Revealing Artists’ Collaboration in a 14th Century Manuscript by Non-Invasive Analyses

Michela Perino,Anna Candida Felici,Lucilla Pronti,Alessandro Nucara,Cecilia Taverna,Francesca Manzari,Martina Romani,Lucrezia Gaia Di Forti,Mariangela Cestelli-Guidi,Lola Massolo

doi:10.3390/min11070771

Abstract

In the last decades, the working methods of late medieval illuminators have been widely discussed by art historians and codicologists. Non-invasive analyses are able to characterise the painting methods of illuminators as well as investigate artistic collaborations among them. The aim of this study was to characterise the painting palettes and techniques of different artists who illuminated two leaves from an early fourteenth century manuscript. The analyses were carried out with non-invasive and portable techniques such as Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (ED-XRF) spectrometry, Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS) and Raman spectroscopy. The paper highlights the differences among three rich and varied palettes and examines the pigments ultramarine, azurite, verdigris, earths, orpiment, red lead, vermillion, lead white, yellow lake, indigo, brazilwood and lac, used independently or in mixtures. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of non-invasive analyses as a tool to differentiate hands of artists who have worked on the same page. Furthermore, the comparison with analyses carried out on leaves attributed to the workshop of Pacino di Bonaguida allows to investigate in-depth the production of the main illuminators active in Florence at the dawn of the Renaissance.

Highlights

The role of non-invasive analysis as an indispensable tool in research on illuminated manuscripts is no longer in question [1]
The occurrence of Ca is generally referred both to the lime bath used for the dehairing of the skin and to the chalk employed for drawing out any remaining grease and whitening the parchment [5]
The presence of S and Sr in relation to Ca may indicate the presence of celestine (SrSO4 ), a mineral usually found associated to the gypsum, used for whitening the parchment [6]

Summary

Introduction

The role of non-invasive analysis as an indispensable tool in research on illuminated manuscripts is no longer in question [1]. The analytical approaches currently used are mainly oriented to the discussion of case studies (e.g., pigments palette of a manuscript) and identification of specific categories of pigments and binders. The close collaboration between heritage scientists, art historians and codicologists has often allowed to reconstruct the entire creative process from the artists’ original invention through their choice of materials to the finished illuminated page [2]. Some illuminators employed a single palette throughout their careers while others varied considerably in their pigment choice, depending on the patron. The identification of unexpected pigments on the illuminated page can reveal the collaboration among different artists sometimes not characterised by stylistic analysis alone

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