Wall Paintings Research Articles

:The Making of a Roman Imperial Estate: Archaeology in the Vicus at Vagnari, Puglia

:<i>The Making of a Roman Imperial Estate: Archaeology in the Vicus at Vagnari, Puglia</i>

Experimental Investigation on Aging and Energy Savings Evaluation of High Solar Reflective Index (SRI) Paints: A Case Study on Residential Households in the GCC Region

Energy-efficient retrofitting of building envelopes is necessary to reduce global carbon emissions and to reach net-zero goals. Cooling energy demand-dominated countries in the GCC region require simple and effective strategies to reduce building sector energy loads. One such approach is using high solar reflective index (SRI) paints to retrofit building roofs and walls. However, the hot and desert conditions of the region pose a barrier to maintaining consistent radiative properties throughout their life cycle. To this extent, research is limited in the region. The novelty of this work is to qualitatively assess the aging characteristics of high SRI or cool paints and estimate the energy savings for their application in residential buildings. The work encompasses comprehensive lab, pilot, and real-scale experimental studies combined with theoretical modeling for dynamic evaluation. Dynamic simulations enabled to determine the time-dependent aging effect on the energy savings performance of the building retrofitted with cool roof and wall paints. A case study on a townhouse in UAE showed annual energy savings of 34% considering cool roofs, walls, and window films. Aging studies showed SRI reduction of 36% and 25%, respectively, for cool roofs and walls during the first 3 years. The corresponding energy-saving reductions ranged from 31 to 44% for the white roof to dark wall colors. Using the initial values of SRI in energy models overestimates saving by 10% per year. Considering the aging effects, this work provides insights into cool paint retrofit potential on energy, economic savings, and CO2 reductions for four major cities in the GCC region.

A Non-Invasive and Sustainable Characterization of Pigments in Wall Paintings: A Library of Apulian Colors

This paper proposed a multianalytical, non-invasive, accessible and expensive (compared to traditional ones) approach for the characterization of pictorial surfaces. A set of 18 pigments and 37 mixtures widely used in the Middle Ages in the Apulia (Italy) artistic and archaeological contexts was considered, and corresponding replicas were produced. Pigments were first characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), then replicas were studied by optical microscopy using a portable instrument, colorimetry and fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS). The investigation provided encouraging results, which allowed the creation of a library including diagnostic microscopic, colorimetric and reflectance markers of each pigment and the identification of the mixtures’ components.

Unveiled materials and techniques in wall paintings hidden for centuries in the church of San Francesco del Prato (Parma, Italy)

The church of San Francesco del Prato in Parma (Italy) is a masterpiece of the Gothic style, dated back to the 13th century. However, its historical and monumental value could not be appreciated for a long time, especially due to the transformation of the building into a city jail. The recent restoration works brought back to light valuable frescos and wall paintings belonging to different periods. An in situ campaign was performed on the 15th-century wall paintings adorning the vault and the walls in the church apse, by using mobile Raman and X-ray fluorescence equipment. The characterization of the art pieces was further carried out with micro-Raman spectroscopy and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses. Overall, a quick and thorough identification of the colours palette of the wall paintings was successfully obtained through the in situ measurements. Laboratory analyses corroborated the understanding of the techniques through the identification of pigments and binders. In addition, micro-Raman analyses highlighted the presence of degradation products. Interestingly, a pigment hierarchy has been noted in relation to the painted contents, enhancing the preciousness of holy figures and their distinctive details.

The contribution of archeometry in characterization of decorative materials from the site of Villa di Teodorico in Galeata (Italy)

Villa di Teodorico in Galeata (Forlì-Cesena, Emilia Romagna) is an important archeological site in the north of Italy occupied from sixth century BC to twelfth century AD. The most interesting results concern the Roman age, when a large villa was built, and the late antiquity, when the Ostrogothic king Theodoric decided to build in this area his palatium (early sixth century AD). The archeometric investigation was performed on Roman wall paintings fragments and on late antique glass sectilia fragments belonging to Palazzo di Teodorico by using a multi-technique approach that included micro-Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, UV–visible–NIR diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry with optic fibers and optical stereo-microscopy.. This analytical approach allowed the identification of all components, collecting molecular, elemental, microscopic, morphological and chromatic data. The characterization of samples supplied essential archeological, historical and technological information. The production techniques and the rich materials employed suggest the importance of the site in different periods. The evolution of the manufacturing technologies and the possible trade routes mainly during late antique period are witnessed by the change in the raw materials.Graphical abstract

