Articles

Quantitative analysis of mixed pigments for Chinese paintings using the improved method of ratio spectra derivative spectrophotometry based on mode

Mixed pigment analysis is an important and complex subject in preserving and restoring Chinese paintings since the colors observed by our naked eyes or instruments such as hyperspectral cameras are usually a m...

Authors: Shuqiang Lyu, Yiyi Liu, Miaole Hou, Qinli Yin, Wangting Wu and Xueyun Yang

Johannes Vermeer’s Mistress and Maid: new discoveries cast light on changes to the composition and the discoloration of some paint passages

Among the thirty-six paintings ascribed to the Dutch seventeenth century artist Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675), Mistress and Maid, in The Frick Collection, stands out for the large-scale figures set against a rathe...

Authors: Dorothy Mahon, Silvia A. Centeno, Margaret Iacono, Federico Carό, Heike Stege and Andrea Obermeier

Study on microbubble of cellulose acetate microfilm of the Republic of China (AD 1912–1949) collected in the Second Historical Archives of China

The white spots known as microbubbles that are formed in cellulose acetate film, significantly affects the texture of the image. However, the formation of microbubbles and their corresponding microstructure ar...

Authors: Zhihui Jia, Yuhu Li, Yunpeng Qi, Yajun Zhou, Daodao Hu, Xiaolian Chao, Huiping Xing and Jing Li

Linear feature extraction from point cloud using color information

LiDAR is considered as an effective technology for digitizing the real scene at a very high-resolution and in a short time. However, the resolution of the LiDAR is not sufficient to identify and evaluate the f...

Authors: Yahya Alshawabkeh

Improved spectral imaging microscopy for cultural heritage through oblique illumination

This work presents the development of a flexible microscopic chemical imaging platform for cultural heritage that utilizes wavelength-tunable oblique illumination from a point source to obtain per-pixel reflec...

Authors: Lindsay Oakley, Stephanie Zaleski, Billie Males, Oliver Cossairt and Marc Walton

The technical (re-)examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring

Authors: Abbie Vandivere

Modelling wooden cultural heritage. The need to consider each artefact as unique as illustrated by the Cannone violin

This research work investigates the possibility to use a hygroscopic model based on Fick’s law to predict the global moisture content variations an historical violin undergoes during a concert. To set up the m...

Authors: Bertrand Marcon, Giacomo Goli and Marco Fioravanti

The Girl in the Spotlight: Vermeer at work, his materials and techniques in Girl with a Pearl Earring

The 2018 technical examination project The Girl in the Spotlight aimed to characterise the materials and techniques that Johannes Vermeer used to paint Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis). Five resea...

Authors: Abbie Vandivere, Jørgen Wadum and Emilien Leonhardt

Out of the blue: Vermeer’s use of ultramarine in Girl with a Pearl Earring

Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) is known for his brilliant blue colours, and his frequent use of the costly natural ultramarine. This paper reveals new findings about ultramarine in the headscarf of Girl with a Pear...

Authors: Annelies van Loon, Alessa A. Gambardella, Victor Gonzalez, Marine Cotte, Wout De Nolf, Katrien Keune, Emilien Leonhardt, Suzan de Groot, Art Ness Proaño Gaibor and Abbie Vandivere

Novel nanomaterials to stabilise the canvas support of paintings assessed from a conservator’s point of view

During conservation treatment, consolidants and deacidifying agents can be added to the canvas of a painting to mechanically stabilise it and counteract the acidity that promotes degradation. In this study, ne...

Authors: Marta Oriola-Folch, Gema Campo-Francés, Anna Nualart-Torroja, Cristina Ruiz-Recasens and Iris Bautista-Morenilla

Applying micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and Raman spectroscopy for non-invasive characterization of coating and coating pigments on ancient Chinese papers

The coating technique, supposedly invented by Chinese papermakers no later than the 3rd century AD, greatly improved paper sheets’ qualities of color, texture, writability, and printability. Alongside the disp...

