1
|
Izzo FC, Kratter M, Nevin A, Zendri E. A Critical Review on the Analysis of Metal Soaps in Oil Paintings. ChemistryOpen 2021; 10:904-921. [PMID: 34532965 PMCID: PMC8446710 DOI: 10.1002/open.202100166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Up to 70 % of the oil paintings conserved in collections present metal soaps, which result from the chemical reaction between metal ions present in the painted layers and free fatty acids from the lipidic binders. In recent decades, conservators and conservation scientists have been systematically identifying various and frequent conservation problems that can be linked to the formation of metal soaps. It is also increasingly recognized that metal soap formation may not compromise the integrity of paint so there is a need for careful assessment of the implications of metal soaps for conservation. This review aims to critically assess scientific literature related to commonly adopted analytical techniques for the analysis of metal soaps in oil paintings. A comparison of different analytical methods is provided, highlighting advantages associated with each, as well as limitations identified through the analysis of reference materials and applications to the analysis of samples from historical paintings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Caterina Izzo
- Sciences and Technologies for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Department ofEnvironmental Sciences, Informatics and StatisticsCa' Foscari University of VeniceVia Torino 155/b30173VeniceItaly
| | - Matilde Kratter
- Sciences and Technologies for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Department ofEnvironmental Sciences, Informatics and StatisticsCa' Foscari University of VeniceVia Torino 155/b30173VeniceItaly
| | - Austin Nevin
- Head of Conservation The Courtauld Institute of ArtVernon Square, Penton RiseKings CrossWC1X 9EWLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Elisabetta Zendri
- Sciences and Technologies for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Department ofEnvironmental Sciences, Informatics and StatisticsCa' Foscari University of VeniceVia Torino 155/b30173VeniceItaly
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Experimental Study on the Link between Optical Emission, Crystal Defects and Photocatalytic Activity of Artist Pigments Based on Zinc Oxide. MINERALS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/min10121129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The historical knowledge inherited from house paint documents and the experimental research on synthetic pigments show that production methods have an important role in the performance of paint. In this regard, this work investigates the links existing between the optical emission, crystal defects and photocatalytic activity of zinc white pigment from different contemporary factories, with the aim of elucidating the effects of these characteristics onto the tendency of the pigment to induce paint failures. The analysed samples display highly similar crystallite structure, domain size, and specific surface area, whilst white pigments differ from pure ZnO in regards to the presence of zinc carbonate hydrate that is found as a foreign compound. In contrast, the photoluminescence measurements categorize the analysed samples into two groups, which display different trap-assisted emissions ascribed to point crystal defects introduced during the synthesis process, and associated to Zn or O displacement. The photocatalytic degradation tests infer that the emerged defective structure and specific surface area of ZnO-based samples influence their tendency to oxidize organic molecules under light irradiation. In particular, the results indicate that the zinc interstitial defects may be able to promote the photogenerated electron-hole couples separation with a consequent increase of the overall ZnO photocatalytic activity, negatively affecting the binding medium stability. This groundwork paves the way for further studies on the link between the photoluminescence emission of the zinc white pigment and its tendency to decompose organic components contained in the binding medium.
Collapse
|
3
|
Microchemical analysis of Leonardo da Vinci's lead white paints reveals knowledge and control over pigment scattering properties. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21715. [PMID: 33303851 PMCID: PMC7730476 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78623-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is a key artistic and scientific figure of the Renaissance. He is renowned for his science of art, taking advantage of his acute observations of nature to achieve striking pictorial results. This study describes the analysis of an exceptional sample from one of Leonardo's final masterpieces: The Virgin and Child with St. Anne (Musée du Louvre, Paris, France). The sample was analyzed at the microscale by synchrotron-based hyperspectral photoluminescence imaging and high-angular X-ray diffraction. The results demonstrate Leonardo's use of two subtypes of lead white pigment, thus revealing how he must have possessed a precise knowledge of his materials; carefully selecting them according to the aesthetical results he aimed at achieving in each painting. This work provides insights on how Leonardo obtained these grades of pigment and proposes new clues regarding the optical and/or working properties he may have tried to achieve.