Synthesis of PAN Fibre-Supported Visible Light-Activated Carbon-Doped TiO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; for Toluene Degradation of Interior Wall Paints

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibre-supported carbon (C)-doped TiO2 (PCT) was fabricated by electrospinning C-doped TiO2/PAN/N,N-dimethylformamide mixtures. C doping was found to be a promising method for enabling visible photoactivation of TiO2 using graphite and PAN fibres as carriers. The fibrous PAN not only facilitated visible light-activated harvesting of TiO2 but also enabled the incorporation of C into the TiO2 lattice during the preparation process. Such composite fibres endowed TiO2 with high photocatalytic activity, and they were utilised to degrade toluene from interior wall paints with excitation at 440 nm. Given the maximum removal efficiency of 96.8% within 1 h, the developed photocatalysts can be considered to have paint hazard remediation properties.

A New Green Coating for the Protection of Frescoes: From the Synthesis to the Performances Evaluation

This work presents the formulation and characterization of a new product for the protection of outdoor frescoes from aggressive environmental agents. The formulation is designed as an innovative green coating, prepared through a zero-waste one-pot-synthetic method to form silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) directly in a chitosan-based medium. The AgNPs are seeded and grown in a mixed hydrogel of chitosan, azelaic, and lactic acid, by the reduction of silver nitrate, and using calcium hydroxide as precipitating agent. The rheological properties of this coating base are optimized by the addition of a solvent mixture of glycerol and ethanol with a 1:1 volume ratio. The new formulation and two commercial products (Paraloid® B72 and Proconsol®) are then applied by brush to ad hoc mock-ups to be evaluated for chemical stability, color and gloss variations, morphological variation, hydrophobicity, and water vapor permeability via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) in attenuated total reflection (ATR) mode, spectrophotometer analysis, stereomicroscope observations, UNI EN 15802, and UNI EN 15803, respectively. The results show that the application of the hybrid chitosan-AgNPs coating is promising for the protection of outdoor frescoes and that it can underpin the development of new products that address the lack of conservation strategies specifically designed for wall painting.

New Insights into the Geochemical Processes Occurring on the Surface of Stuccoes Made of Slaked Lime Putty

The fresco technique performed with slaked lime putty as binding material has been well known since Antiquity. However, the geochemical processes that occur on the surface have been generally described as part of the carbonation process of the intonaco itself. When approaching this technique from experimental archaeology, it has been observed for the first time that during the execution period (from 0 to 20 h, approximately) the processes occurring on the surface of the stucco are different from those occurring inside. Furthermore, these processes lead to the formation of an epigenetic film of specific texture, stiffness and compactness. This study investigates the formation and evolution of this surface film using a series of slaked lime putty stucco test tubes. Samples were extracted at different intervals and subsequently analyzed by polarized optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Results indicate that the development of the film, composed of an amorphous gel-like stratum and a micro-crystalline stratum, occurs in parallel to the carbonation occurring inside the stucco. Moreover, this process does not respond to the classical geological processes of calcium carbonate formation. It was also observed that its presence slows down the carbonation in the underlying strata (intonaco, intonachino, arriccio, etc.) and that the surface becomes more crystalline over time. The identification of this film has implications for the field of the conservation–restoration of fresco paintings and lime-based wall paintings.

Pigments and Techniques of Hellenistic Apulian Tomb Painting.

