No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The present study shows the analysis performed on pigment samples taken from Sant Pere (Terrassa, Catalonia, Spain), a remarkable church built in the Romanesque style. On the basis of the results obtained from the analysis, an interesting discussion arises after finding evidence of Egyptian blue in one of the samples, a discovery that was not expected due to the time period of the samples. The pigments were identified by the combined use of FTIR and SEM with an EDS facility. For the blue pigment, since the EDS and FTIR analyses suggested the possible presence of cuprorivaite, micro-XRD experiments using synchrotron radiation were run.a rcm_481 308..319 During the process of restoration of an altarpiece in the church of Sant Pere (Terrassa, Catalonia, Spain), several analytical studies were carried out in order to determine the materials with which the altarpiece was painted, as well as their state of conservation and the painting techniques used. The aim of this paper is to show the presence of an unexpected blue pigment (Egyptian blue) in an altarpiece painted in a period in which the use of such pigment was lost. Thus, it is important to underline this occurrence in some areas of the painted surface in a period of time when this material was not used at all in any of the contemporary sites.The stone altarpiece is one of the few stone pre-Romanesque altarpieces remaining in Catalonia and it was found in its original place in 1856. Thus, the study of the technique used by the painters in such a unique piece was of particular interest. Moreover, the modifications and ancient restorations made on the altarpiece, which took place mainly from the 10th to the 14th centuries, during the construction and modification of the church, could help us to understand the kind of interventions made on that kind of work of art.Finally, the experimental data are also to be taken into account while restoring the paints, in order to avoid degradation due to incompatibilities between restoration products and original pigments and to assure the most accurate process.

No abstract