Collapse
|
4
|
Ghirardello M, Kelly NM, Valentini G, Toniolo L, Comelli D. Photoluminescence excited at variable fluences: a novel approach for studying the emission from crystalline pigments in paints. ANALYTICAL METHODS : ADVANCING METHODS AND APPLICATIONS 2020; 12:4007-4014. [PMID: 32760980 DOI: 10.1039/d0ay01160f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Crystalline solids can exhibit photoluminescence when properly excited by sufficiently energetic light radiation. Following excitation, different radiative and non-radiative recombination pathways can occur that are informative of the energetic structure of the material as well as of the presence of crystal defects and impurities. Usually, the characterization of the optical emission of crystalline materials is achieved through the study of emission spectra as a function of the excitation wavelength. A different approach employs variable excitation fluence to populate the energetic levels until saturation, which promotes the emission from other radiative and non-radiative pathways. The method is particularly effective for understanding conduction phenomena and studying charge recombination channels in semiconductor materials. In this work, we propose its application for characterizing radiative recombination paths in crystalline pigments. The approach has been tested in spectroscopy mode for the identification of paints in a model painting and in micro-imaging modality for the study of paint stratigraphies. We demonstrate that the method is highly informative of the nature of different recombination paths in crystalline pigments and allows a deeper characterization of the emission from luminescent paints with respect to the conventional steady-state photoluminescence approach.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marta Ghirardello
- Politecnico di Milano, Physics Department, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133, Milan, Italy.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Photoluminescence imaging of modern paintings: there is plenty of information at the microsecond timescale. Microchem J 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2020.104618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
|
6
|
Hageraats S, Keune K, Réfrégiers M, van Loon A, Berrie B, Thoury M. Synchrotron Deep-UV Photoluminescence Imaging for the Submicrometer Analysis of Chemically Altered Zinc White Oil Paints. Anal Chem 2019; 91:14887-14895. [PMID: 31660714 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b02443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a II-VI semiconductor that has been used for the last 150 years as an artists' pigment under the name of zinc white. Oil paints containing zinc white are known to be prone to the formation of zinc carboxylates, which can cause protrusions and mechanical failure. In this article, it is demonstrated how a multispectral synchrotron-based deep-UV photoluminescence microimaging technique can be used to show the distribution of zinc soaps on the submicrometer scale and how this information is used to further the understanding of zinc white degradation processes in oil paint. The technique is based on the luminescence of zinc soaps in the near-UV (∼3.65 eV) upon excitation in the deep-UV (4.51 eV), involving transitions that are argued to subsequently involve ligand-to-metal and metal-to-ligand charge transfer with intermediate structural reconfiguration. Because the primary emission peak lies at a higher energy than the band gap of ZnO (3.3 eV), the signal can easily be isolated from the pigment's very intense band gap and trap state emission by employing a multispectral acquisition approach. Moreover, analysis at such short wavelengths, in combination with a UV-transparent optical setup, allows for lateral resolution on the order of 200 nm to be obtained. The unprecedented capabilities of the microimaging technique are illustrated by showing its application to the study of a historical cross section from an early 20th century painting by Piet Mondrian. Revealing the submicrometer distribution of crystalline zinc soaps in this cross section provides new insights that suggest that microfissures, the starting points of paint delamination, are the result of an overall expansion of a heavily saponified zinc white layer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Selwin Hageraats
- Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Conversation and Science , P.O. Box 74888, 1070DN Amsterdam , The Netherlands.,IPANEMA, CNRS, Ministére de la Culture, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Université Paris-Saclay , BP48 St. Aubin , 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette , France.,Van't Hoff Institute for Molecular Science , University of Amsterdam , P.O. Box 94157, 1090 GD Amsterdam , The Netherlands
| | - Katrien Keune
- Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Conversation and Science , P.O. Box 74888, 1070DN Amsterdam , The Netherlands.,Van't Hoff Institute for Molecular Science , University of Amsterdam , P.O. Box 94157, 1090 GD Amsterdam , The Netherlands
| | - Matthieu Réfrégiers
- Synchrotron Soleil, l'Orme des Merisiers , BP48 St. Aubin , 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette , France
| | - Annelies van Loon
- Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Conversation and Science , P.O. Box 74888, 1070DN Amsterdam , The Netherlands
| | - Barbara Berrie
- Scientific Research Department, Conservation Division , National Gallery of Art , 2000B South Club Drive , Landover , Maryland 20785 , United States
| | - Mathieu Thoury
- IPANEMA, CNRS, Ministére de la Culture, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Université Paris-Saclay , BP48 St. Aubin , 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette , France
