An investigation of Bellini’s Transfiguration in the Capodimonte museum by means of XRF and visible reflectance hyperspectral imaging: Bellini’s handling of materials in the head and figure of the transfigured Christ

Abstract

The Transfiguration by Giovanni Bellini in the Museo di Capodimonte (Naples) is an iconic image of a transcendental event at the heart of the Christian religion. Using non-destructive chemical imaging, and focusing on the central image of the transfigured Christ we have studied by what means and with what materials the artist represented this divine event. The results showed what is to date the earliest use of the pigment stibnite. The techniques employed demonstrate both continuity with Bellini’s earliest works (such as the combination of the use of shell-gold and organic, tinted layers), but also his knowledge of Netherlandish painting. This research has furthered our understanding of how he achieved the luminosity so characteristic of his translation of the divine into the materiality of paint.