Authors: Tao Li, Chuang Liu and Dongmei Wang

A preliminary study of Liu Kang’s palette and the discovery and interpretation of hidden paint layers

This paper presents an overview of the results from the ongoing study on the materials and painting technique of the pioneering Singapore artist—Liu Kang. The paintings Zuo La Lu and Nude, which represent two of ...

Authors: Damian Lizun

Copper exposure in medieval and post-medieval Denmark and northern Germany: its relationship to residence location and social position

For medieval and post-medieval Denmark and northern Germany, trace elements can potentially contribute to our understanding of diet, migration, social status, exposure to urban settings, and disease treatment....

Authors: Kaare Lund Rasmussen, George R. Milner, Thomas Delbey, Lilian Skytte, Morten Søvsø, Frederik Callesen and Jesper Lier Boldsen

Fracture saturation in paintings makes them less vulnerable to environmental variations in museums

Understanding paintings as physical systems is fundamental for advancing environmental specifications that would allow for effective management of museum environments in terms of reducing energy use and carbon...

Authors: Łukasz Bratasz, Kiraz Goze Akoglu and Patrick Kékicheff

Risk of climate-induced damage in historic parchment

Moisture adsorption and related dimensional change were examined in several samples of historic and contemporary parchment. The tensile behaviour was determined for contemporary parchment and two selected hist...

Authors: Leszek Krzemień, Agata Czyżewska, Magdalena Soboń, Roman Kozłowski and Łukasz Bratasz

Geochemical and petrographic identification of stone quarries used for the construction of the Anahita Temple of Kangavar (West Iran)

The archaeological site of the Anahita Temple in Kangavar is one of the best-known stone monuments in western Iran and dates back to the Persian Empire period of Iranian history (about 550 BC to 650 AD). The T...

Authors: Atefeh Shekofteh, Omid Oudbashi, Giuseppe Cultrone and Masoud Ansari

New treatments for canvas consolidation and conservation

The aim of this study was to develop new, sustainable treatments for the consolidation and conservation of canvas of modern and contemporary art. Because of the diversity of painting types, two product groups ...

Authors: Nadine Böhme, Manfred Anders, Tobias Reichelt, Katharina Schuhmann, Alexandra Bridarolli and Aurelia Chevalier

Studies on the effects of mixed light-thermal ageing on parchment by vibrational spectroscopy and micro hot table method

The damaging effects of mixed light-thermal ageing on parchment were studied by exposing mock-ups to artificial light (162 W/m² irradiance) at controlled temperature and relative humidity (52 °C, 30% RH) for up t...

Authors: Federica Cappa, Ilaria Paganoni, Cristina Carsote, Elena Badea and Manfred Schreiner

Analysis and characterization of materials used in heritage theatrical figurines

The precious collections of the Qing Dynasty paper-made theatrical figurines known as Shage xiren (纱阁戏人) represent a unique type of Chinese traditional folk art. The name, “Shage xiren” can be explained as the...

Authors: Yuxuan Gong, Chengquan Qiao, Bochao Zhong, Jiarang Zhong and Decai Gong

Adsorbent media for the sustainable removal of organic air pollutants from museum display cases

The application of adsorbents in museum display cases appears auspicious, as the selection of low-emitting building and decoration materials does not necessarily ensure low pollution levels. Furthermore, histo...

Authors: Alexandra Schieweck

Learning from the past, intervening in the present: the role of conservation science in the challenging restoration of the wall painting Marriage at Cana by Luca Longhi (Ravenna, Italy)

The paper discusses the case study of the Marriage at Cana, a sixteenth century wall painting located in Ravenna and executed by Luca Longhi. A multi-analytical approach based upon OM, SEM–EDS, μ-Raman, μ-FTIR an...

Authors: Flavia Fiorillo, Sara Fiorentino, Matteo Montanari, Camilla Roversi Monaco, Andrea Del Bianco and Mariangela Vandini

Reviving WHAAM! a comparative evaluation of cleaning systems for the conservation treatment of Roy Lichtenstein’s iconic painting

Roy Lichtenstein’s Whaam! (1963) is an iconic artwork in Tate’s collection (T00897). Over the past 50 years, the painting has been on almost continuous display and had accrued a layer of deposited soiling, which ...

