Scientists and curators recently discovered that not only did Matisse work from clay rather than plaster for his two sculptures, Madeline I and Madeline II, but also that he used the same ball of clay, even though they were created two years apart.

According to The Baltimore Sun, this discovery was made possible by the Baltimore Museum of Art, who hired digital imaging lab Direct Dimensions to scan pieces for its exhibition “Matisse: Painter as Sculptor,” now on display. The engineers’ laser scanning technology—used most commonly in modeling industrial parts and prostheses—re-created three-dimensional computer models of the artist’s sculptures to determine their origins. How we love it when both sides of the brain’s hemispheres synchronize.

The exhibition is on display through Feb 3.
    
Image from artbma.org