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Synchrotron micro-XRD and XRD-CT reveal newly formed lead-sulfur compounds in Old Master paintings
Authors:
Victor
Gonzalez
(Rijksmuseum, Diamond Light Source)
,
Annelies
Van Loon
(Rijksmuseum; Mauritshuis)
,
Stephen
Price
(Finden Ltd)
,
Petria
Noble
(Rijksmuseum)
,
Katrien
Keune
(Rijksmuseum; University of Amsterdam)
Co-authored by industrial partner:
No
Type:
Journal Paper
Journal:
Journal Of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry
State:
Published (Approved)
Published:
July 2020
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
18676
Abstract: The in-situ formation of lead-sulfur inorganic compounds in historical oil paintings can have a strong detrimental effect on an artwork’s physical and visual integrity. In this paper, paint micro-samples collected from several paintings from the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) and Mauritshuis (The Hague) collections were probed at the micro-scale using a combination of synchrotron micro-XRD and XRD-CT. This permitted to precisely identify the chemical nature of the in-situ formed crystalline compounds as well as to chart their distribution within paint layers at the microscopic level. This provided new information on the origin of the ions involved in the crystallization of the various newly formed mineral lead-sulfur products. The formation of palmierite K2Pb(SO4)2, anglesite PbSO4 and lanarkite Pb2(SO4)O in historical samples can thus be connected to paint stratigraphic build-up, environmental conditions and potential past restoration treatments.
Diamond Keywords: Paintings
Subject Areas:
Archaeological and Cultural Heritage,
Chemistry
Instruments:
I18-Microfocus Spectroscopy
Added On:
29/07/2020 10:15
Discipline Tags:
Cultural Heritage
Humanities
Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry
Technical Tags:
Diffraction
Imaging
Tomography
microXRD