Material and Imaging Analysis Procedure for the Investigation of Paintings in the Archbishop’s Palace of Seville

The Archbishop’s Palace of Seville harbours an important art collection with mostly works by great Renaissance and Baroque artists. However, the authorship of some paintings is unknown, and, in a few cases, there is an interest in discovering the painter due to the quality of the artwork. As a first...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Heritage 2023-06, Vol.6 (6), p.4527-4541
Main Authors: Moreno-Soto, Javier, Križnar, Anabelle, Ager, Francisco José, Gómez, Auxiliadora, Gamero-Osuna, Antonio, Martín-de-Soto, Agustín, Respaldiza, Miguel Ángel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
17th century
Baroque era
Cameras
Chemical elements
History
Imaging systems
Inspection
Materials
Methods
non-invasive analysis
Painting, Baroque
Painting, Renaissance
Palaces
Pigments
Radiation
Scanning electron microscopy
UV and IRR examination
X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy
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Summary:The Archbishop’s Palace of Seville harbours an important art collection with mostly works by great Renaissance and Baroque artists. However, the authorship of some paintings is unknown, and, in a few cases, there is an interest in discovering the painter due to the quality of the artwork. As a first step for this purpose, a systematic analysis procedure has been established using non-destructive techniques, such as UV photography and IR reflectography, to locate interventions and underpaintings, as well as X-ray fluorescence to identify original pigments and those of later interventions. The study following this established protocol is presented with the example of two paintings by unknown authors. They were made in different centuries representing, consequently, different styles. UV images showed several retouches, while IR reflectography revealed under-drawing and composition corrections (pentimenti). Furthermore, XRF identified the pigments applied in the production of the different colours and tonalities, allowing to characterise the artist’s palette, whose pigments generally agree with the dates when the artworks were produced. This study resulted in valuable information on painting materials and techniques, which will be useful in the search for authorships, among others.
ISSN:2571-9408
2571-9408
DOI:10.3390/heritage6060240