Pigments Elementary Chemical Composition Study of a Gainsborough Attributed Painting Employing a Portable X-Rays Fluorescence System

Journal Article · Mon Feb 12 00:00:00 EST 2007 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2710629· OSTI ID:21054867

Appoloni, C R; Blonski, M S ^[1]; Parreira, P S; Souza, L A. C. ^[2]

---

1. State University of Londrina, Department of Physics, Londrina, PR (Brazil)
2. Federal University of Minas Gerais, EBA/CECOR/LACICOR Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

The investigated painting, identified with the title 'The woodman', is attributed to Thomas Gainsborough (XVIII century) and is under investigation at the Laboratory of Conservation Science (LACICOR), CECOR/EBA/UFMG. The measurements were carried out with a portable X-rays fluorescence (XRF) system constituted of a X-rays tube with Ag anode, a Si PIN - diode detector, nuclear electronic chain and a special designed mechanical system for the detector and X-ray tube positioning, that enables angular and XYZ movements of the excitation-detection system. The employed voltage and current intensity were 17 kV and 3 mA, respectively. The time of acquisition for each measurement was 500 s. XRF spectra were analyzed using the AXIL-WinQXAS software. Three measurements in each of the following regions of the painting were done: face, leaves, arm, sky and firewood. The carried out analysis indicated the following pigments: White (lead white and calcium sulfate, identified by the elements Pb, Ca and S), Blue (Prussian blue, identified by the key element Fe), Red (Vermilion, identified by the elements Hg and S) and Brown (mixture of Fe and Mn oxides, identified by the elements Fe and Mn). Elements belonging to modern pigments corresponding to the same colors were absent in the analyzed spectra.

• OSTI ID: 21054867
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 884, Issue 1; Conference: 6. Latin American symposium on nuclear physics and applications, Iguazu (Argentina), 3-7 Oct 2005; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2710629; (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
A CODES
CALCIUM
CALCIUM SULFATES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CULTURAL OBJECTS
EXCITATION
FERROCYANIDES
IRON
LEAD
MANGANESE
MIXTURES
MULTI-ELEMENT ANALYSIS
PIGMENTS
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
SI SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
SULFUR
WOOD FUELS
X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ANALYSIS
X-RAY TUBES