Table 3 Occurrences of zinc sulphate as an additive in National Gallery paintings (chronological order)
Artist | Painting | Date | Location of zinc as a drier in the painting |
|---|---|---|---|
Netherlandish paintings | |||
Jan van Eyck | Portrait of Giovanni(?) Arnolfini and his Wife (NG186), oil on oak | 1434 | Arnolfini’s purple robe, with ultramarine and red lake [5] |
Jan van Eyck | Portrait of Margaret van Eyck (GRO0162), Groeningemuseum, Bruges, oil on oak | 1439 | Shadows on Margaret’s red robe, with red lake, a little ultramarine and black; black background [5] |
French paintings | |||
François Quesnel | Portrait of a Lady (NG2617), oil on oak | About 1575 | Pinkish priming, with lead white and a little red lead (SEM–EDX detected potassium in conjunction with zinc sulphate) |
German paintings | |||
Stephan Lochner | Saints Matthew, Catherine of Alexandria and John the Evangelist (NG705), oil on oak | About 1450 | Saint Catherine’s red robe, with red lake (zinc sulphate and zinc soaps confirmed by ATR-FTIR imaging) [24, 25] |
Master of Liesborn | The Adoration of the Kings (NG258), oil on oak | Probably 1470–80 | Red drapery in the top left corner, with red lake |
Lucas Cranach the Elder | Portrait of a Man, probably Johann Feige (NG1925) | 1524 | Black background (SEM–EDX detected potassium in conjunction with zinc sulphate) |
Lucas Cranach the Elder | Portrait of a Woman (NG291), oil on beech | 1525–7 | Black underpaint for the skirt of the red dress |
Italian paintings | |||
Garofalo | The Virgin and Child with Saints Dominic and Catherine of Siena (NG3102), oil on wood | About 1499–1502 | Red curtain, with red lake [25] |
Lorenzo Costa and Gianfrancesco Maineri | The Virgin and Child Enthroned between a Soldier Saint, and Saint John the Baptist (La Pala Strozzi) (NG1119), oil on wood | About 1498–1500 | Red paint of drapery in the first version of the composition beneath the surface, with red lake; brown paint on grisaille medallions on the throne, with lead white, earth pigments and black |
Titian | The Flight into Egypt (inv. CE245), State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg | c. 1507 | Pale pink paint from the first underlying composition, with lead white and a little red lake [23, p. 35] |
Titian | Christ and the Adulteress (inv. 181), Glasgow Museums | c. 1508–10 | Red underlayer of the Pharisee’s robe, left edge (with vermilion), and in the brown layer beneath it (with lead white and earth pigments); pink underlayer of the adulteress’s dress (with lead white and a little red lake). SEM–EDX detected potassium in conjunction with zinc sulphate; ATR-FTIR imaging indicated two different zinc sulphates, one with potassium and one without, as well as zinc soaps [23, pp. 41–2] |
Titian | Portrait of Gerolamo (?) Barbarigo (NG1944), oil on canvas | About 1510 | Pale grey priming, with lead white, lamp black and dolomite (SEM–EDX detected potassium in conjunction with zinc sulphate. ATR-FTIR imaging indicated two different zinc sulphates, one with potassium and one without, as well as zinc soaps) [23, p. 15] |
Titian | Portrait of a Lady (‘La Schiavona’) (NG5385), oil on canvas | About 1510–12 | Off-white priming, with lead white, lamp black and dolomite (SEM–EDX detected potassium in conjunction with zinc sulphate) [23, p. 61] |
Giovanni Battista Bertucci the Elder | The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (NG1051), oil on wood | Probably about 1500–15 | Donor’s red cloak, with red lake (SEM–EDX detected potassium in conjunction with zinc sulphate; ATR-FTIR imaging confirmed zinc soaps in addition) |
Giovanni Battista Bertucci the Elder | The Virgin and Child in Glory (NG282), oil on wood | Perhaps 1512–16 | Orange drapery of angel, with arsenic sulphide pigments and earth pigments); mordant for the gold leaf of Christ’s halo, with lead white, lead–tin yellow, red lead, vermilion, earth pigments and a little verdigris; Virgin’s red dress, in lower layers with red lake; seated angel’s red cloak, with red lake, lead white (SEM–EDX detected potassium in conjunction with zinc sulphate) |
Dutch paintings | |||
Johannes Vermeer | A Young Woman standing at a Virginal (NG1383), oil on canvas | About 1670–2 | Beige ground layer, with lead white, chalk, earth pigments, bone black [26] |
Jan van Huysum | Flowers in a Terracotta Vase (NG796), oil on canvas | 1736–7 | Beige ground layer, with lead white, earth pigments, black |