The wall paintings of five Hellenistic tombs in Apulia were analysed using a multi-technique approach to discern the painting techniques used and contextualise them within the phenomenon of Hellenistic tomb painting in Southern Italy. In particular, the question was asked whether technical knowledge played a role in the reception of Hellenistic artistic models and whether this knowledge was present locally. Raman and IR spectroscopies were used to identify pigments, colourants, and binders; light and electron microscopy were used to determine the structural characteristics of the paint layers and recognise the manufacturing technique. Analyses identified a fresco application for the Tomba dei Cavalieri (Arpi) and a dry application for the Canosian hypogea. The palette-typical for Hellenistic tomb painting in Southern Italy, Etruria and Macedonia-was composed of lime (white), charcoal (black), hematite (red), goethite (yellow), and Egyptian blue (blue). In the Tomba della Nike (Arpi), meanwhile, two particularly refined preparatory layers were observed. The palette was enriched with precious cinnabar and madder lake. The colouring components of the root were mixed with clay and K-alum applied on an additional layer of lime. The use of madder lake and a pink background link the painting to the polychrome Daunian pottery, and the contribution of a local workshop to the decoration of this tomb thus seems plausible.

John Carter FSA (1748–1817): A New Corpus of Drawings, and the Painted Chamber

This essay examines a corpus of drawings at the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, that I discovered and attributed to John Carter (1748–1817) in 2010. Of Carter’s seventy-five drawings in this collection that cover Westminster, four offer further detailed insights into the Painted Chamber’s wall paintings and tapestries c.1800. Annotated by Carter, these drawings can be read alongside his other earlier drawings of the Painted Chamber found today in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the British Museum in London. Not only do these drawings record a precious moment in late-Georgian London where some of the most remarkable medieval wall decorations were uncovered, but they also contextualize Carter’s attitude to medieval architecture and their ‘improvement’ by his contemporaries.

Stratigraphy of Fresco Paintings: A New Approach with Photoacoustic and SORS Imaging.

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is a novel, powerful diagnostic technique utilized in different research fields. In particular, during recent years it has found several applications in Cultural Heritage (CH) diagnostics. PA imaging can be realized in transmittance or epi-illumination (reflectance) modes, obtaining variable levels of contrast and spatial resolution. In this work, we confirmed the applicability of the PA technique as a powerful tool for the imaging of one of the most challenging artwork objects, namely fresco wall paints, to obtain precise stratigraphic profiles in different layered fresco samples. In this regard, we studied some multi-layered fragments of the vault of San Giuseppe Church in Cagliari (1870 AD) and some mock-ups realized specifically to test the potentiality of this technique. Due to complex structures of the frescoes, we used the Spatially Off-set Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) technique to provide complementary information. The experimental results were in agreement for both techniques, even for the three-layered complex structure, and were confirmed with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis of cross-sections. The combined use of these two techniques proved useful to investigate detailed hidden information on the fresco samples.

Nobility and art: the philosophy of ancient painting

The article presents the cultural genesis of the nobility society through the synthesis of the military adventure of men and the playing leisure of women into a common courtly culture In the courtly culture of court society, a system of regulation of relations arises with an orientation to an excellent act and, accordingly, with the requirement to see yourself from the outside, show yourself from the best side. As a result, a phenomenon arises that can be called pictorial Pictorial communication precedes the emergence of the visual arts, which sometimes arise on a random occasion. Ancient painting was no exception. The turn to luxury after the Greco-Persian wars initiated the mural by analogy with the trellis art of the Persians. The content of ancient painting in the form of wall painting and vase painting was the culture of communication that Hegel in his lectures on aesthetics called the color of man and which by the 19th century began to disappear.

Visual analytics of graffiti spatial patterns across 30 European city centres

Graffiti as an urban phenomenon comes in different forms and materials, from simple spray slogans to wall paintings and art, containing multi-thematic content. Despite the contradictory nature of various literature opinions, reports of a positive association between wall-graffiti and fear of crime or streetscape value have emerged. However, comparative urban studies registering graffiti locations are non-existent, thereby hindering the benchmarking of urban liveability. In this work, the spatial patterns of graffiti-vandalism across 30 European city centres were investigated, using Google Street View–derived observations. A significant variation in graffiti presence across Europe was recorded, ranging from about 3%–9% of street segments in London, Oslo and Vienna, to roughly 70%–76% in Madrid, Athens and Sofia. In addition, their spatial polarisation that reflects the presence of potential socio-spatial inequities requiring further attention was demonstrated. Overall, the created geo-visualisations could enable European policymakers to facilitate better-informed response strategies and researchers to delve into the effects of graffities on urban systems and societies.

