologist at Harvard University who has been testing the sculptures' surfaces for microbial life. "The sweating is likely the freeing of lipase as the bacteria eat the sculptures."

The sculptures, depicting intimate scenes of women bathing and models of horses and dancers in action, are featured at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Among them is the famous, nearly life-sized "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen," which has since been used for bronze castings (something the artist never sanctioned during his lifetime). No samples were taken, however, from this particular work.

Before their purchase by Paul Mellon and subsequent donation to the gallery, most of the sculptures had been stored in a foundry basement in Paris where they had long been exposed to sullied air. Bearce says the bacteria found so far on the sculptures are common in soil and dust.

Today the works are kept in climate-controlled, Plexiglas display containers which, conservators worry, may be offering a cozy home for the microbes. Ralph Mitchell, an applied biologist at Harvard University and lead supervisor of the study, added, that despite identifying microorganisms from the wax sculptures, the works are being "well maintained" by the museum and "are not in any danger of degradation."

Testing for microbes on the art is the museum scientists' first step to ensure the works are adequately protected from this point forward.

"Clearly the microbes are not doing too much damage because the objects have been around since 1880," said Barbara Berrie, a conservation scientist at the National Gallery of Art. "But now we're concerned that they're in a stable, quiet environment and some of the bacteria and fungi will find it a nice place to grow."

To test for microbial infection, Bearce and Mitchell swabbed the statues and then cultured the samples. They found over half of the bacteria cultured from the swabs produced enzymes that could break down wax, almost 60 percent produced enzymes that can digest starch, and some 24 percent had the ability to digest both starch and wax.