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Comelli D, MacLennan D, Ghirardello M, Phenix A, Schmidt Patterson C, Khanjian H, Gross M, Valentini G, Trentelman K, Nevin A. Degradation of Cadmium Yellow Paint: New Evidence from Photoluminescence Studies of Trap States in Picasso's Femme ( Époque des "Demoiselles d'Avignon"). Anal Chem 2019; 91:3421-3428. [PMID: 30706704 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b04914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Paints based on cadmium sulfide (CdS) were popular among artists beginning in the mid-19th century. Some paint formulations are prone to degrade, discoloring and disfiguring paintings where they have been used. Pablo Picasso's Femme (Époque des "Demoiselles d'Avignon") (1907) includes two commercial formulations of CdS: one is visibly degraded and now appears brownish yellow, while the other appears relatively intact and is vibrant yellow. This observation inspired the study reported here of the photoluminescence emission from trap states of the two CdS paints, complemented by data from multispectral imaging, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, micro-FTIR, and SEM-EDS. The two paints exhibit trap state emissions that differ in terms of spectrum, intensity, and decay kinetics. In the now-brownish yellow paint, trap state emission is highly favored with respect to near band edge optical recombination. This observation suggests a higher density of surface defects in the now-brownish yellow paint that promotes the surface reactivity of CdS particles and their subsequent paint degradation. CdS is a semiconductor, and surface defects in semiconductors can trap free charge carriers; this interaction becomes stronger at reduced particle size or, equivalently, with increased surface to volume ratio. Here, we speculate that the strong trap state emission in the now-brownish cadmium yellow paint is linked to the presence of CdS particles with a nanocrystalline phase, possibly resulting from a low degree of calcination during pigment synthesis. Taken together, the results presented here demonstrate how photoluminescence studies can probe surface defects in CdS paints and lead to an improved understanding of their complex degradation mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Comelli
- Politecnico di Milano , Physics Department , Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32 , 20133 , Milano , Italy
| | - Douglas MacLennan
- Getty Conservation Institute , Science Department , 1200 Getty Center Drive , Los Angeles , California 90049 , United States
| | - Marta Ghirardello
- Politecnico di Milano , Physics Department , Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32 , 20133 , Milano , Italy
| | - Alan Phenix
- Getty Conservation Institute , Science Department , 1200 Getty Center Drive , Los Angeles , California 90049 , United States
| | - Catherine Schmidt Patterson
- Getty Conservation Institute , Science Department , 1200 Getty Center Drive , Los Angeles , California 90049 , United States
| | - Herant Khanjian
- Getty Conservation Institute , Science Department , 1200 Getty Center Drive , Los Angeles , California 90049 , United States
| | - Markus Gross
- Fondation Beyeler , Baselstrasse 77 , CH-4125 Riehen/Basel , Switzerland
| | - Gianluca Valentini
- Politecnico di Milano , Physics Department , Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32 , 20133 , Milano , Italy.,Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie , Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IFN-CNR) , Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32 , 20133 , Milano , Italy
| | - Karen Trentelman
- Getty Conservation Institute , Science Department , 1200 Getty Center Drive , Los Angeles , California 90049 , United States
| | - Austin Nevin
- Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie , Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IFN-CNR) , Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32 , 20133 , Milano , Italy
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Ghirardello M, Mosca S, Marti-Rujas J, Nardo L, Burnstock A, Nevin A, Bondani M, Toniolo L, Valentini G, Comelli D. Time-Resolved Photoluminescence Microscopy Combined with X-ray Analyses and Raman Spectroscopy Sheds Light on the Imperfect Synthesis of Historical Cadmium Pigments. Anal Chem 2018; 90:10771-10779. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b01666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marta Ghirardello
- Physics Department, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Sara Mosca
- Physics Department, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Javier Marti-Rujas
- Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta” Department, Politecnico di Milano, Via L. Mancinelli 7, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Luca Nardo
- Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, Via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, Italy
| | - Aviva Burnstock
- The Courtauld Institute of Art, Department of Conservation and Technology, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN, United Kingdom
| | - Austin Nevin
- Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, IFN-CNR, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Maria Bondani
- Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, IFN-CNR, Via Valleggio 11, I-22100 Como, Italy
| | - Lucia Toniolo
- Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta” Department, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 20133, Milano, Italy
| | - Gianluca Valentini
- Physics Department, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Daniela Comelli
- Physics Department, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 20133 Milano, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Raman mapping and time-resolved photoluminescence imaging for the analysis of a cross-section from a modern gypsum sculpture. Microchem J 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2017.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
|