Paradise Lost: Gold Coins from the Underworld

In 2011, the Mongolian and Kazakhstan joint expedition, dates approximately to the seventh century (A.D. 650–670), excavated a tomb of Shoroon Bumbagar, decorated with a wall painting, in Bayannuur sum of Bulgan province. The structure of the Shoroon Bumbagar tomb, murals and burial objects clearly exhibit tastes of nomads who resided along the Silk Roads and the Steppe Route. Comparing to funerary art traditions in East Asia such as Chinese and Koguryo mural tombs, it represents nomadic culture as well as the broad interactions from Byzantine Empire to China. With wall paintings and burial objects, this newly excavated mural tomb in Mongolia reveals significant information about the cultural exchanges between nomads and settled people along the Silk Roads. The burial objects excavated from the tomb include male and female figurines, either standing or riding on a horse, two tomb guardian figures, two tomb guardian animal figures, animal figurines, gold and bronze objects, fragments of a golden floral crown ornament, and Byzantine coins of the Emperor Heraclius, dated around the 630s. It is certain that the remarkable new findings from the tomb would bring a new perspective in the study of the history of tombs and demonstrates cultural exchanges and transmissions of the funerary arts of Asia along the Silk Roads.

Eastern and Western Influence in Wall Paintings of Abuna Yemata Guh Church (Ethiopia)

The rock-hewn church Abuna Yemata Guh, situated in the Gheralta Mountains of the Ethiopian Tigray region, houses one of the best preserved and least studied wall paintings of medieval Ethiopia. The pictorial program is dated to the second half of 15th century, by stylistic and iconographic characteristics. In fact, no well-proved date has been suggested so far. This research seeks to bridge the existing scholarly gap by conducting a comprehensive analysis of the iconographic and stylistic attributes of the paintings. It also considers the historical backdrop of the church, identifying key conduits of cultural influence. Furthermore, the study incorporates a scientific examination of the pigments employed in the paintings of Abuna Yemata Guh, comparing them with those found in other Ethiopian churches. The artistic motifs found within the paintings of Abuna Yemata Guh indicate an amalgamation of influences, notably drawing from Osman and Goan Christian art traditions. Additionally, traces of the iconographic style seen in the Roman icon Salus populi romani are evident, with a copy of this icon only arriving in Ethiopia after the 1570s. Consequently, the most plausible timeframe for the execution of the wall paintings falls within the latter part of the 16th c.

A Contemporary Design Philosophical Vision Inspired by Ancient Egyptian Art

Man began to learn drawing thousands of years ago, before he knew how to read and write on the walls of the caves, and on the slopes of the surrounding mountains, which continued to remain throughout the ages to be evidence of his progress and development through the era of the Pharaohs, the golden age of mural art and wonderful artistic designs, as Egypt has a great history of Arts, heritage and ancient civilization that are unparalleled in any other civilization in the world. Where ancient Egyptian art is considered the largest example of design works and wall painting, which will remain one of the most expressive artistic means of successive historical eras, which in turn greatly influenced plastic art, which is one of the most important areas to reach works of art that blend the aesthetic and innovative sides.

Optical microscopy and SEM-EDS on wall-painting fragments from the St. George’s cathedral at Novgorod

This paper presents the latest data obtained from the analyses of fragments of Russian-Byzantine wall paintings recovered from the architectural excavations carried out in the church of St. George in the Yuriev Princely Monastery built in 1119 at Veliky Novgorod, one of the oldest cities in Russia and UNESCO World site. In the last 7 years the archaeologists of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow excavated the 12th century layers and extracted a large number of wall-paintings fragments, which are extremely important for the reconstruction of the history of Novgorod and for the study of Russian-Byzantine art in general. The pigments employed for the paintings and the painting techniques, together with color layers, substrates and mortars, have been studied and analyzed in the last two years in the Laboratory of the Architectural Archaeology and Multidisciplinary Methods for Architectural Research, Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The employed analytical methods were optical microscopy (OM), X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscope with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM-EDS). OM permits to distinguish the superficial painting method, the inclusions in the mortars, the intonaco and intonachino layers and the various substrates. XRF was applied for a first screening of the fragments and for the first pigment identification. The samples of painted mortar were then mounted in epoxy resin and polished for the analysis with SEM-EDS. The analytical data we possessed up to now indicate a very classical Byzantine technique with the use of expensive pigments such as lazurite and cinnabar, but also green earth, various types of ochres and mixtures of pigments. Special care was taken for the identification of the substrates.

