A holistic approach using non-invasive multimodal imaging and spectroscopic techniques to study the materials (pigments, drawing materials and paper) and painting techniques of watercolour paintings is presented. The non-invasive imaging and spectroscopic techniques include VIS-NIR reflectance spectroscopy and multispectral imaging, micro-Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). The three spectroscopic techniques complement each other in pigment identification. Multispectral imaging (near-infrared bands), OCT and microRaman complement each other in the visualisation and identification of the drawing material. OCT probes the micro-structure and light scattering properties of the substrate, while XRF detects the elemental composition that indicates the sizing methods and the filler content. The multiple techniques were applied in a study of forty-six nineteenth-century Chinese export watercolours from the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to examine to what extent the noninvasive analysis techniques employed complement each other and how much useful information about the paintings can be extracted to address art conservation and history questions. A micro-destructive technique of micro-fade spectrometry was used to assess the vulnerability of the paintings to light exposure. Most of the paint and paper substrates were found to be more stable than ISO Blue Wool 3. The palette was found to be composed of mostly traditional Chinese pigments. While the synthetic pigment, Prussian blue, made in Europe, was found on some of the paintings, none was found on the RHS paintings accurately recorded as being between 1817 and 1831 even though it is known that Prussian blue was imported to China during this period. The scale insect dyes, lac and cochineal, were detected on nearly every painting including those that fall within the identified date range. Cochineal is known to have been imported to China in the same period. While carbonbased ink was used for the drawings in the V&A paintings, graphite pencil was used in most of the RHS paintings. The majority of RHS paintings were on Western papers, but nearly all of the V&A paintings were on Chinese papers. Nearly all of the V&A painting substrates and hardly any of the RHS paintings were sized with alum. Elements such as Cu, Zn, Ti and Pb were detected on nearly all of the RHS papers regardless of whether they were Chinese or Western papers. These elements were largely absent from the V&A papers. The differences between the two collections reflect their discrete origins and intended purposes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.