Limewashing paintings in Alentejo urban heritage: pigment characterization and differentiation by WDXRF and XRD

Gil, Milene; Carvalho, Luísa; Seruya, Ana Isabel; Ribeiro, Isabel; Queralt, I.; Candeias, António; Mirão, José

doi:10.1007/s00339-007-4252-x

Cited by 20 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…These pigments were widely used in the past by the local populations in limewash outdoor paintings (façades) and, in the case of the ochres, also for centuries by artists in outdoor and indoor decorative wall paintings with fresco and secco techniques. [1][2][3][4][5] Wall paintings are some of the oldest and most important cultural expressions of mankind and play an important role in understanding societies and civilizations. These assets have high economic and cultural values and therefore, their degradation is a problem with social and economic impact, which must urgently be addressed for their future preservation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding the influence of microbial contamination on colour alteration of pigments used in wall paintings—The case of red and yellow ochres and ultramarine blue

Rosado

Falé

Gil

et al. 2019

Color Research & Application

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This article reports biocolonization assays carried out on yellow and red ochres and ultramarine blue pigments. These pigments have been most commonly used in traditional limewash of heritage buildings from southern Portugal (Alentejo) and, in the case of the yellow and red ochres, also in historical decorative wall paintings since Roman times. The research aim was to assess the potential role played by microorganisms in colour alterations observed in indoor and outdoor paint layers for conservation purposes.The assays accomplished several microorganisms previously isolated from degraded wall paintings with signs of biocontamination. The results show that apart from the clear physical stress induced in paint layers by the biometabolic activity, filamentous fungi, yeast, and bacteria are capable of inducing discoloration (in particular, the fungus Aspergillus niger). Raman analysis corroborates their active role in painting discolouration. This methodology, applied to bioprocesses, can be used as noninvasive methodology to signal microbial involvement.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of the synthetic blue pigment, lazurite is the major component to which other minerals can be added as fillers. 3 All these pigments, in particular earth pigments, are inorganic and usually show physical and chemical stability. However, under aggressive weathering conditions, colour alteration can occur.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the influence of microbial contamination on colour alteration of pigments used in wall paintings—The case of red and yellow ochres and ultramarine blue

Rosado

Falé

Gil

et al. 2019

Color Research & Application

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“…Numerous techniques have been used to identify and characterize iron oxide pigments:4 X‐ray diffraction (XRD),5–7 infrared (IR) spectroscopy,8, 9 Raman spectroscopy,10, 11 transmission electron microscopy,12, 13 ICP‐MS6, 14 and neutron activation analysis (NAA) 15. X‐ray spectroscopy techniques such as scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS),6, 16, 17 X‐ray fluorescence (XRF)5, 11 and Particle induced X‐ray emission (PIXE)18–20 have also been employed. Except some studies5, 8, 15, 18 the authors mainly focussed their work on pigment identification or on recipe determination rather than on provenance.…”

Section: Pixe For Pigmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…X‐ray spectroscopy techniques such as scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS),6, 16, 17 X‐ray fluorescence (XRF)5, 11 and Particle induced X‐ray emission (PIXE)18–20 have also been employed. Except some studies5, 8, 15, 18 the authors mainly focussed their work on pigment identification or on recipe determination rather than on provenance. Source discrimination has been generally applied on geological samples which can be prepared by crushing raw material to fine powder.…”

Section: Pixe For Pigmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

PIXE characterisation of prehistoric pigments from Abri Pataud (Dordogne, France)

et al. 2011

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Abri Pataud is a prehistoric rock-shelter now largely collapsed. Archaeological excavations have revealed more than 40 settlements between 35 000 and 20 000 years ago corresponding to the first half of Upper Palaeolithic (Aurignacian, Gravettian and Solutrean archaeological cultures). During the excavations, remains of painted rock flakes coming from the collapsed shelter walls, painted objects, ochre pencils as well as raw pigments were found in archaeological levels. After preliminary non-destructive investigation of the samples by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction, non-destructive analyses were performed by ion beam analysis (IBA). In this paper, PIXE results obtained on red pigment material are reported. Minor and trace elements were used to compare pigments present on the decorated rock flakes or on painted objects, with raw pigment materials discovered in the same archaeological site. PIXE results provide new data for the interpretation of the Abri Pataud prehistoric site. This study confirms the ability of PIXE to characterize prehistoric pigments and to discriminate possible sources on the basis of the trace elements associated with the iron oxide phase.

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“…1e, f ), thus explaining the reasons of different crystalline morphology of thenardite in previous studies. Considering that the pigments applied in conventional lime-washing paintings are inorganic materials, Gil et al [53] applied OM to detect the major compounds of pigments in Alentejo urban heritage, which indicated that OM techniques can identify quartz, feldspars, phyllosilicates and carbonate minerals associated with the ferric oxides or hydroxides. Moreover, the clay minerals were often utilized as the finishing layers to overlap the surface of ancient buildings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent progress in instrumental techniques for architectural heritage materials

et al. 2019

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Both conservation and intervention methods must be compatible with each other and appropriate for the original building materials. Therefore, the characterization of historic building materials is indispensable for investigating chemical composition, micro-structure and morphological features to study the current condition, environmental influence and change mechanism due to natural aging or man-made decay processes. Given the great variety of chemicals which can be analyzed, complex problems related to architectural heritage materials are investigated via optimized methodologies. Among the existing techniques, optical microscopy (OM) is an inexpensive and dominating tool to obtain preliminary information on complex samples. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can provide real three-dimensional topographies showing sample surface properties. Electron microscopes combined with energy dispersion X-ray analysis (EM-EDX) are the instruments specifically developed to acquire images of target materials at high magnification. Infrared and Raman spectroscopies are frequently used to characterize inorganic and organic compounds. Thermal analysis can rapidly and accurately measure changes in crystalline structure, dehydration and decomposition. X-ray based technologies have a wide range of applications as follows. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is one of the most frequently used techniques for elemental analysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a fast and inexpensive technique for the characterization of man-made and natural materials. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is applied to quantify the valence and electronic levels of specific elements. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a powerful technique for detecting the electronic structure of matter. UV-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy is also of great importance in architectural heritage, which can reveal different physicochemical mechanisms causing color. Laserinduced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) can effectively eliminate the pollution on the surface and detect the internal elements of the target material. Ion beam analysis can quantify trace elements with high sensitivity. Mass-based techniques are mainly applied to identify unknown organic substances at the molecular level. This review describes some classical applications of individual techniques and provides scientific support for scientists and engineers to make decisions in the context of architectural heritage.

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Limewashing paintings in Alentejo urban heritage: pigment characterization and differentiation by WDXRF and XRD

Cited by 20 publications

References 4 publications

Understanding the influence of microbial contamination on colour alteration of pigments used in wall paintings—The case of red and yellow ochres and ultramarine blue

Understanding the influence of microbial contamination on colour alteration of pigments used in wall paintings—The case of red and yellow ochres and ultramarine blue

PIXE characterisation of prehistoric pigments from Abri Pataud (Dordogne, France)

Recent progress in instrumental techniques for architectural heritage materials

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