Između izuzetnosti i tradicije - slike sabora i Tajne večere i posveta crkve u Sopoćanima

The paper examines a part of the iconographic program in the narthex of the representative church, endowed by the Serbian king Uroš I and dedicated to the Holy Trinity. With its layout, the program is linked to the central field of the wall above the entrance to the nave and bears the characteristics of the focal point of the corresponding whole. It includes a thematic segment with a group of representations that, based on today's knowledge of painted material, can be classified as novelties and exceptional solutions. The cycle of Ecumenical Councils, with the attached depiction of a Serbian council, and the Last Supper, as the core of the group, are viewed from an angle from which they were not illuminated before. The unusual selection of scenes and the unique composition of the thematic group become clearer when one considers the scenes' place on the line that connects three important 'points' of Sopoćani's spatial and programmatic structure on the west-east axis. The 'council wall', with the Last Supper in its 'heart' communicates topographically, visually and semantically with the representation of Pentecost, which signalled the 'identity of the holy place' on the original 'face' of the building in Sopoćani (altered by later painting), at the entrance to the narthex. Moreover, the painted wall is in an equally multiple (topographical, visual, and semantic) correlation with the themes that mark the iconographic program in the sanctuary and around the opening leading into it. Apart from the repeated representation of the Pentecost, this time with a position on the wall field above the opening of the sanctuary apse, and apart from the typological representation of the Holy Trinity, situated in the eastern half of the south choir's vault, the representations in the central part of the apse are particularly relevant for observations about the parallelism and special complementarity of the themes in the sanctuary and the narthex. This is a unity consisting of a 'liturgical' variant of the Last Supper (i.e., Communion of the Apostles) and two scenes of the Appearance of the Risen Christ to the Apostles, identified with the theme of the Sending out of the Apostles-all in the same register-as well as the composition of Officiating Church Fathers in the register below, which as their coevals also includes archbishops of the Serbian Church, positioned immediately below the rendering of the Apostolic Mission. The resulting findings of the present study is the existence of a special connection of the thematic repertoire with the dedication of the church and the reception of that connection as a kind of starting point in the process of envisaging and shaping a whole with a multi-layered meaning. As it appears, a conventional framework was consciously chosen and used as an 'undercover' for additional, daring allusions.

Kourion Urban Space Project: Preliminary Report of the 2016 Season

The 2016 season of the Kourion Urban Space Project (KUSP) focused on the excavation of a structure situated to the southwest of the Earthquake House on the city’s acropolis. Excavation revealed a large building, designated Building 4, that had been damaged suddenly and further decayed over time. Though it is uncertain if Building 4 was a domestic structure, administrative facility or both, it is evident from the construction materials, particularly marble and painted plaster wall facing, and imported finds that it served elite members of the Kourion community. This paper provides a preliminary description and analysis of the archaeology of Building 4. It was lodged with the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus, in January 2018 and is published here with the authors’ affiliations as they were then.

PORTRAIT OF THE PADISHAH: FORMING THE VISUAL IMAGE OF UZUN HASAN

Abstract: The personality of Uzun Hasan, the ruler of the Aggoyunlu dynasty, one of the important figures in the history of the medieval East, occupies a special place in the history of art. His direct role in the cultural revival of Tabriz, patronage of science and art created a fertile environment for the development of the art of miniatures, monumental painting and architecture. Well-known studies connect the development of the pictorial image of Uzun Hasan with the context of the historical genre of the 15th century and its recording in palace wall paintings and miniatures. The paper analyzes the image of Uzun Hasan in the tradition of Western painting, and attributes a misidentified engraving from “Icones virorum illustrium doctrina et eruditione praestantium ad. vivum effictae cum eorum" (1597). Here, appeals to the image of recent years are considered, the iconographic series associated with the visual image of Uzun Hasan, the battle of Otlugbeli, Sara-Khatun, Despina-Khatun, the Trebizond princess are analyzed.