Authors: Angelica Bartoletti, Rachel Barker, David Chelazzi, Nicole Bonelli, Piero Baglioni, Judith Lee, Lora V. Angelova and Bronwyn Ormsby

Sustainability problems of the Giza pyramids

The Pyramids complex in Giza consists of three main pyramids in addition to the famous Sphinx and small queen’s pyramids. Recently, the pyramids of Cheops (Khufu), Chephren (Khafre) and Mykerinos (Menkaure) on...

Authors: Sayed Hemeda and Alghreeb Sonbol

Ancient mural restoration based on a modified generative adversarial network

How to effectively protect ancient murals has become an urgent and important problem. Digital image processing developments have made it possible to repair damaged murals to a certain extent. This study propos...

Authors: Jianfang Cao, Zibang Zhang, Aidi Zhao, Hongyan Cui and Qi Zhang

A study of “The Portrait of F.P. Makerovsky in a Masquerade Costume” by Dmitry Levitsky from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery

This paper reports on activities carried out as part of a pre-conservation studies of the painting by Dmitry Levitsky, “The Portrait of F.P. Makerovsky in a Masquerade Costume” (1789, the State Tretyakov Galle...

Authors: Nikolay P. Simonenko, Valentin R. Solovey, Kirill V. Shumikhin, Anna A. Lizunova, Stepan V. Lisovskii, Elena A. Liubavskaya, Tatyana V. Seregina, Irina G. Basova, Yulia B. Dyakonova, Tatiana L. Simonenko, Elizaveta P. Simonenko, Ivan A. Volkov, Yulian A. Khalturin and Viktor V. Ivanov

FTIR surface analysis for conservation

Several FTIR techniques are surface-sensitive. This sensitivity can be utilized to help with a wide range conservation issues. Examples from object degradation studies, conservation materials performance asses...

Authors: David Thickett and Boris Pretzel

Mapping the pigment distribution of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring

As part of the 2018 Girl in the Spotlight project, reflectance and molecular fluorescence imaging spectroscopy (RIS, FIS), and macroscale X-ray fluorescence scanning (MA-XRF) were performed on Johannes Vermeer’s

Authors: John K. Delaney, Kathryn A. Dooley, Annelies van Loon and Abbie Vandivere

Flow analysis of a set of ornamental chimney caps designed by Antoni Gaudí

We analyzed theoretically and experimentally the performance of the 19 different ornamental caps of the individual chimneys located on the terrace of Palau Güell (Barcelona, Spain) designed by Antoni Gaudí. Th...

Authors: Albert Samper, Jordi Iglesias, Blas Herrera and Jordi Pallares

New perspective on Jun glaze corrosion: study on the corrosion of light greenish blue and reddish purple glazes from Juntai Kiln, Yuzhou, Henan, China

The ancient Chinese Jun Porcelain has of typical high fired calcium silicate glaze. After observation of Jun porcelain shards excavated from Juntai Kiln in Yuzhou, Henan Province, China, two pieces with light ...

Authors: Zhimin Li, Ying Ma, Qinglin Ma, Jiachang Chen and Yan Song

Shades of blue: non-invasive spectroscopic investigations of Maya blue pigments. From laboratory mock-ups to Mesoamerican codices

Maya blue is a hybrid pigment where an organic component, indigo, is incorporated in a porous clay. Despite its widespread use in the Mesoamerican artistic production and numerous studies devoted to understand...

Authors: Chiara Grazia, David Buti, Anna Amat, Francesca Rosi, Aldo Romani, Davide Domenici, Antonio Sgamellotti and Costanza Miliani

Beauty is skin deep: the skin tones of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring

The soft modelling of the skin tones in Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (Mauritshuis) has been remarked upon by art historians, and is their main argument to date this painting to c. 1665. This paper describe...

