Historical and material approach to the paintings at the Portugal National Library: contributions to the history of conservation and restoration of easel painting in the 19th century (original) (raw)
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There are in the National Library of Portugal (BNP) about fifty paintings from former convents, mainly portraits executed between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, which are hung in rooms and along corridors, far from the eyes of the public and simultaneously protected by recent conservation and restoration interventions. These paintings, of little artistic interest, are, however, individual cases for the study of conservation and restoration interventions made in the nineteenth century. The data obtained will contribute to the history of paintings restoration, in terms of its practical aspects (about materials and techniques used), that is still to be written in Portugal. Our research, which began in January 2011 and is predicted to end in December 2013, has been oriented by three complementary lines of action, with an interdisciplinary methodological base: the exploitation of the BNP's precious and unpublished documental archive; the assessment to the conservation status of the paintings and identification of restoration works; and the material study of the works, from physical and chemical methods of examination and analysis, in order to deepen our technical knowledge about the restoration of easel painting in the nineteenth century. Through historical documents we could identify periods of restoration, restorers and materials used. The observation of paintings allowed selecting a set of twenty-seven pieces that showed old restorations, made in the nineteenth or early twentieth century. In addition it's very important to use examination methods and laboratory analysis to characterise the restoration works and the materials used.
A Portuguese painting of the 18 th century, from the collection of the National Library of Portugal, restored in 1864, was studied with the aim of better understanding the practice of restoration in Portugal in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. Initial observations suggested that it had been subjected to significant changes, due to the existence of an extensive decorative bar at the bottom of the painting and an inscription with calligraphy that seemed to suggest being of the 19 th century. However, the scientific study carried out with the use of a set of analytical techniques leads to the conclusion that, essentially, the current image is consistent with the original image, although a thick layer of varnish and several localized repaints were observed. However, the inscription does not seem to be original.
2014
A Portuguese painting of the 18 century, from the collection of the National Library of Portugal, restored in 1864, was studied with the aim of better understanding the practice of restoration in Portugal in the late 19 and early 20 centuries. Initial observations suggested that it had been subjected to significant changes, due to the existence of an extensive decorative bar at the bottom of the painting and an inscription with calligraphy that seemed to suggest being of the 19 century. However, the scientific study carried out with the use of a set of analytical techniques leads to the conclusion that, essentially, the current image is consistent with the original image, although a thick layer of varnish and several localized repaints were observed. However, the inscription does not seem to be original.
International Journal of Conservation Science, 2014
A Portuguese painting of the 18th century, from the collection of the National Library of Portugal, restored in 1864, was studied with the aim of better understanding the practice of restoration in Portugal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Initial observations suggested that it had been subjected to significant changes, due to the existence of an extensive decorative bar at the bottom of the painting and an inscription with calligraphy that seemed to suggest being of the 19th century. However, the scientific study carried out with the use of a set of analytical techniques leads to the conclusion that, essentially, the current image is consistent with the original image, although a thick layer of varnish and several localized repaints were observed. However, the inscription does not seem to be original.
Applied Physics A, 2013
The systematic characterization of the painting's palette and technique applied on the execution of the mural paintings of the Batalha Monastery (Batalha, Leiria, Portugal) is presented. These are the oldest mural paintings known in Portugal (apart from Roman frescoes) and represent the beginning of an artistic Portuguese tradition that continues until the nineteenth century. The aim of the study was to identify for the first time by adopting a multi-analytical physico-chemical approach of the pigments, binder, and alteration products (white veils, crusts, and pigment alteration) of these unique works of arts in order not only to better understand the painting technique, but also to support a conservation-restoration intervention that took place from Micro-sampling of paint layers was performed on representative areas of the paintings. The characterization of the pigments and binders was carried out by microscopy and microanalysis of cross sections using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS), micro-FTIR, and micro X-ray diffraction.
