Green pigments of the Pompeian artists’ palette

Aliatis, Irene; Bersani, Danilo; Campani, Elisa; Casoli, Antonella; Lottici, Pier Paolo; Mantovan, Silvia; Marino, Iari-Gabriel; Ospitali, Francesca

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2008.11.009

Cited by 113 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The green pigment in paintings by the 16th C Italian artist Stefano Sparano in the Musée de Picardie in Amiens is a copper-based colorant with arsenic and zinc impurities, that appears from x-ray powder diffraction to be a form of malachite. In much less related works, a calcium-copper arsenate, tirolite, was identified in ancient Persian wall paintings [24], and a copper arsenate mineral was found associated with malachite in a wall painting at Pompei [25]. These limited and isolated occurrences do not shed light on the prevalence of use in early modern times of copper arsenates, which tend to be more green than blue, but they might have been used much more than we have realised since they can easily be overlooked using most analytical methods, particularly non-invasive methods for pigment analysis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unusual pigments found in a painting by Giotto (c. 1266-1337) reveal diversity of materials used by medieval artists

2016

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Background:The important trecento Florentine artist Giotto (c. 1266Giotto (c. -1337 is renowned for his naturalistic and realistic works in tempera and fresco. His innovative paintng style involved painting expressive, emotive faces and use of pictorial devices for depicting space. This report focuses on the analysis of the materials and methods used in a panel in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Madonna and Child (1310/1315).Results: Giotto used inky washes under thin layers of egg tempera paint. Yellow iron earth and lead tin yellow are present in the paint used to depict the lining of the Virgin's mantle. SEM-EDX of one of the yellow pigments confirmed it is lead tin yellow type II, PbSn 1-x Si x O 3 . The ratio of colorant to the glassy phase indicates this material was produced for use as a pigment rather than as a glass. Ultramarine was not used in this painting, azurite is the blue pigment. The azurite used here does not contain elemental impurities, however malachite and the rare green-blue mineral mixite, BiCu 6 (OH) 6 (AsO 4 ) 3 (H 2 O) 3 , are found in the blue paint.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unusual pigments found in a painting by Giotto (c. 1266-1337) reveal diversity of materials used by medieval artists

2016

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“…This postulate was confirmed by the FTIR analysis, showing presence of illite mixed with green earth, very probably glauconite (Fig. 10 [3]. Furthermore, similarly to Phase 2, it was possible to demonstrate by XRF analysis the presence of many trace elements as minor elements which correspond to metallic inclusions of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) arsenic (As) and rare earth element of yttrium (Y) (Fig.…”

Section: Phasementioning

confidence: 58%

“…This analysis also enabled us to characterize trace elements, useful to the understanding of the geological origins of the minerals. After this, so as to complete and confirm all this data, a sample selection was analyzed with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) 3 . This 2 Two XRF analysis series were done at:…”

Section: Fluorescence (Xrf)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An equipment Bruker Tracer III-SD was used, with the following parameters: 45 kV-11.30 μA. 3 The FTIR analysis were proceeded at the "Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France" (C2RMF), Palais du Louvre, Paris; with a Spectrometer FTIR Perkin Elmer Spectrum 2000, by mid-infrared transmission spectroscopy using a micro diamond cell. technique gave us structural information, useful to the identification of clays and natural earth often part of colorant mixtures composition.…”

Section: Fluorescence (Xrf)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The origins of mural painting in Ancient Peru: archaeometric preliminary study of the Ventarrón mural paintings, Valle de Lambayeque

Wright¹,

Meneses²,

Laval

2015

Herit Sci

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Background: Since 2007, the research led on the Huaca Ventarrón site has allowed investigators to discover outstanding wall paintings. These murals are one of the oldest examples of this artistic expression in the Andean area and American continent (4000 BP). Analyses have given indications on the materials and techniques used by the first painters, ancestors of a long pictorial tradition.Results: Thanks to an archaeometric approach, combining observations and analysis (Optical Microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)), it was possible to characterize the colorant materials used in the two constructive sampled phases. These materials are mineral pigments, iron oxides, clays and natural earth, mixed in order to create a wide chromatic scale.Conclusions: Through this research we were able to obtain the first analytical data concerning such ancient mural paintings. It was very useful to comprehend the emergence of this artistic expression in Peru. These results open new research perspectives as well about the origins of Prehispanic pictorial technology as about conservation of wallpaintings in earthen architecture.

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“…Probably the band at 1635 cm −1 was due to stretching of the bond C=O [17]. The bands at 873, 818, 777, and 749 cm −1 , shown in Figure 4(b), represent the malachite fingerprint region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Analysis of the Quintilii’s Villa Bronzes by Spectroscopy Techniques

Stranges

Russa

Oliva

et al. 2014

Journal of Archaeology

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The aim of this work is the characterization, with different diagnostic tests, of three fragments of bronze artefacts recovered from the Villa of the Quintilii (located in the south of Rome). In particular, the sample alloys were investigated by different chemical and morphological analysis. Firstly, an analysis of the alloy, implemented through the electronic spectroscopy, was taken to discriminate the bronze morphology and its elemental composition. Subsequently, a surface analysis was realized by molecular spectroscopy to identify the alteration patinas on surfaces (such as bronze disease). Two diagnostic techniques are used for the alloy analysis: scanning electron microscopy (SEM) connected to the EDX spectroscopy (to study the morphology and alloy composition) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) (to identify the oxidation state of each element). Moreover, for the study of surface patinas, IR and Raman spectroscopies were implemented. All studies were performed on the "as received" samples, covered by a thin layer of excavated soil and on samples processed in an aqueous solution of sulphuric acid (10%), to remove patinas and alterations.

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Green pigments of the Pompeian artists’ palette

Cited by 113 publications

References 17 publications

Unusual pigments found in a painting by Giotto (c. 1266-1337) reveal diversity of materials used by medieval artists

Unusual pigments found in a painting by Giotto (c. 1266-1337) reveal diversity of materials used by medieval artists

The origins of mural painting in Ancient Peru: archaeometric preliminary study of the Ventarrón mural paintings, Valle de Lambayeque

Analysis of the Quintilii’s Villa Bronzes by Spectroscopy Techniques

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