Authors: Annelies van Loon, Abbie Vandivere, John K. Delaney, Kathryn A. Dooley, Steven De Meyer, Frederik Vanmeert, Victor Gonzalez, Koen Janssens, Emilien Leonhardt, Ralph Haswell, Suzan de Groot, Paolo D’Imporzano and Gareth R. Davies

The examination of Van Gogh’s chrome yellow pigments in ‘Field with Irises near Arles’ using quantitative SEM–WDX

In this paper we present the results of quantitative measurements on the pigment chrome yellow (PbCr_1−xS_xO₄ with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8) using scanning electron microscopy-wavelength dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM–WDX). Tra...

Authors: Muriel Geldof, Inez Dorothé van der Werf and Ralph Haswell

The synthesis characterization of historical novel azo pigments: implications for conservation science

A series of synthetic organic pigments (SOP’s) with azo-containing linkages have been synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopies and laser desorption ionization...

Authors: Suzanne Quillen Lomax and Joseph F. Lomax

Man-made blue and purple barium copper silicate pigments and the pabstite (BaSnSi₃O₉) mystery of ancient Chinese wall paintings from Luoyang

Man-made ancient Chinese barium copper silicate pigments: Chinese (Han) Purple, BaCuSi₂O₆; Chinese (Han) Blue, BaCuSi₄O₁₀; Chinese Dark Blue, BaCu₂Si₂O₇ (in summary called Chinese blues), and platelet-like crysta...

Authors: Zhiguo Zhang, Qinglin Ma and Heinz Berke

Chemistry for cultural heritage: connecting past and future

Authors: Elena Badea

Uncovering the illegible: multi-analytical approach to reveal paint stratigraphy of corroded signposts from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

Object discoveries from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (PMA-B) in Poland challenge the efforts to preserve paint on corroded steel supports. The objects have been exposed to outdoor weathering conditions ...

Authors: Gunn Pöllnitz, Manfred Schreiner, Wilfried Vetter, Bernhard Pichler and Andrzej Jastrzębiowski

Discovery and material study of the missing feet part from Magritte’s L’évidence éternelle of 1954

One of the two missing canvases from L’évidence éternelle of 1954, the one of the feet, has been discovered beneath a small woman portrait painted in 1958, La toile de Pénélope. Indeed, the underlying woman’s fee...

Authors: Catherine Defeyt, Francisca Vandepitte, Elodie Herens and David Strivay

Non-invasive identification of polymers in cultural heritage collections: evaluation, optimisation and application of portable FTIR (ATR and external reflectance) spectroscopy to three-dimensional polymer-based objects

The conservation of polymer-based cultural heritage is a major concern for collecting institutions internationally. Collections include a range of different polymers, each with its own degradation processes an...

Authors: Julianne Bell, Petronella Nel and Barbara Stuart

Reflectance FT-IR spectroscopy as a viable option for textile fiber identification

In this study, the reflectance-FT-IR (r-FT-IR) spectroscopy is demonstrated to be a suitable option for non-invasive identification of textile fibers. A collection of known textile fibers, 61 single-component ...

Authors: Pilleriin Peets, Karl Kaupmees, Signe Vahur and Ivo Leito

Creation and reference characterization of Edo period Japanese woodblock printing ink colorant samples using multimodal imaging and reflectance spectroscopy

The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division holds a large collection of Edo period (1615–1868) nishiki-e, Japanese multicolored woodblock prints. The sensitivities of some of the traditional colorants...

Authors: Tana Villafana and Gwenanne Edwards

Seeing red: towards an improved protocol for the identification of madder- and cochineal-based pigments by fiber optics reflectance spectroscopy (FORS)

Fiber optics reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) is commonly used to non-invasively identify madder- and cochineal-based pigments on works of art, but the significant shifts sometimes observed in the position of t...