Minerals
The research carried out on the wall paintings of Hernán Pérez del Pulgar’s Palace chapel in Granada (Spain) was aimed at determining its historical–artistic, stylistic, technical, and compositional aspects. For this, a 16th century frieze and an 18th century pendentive were studied. The mineralogical, chemical, and textural characterization of the constituent materials and the study of the state of conservation of the paintings have helped to determine the pictorial technique used, identify the nature of the salts present in the paintings, and other pathologies including a dormant fungal attack. To this end, optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy with microanalysis (FESEM-EDS), and micro-Raman spectroscopy (MRS) were used. The information obtained helps clarify important aspects of the painting technique used, laying a basis to ensure effective and suitable conservation and restoration measures on the paintings that will ensure...
This paper presents the analytical characterisation of a series of paintings authored by Giorgio Marini (1836-1905) from the Museum of Évora. Marini was an Italian painter who lived in Portugal in the 19 th century. He was a very prolific painter and his works, most of them portraits commissioned by urban and rural bourgeois and noble elites, are dispersed all over the country. The general good conservation state of most paintings prevented the collection of micro-samples for detailed study. Hence, material identification of the painting materials was performed primarily by XRF, given its non-destructive and non-invasive nature, and it was complemented when possible by auxiliary techniques optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and SEM-EDX. Pigments and fillers such as yellow and red ochre, lead white, zinc white, barium white, chrome yellow and green chrome are among the identified pigments. This is the first time the palette used by Giorgio Marini was identified, helping to chara...
The Research Project: Materials and Panting Techniques of Painters from the North of Portugal
ICOM-CC Lisbon, 2011
In the context of the postgraduate studies in painting conservation at the Escola de Artes – Universidade Católica Portuguesa (School of Arts, Catholic University of Portugal), it was possible to develop a specific research project through CITAR – Centro de Investigação em Ciência e Tecnologia das Artes (Research Centre for Science and Technology in Art) within the scope of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the North Portugal Regional Operational Programme, Priority Area III: Environmental and Territorial Enhancement and Improvement (Cultural Heritage). Entitled “Materials and techniques of painters from the north of Portugal”, the project started in February 2009, will last two years, and has two major aims: the first is focused on the investigation of the materials and techniques used by selected painters from the north of Portugal; the second is related to the dissemination of results within an academic context and the general public. The ongoing research includes 14 researchers and the collaboration of many public and private institutions.
Scientific methods of analysis are often used for investigation of artworks, and this is also the case of the painting entitled "Vista do Desterro", by Joseph Bruggemann, (1886) which is being restored at the Conservation-Restoration Atelier for Movable Cultural Heritage-ATECOR in Culture Foundation of Santa Catarina-FCC. This study used UV imaging methods, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis and energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDS) analysis to identify the constituent materials of the referred artwork and previous interventions on it. All the analyses showed that drying oil was used as a binder, and a layer of terpenic varnish was also found. The possibly original pigments found were the following: lead white, natural sienna, brown ocher, synthetic ultramarine and yellow ocher. In addition, areas of at least two interventions were observed, where pigments barium sulfate (permanent white), titanium dioxide (titanium white) and traces of zinc oxide (zinc white) were detected...
COLOR research and application (Wiley), 2016
This article describes the results of a multi-analytical research carried out on the mural paintings from Evora Cathedral, one of the oldest and most prominent monuments of Evora city. The paintings were a late 16th Century addition to the cathedral’s northern transept chapel and are attributed to the painter Jose de Escovar, whose painting workshop was remarkably active in the so-called golden age of mural paintings in southern Portugal. The aim of the study was to reconstruct the paintings’ life story through a materials science perspective by discerning the material characteristics of the original and overpaint campaigns. The analytical setup comprised technical photography (TP) in the visible and UV light, Vis-Spectrophotometry, optical microscopy (OM) complemented with scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS), micro Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (mFT-IR) and pyrolysis–gas chromatography (Py-GC/MS) analyses of the collected samples. Results show that the original paint layers were executed with a combination of fresco and secco techniques, using a very simple chromatic palette composed of earth pigments, mercury sulphide, calcium carbonate and green copper based pigments. The paintings were heavily retouched and overpainted using earth pigments, smalt, Prussian blue, zinc white and lead white. Furthermore, the analyses of the cross-sections taken from the stuccoed frames revealed a first decorative campaign made with gold and silver alloy.