Authors: Beatriz Fonseca, Catherine Schmidt Patterson, Monica Ganio, Douglas MacLennan and Karen Trentelman

Poisonous books: analyses of four sixteenth and seventeenth century book bindings covered with arsenic rich green paint

Efforts to read medieval manuscript waste recycled as bookbinding material in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries have resulted in the chemical analysis of four books housed at the University Library of So...

Authors: Thomas Delbey, Jakob Povl Holck, Bjarke Jørgensen, Alexandra Alvis, Vanessa Haight Smith, Gwénaëlle M. Kavich, Kimberly A. Harmon, Bertil Fabricius Dorch and Kaare Lund Rasmussen

Comparison of three 3D scanning techniques for paintings, as applied to Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’

A seventeenth-century canvas painting is usually comprised of varnish and (translucent) paint layers on a substrate. A viewer’s perception of a work of art can be affected by changes in and damages to these la...

Authors: Willemijn S. Elkhuizen, Tom W. J. Callewaert, Emilien Leonhardt, Abbie Vandivere, Yu Song, Sylvia C. Pont, Jo M. P. Geraedts and Joris Dik

Research of a complex fire-induced pollution on the marble relief from the Pushkin state museum of fine arts collection

Fundamental restoration of sculptures must include the research of pollution composition and exhibit surface condition as well as accurate identification of the materials of sculptures, bas-reliefs and coating...

Authors: V. M. Pozhidaev, V. M. Retivov, A. V. Kamaev, S. K. Belus, A. S. Nartov, V. A. Rastorguev, I. V. Borodin, E. Y. Tereschenko, R. A. Sandu, E. B. Yatsishina and M. V. Kovalchuk

Looking beyond appearances: a multi-analytical approach on the prehistoric clay weights

In this paper we analyzed a batch of 64 clay weights from three archaeological sites located in Romania (Gumelniţa, Măgura-Jilava, and Sultana) that belong to Kodjadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI cultural complex...

Authors: Bogdan Manea, Mircea Lechintan, Gabriel Popescu, Theodor Ignat, Vasile Opriş, Florin Constantin, Mădălina Dimache, Valentin Parnic, Roxana Bugoi and Cătălin Lazăr

Fabrication of transparent composites for non-invasive Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) analysis of modern art works

Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) has become an invaluable tool for the identification of colorants in artworks, due to its enhanced sensitivity and ability to quench fluorescence interference compared ...

Authors: Abeer Alyami, Antonio Mirabile and Daniela Iacopino

Modelling clay materials used in artworks: an infrared spectroscopic investigation

Modelling clays are utilised by artists for their malleable properties. One of the challenges in managing collections containing such materials is the variety of commercial compositions available and, therefor...

Authors: B. H. Stuart, P. S. Thomas, M. Barrett and K. Head

Characterization of the micro-contaminants from the inner-body of Kraak porcelain excavated from the “Nan’ao I” shipwreck, the South China Sea

In this paper, optical microscopy, SEM–EDS, Raman and FT-IR analyses were used to investigate different types of corrosion product between layers of glaze and body of Kraak porcelain objects that were excavate...

Authors: Jingnan Du, Wugan Luo, Naisheng Li and Changsui Wang

A non-invasive screening study of varnishes applied to three paintings by Edvard Munch using portable diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS)

The availability and popularity of portable non-invasive instrumentation for the study of paintings has increased due to a shift away from using micro-invasive techniques. Fourier transform infrared spectrosco...

Authors: Thierry Ford, Adriana Rizzo, Ella Hendriks, Tine Frøysaker and Francesco Caruso

Combined Micro- and Macro scale X-ray powder diffraction mapping of degraded Orpiment paint in a 17th century still life painting by Martinus Nellius

The spontaneous chemical alteration of artists’ pigment materials may be caused by several degradation processes. Some of these are well known while others are still in need of more detailed investigation and ...

Authors: Jonas Simoen, Steven De Meyer, Frederik Vanmeert, Nouchka de Keyser, Ermanno Avranovich, Geert Van der Snickt, Annelies Van Loon, Katrien Keune and Koen Janssens