Scientific analyses of paint from a Madonna and Child painting have supported the attribution of the work to the Renaissance period
The first detailed report of the Raman spectroscopic studies of paint specimens from this artwork has been published (February 2007) in a paper by Professor Howell Edwards (chemical and forensic sciences, University of Bradford) and Timothy Benoy (The de Brecy Trust) in a special issue of the international scientific journal, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, devoted to art and archaeology applications.
The painting, which is known as the 'de Brecy Tondo', depicts the central figures of Raphael's celebrated Sistine Madonna, displayed in Dresden, has been the subject of over twenty years of academic research carried out in the UK and internationally.
The paper, published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, describes the application of laser Raman microscopic non-destructive analysis to the molecular characterisation of pigments and their binding media which formed a vital part of the wider-ranging analytical investigation of the painting.
Crucially, materials identified in the Raman spectroscopic study include the lead-based yellow pigment massicot, which was effectively superseded by other yellow pigments after 1700, and a vegetable-derived medium of a starch-based glue that was typical of Renaissance practice.
Scientific molecular and elemental analyses of paint specimens and their substrate from a Madonna and Child painting have been undertaken in eight independent European analytical laboratories and support historical and stylistic conclusions that are consistent with the attribution of the work to the Renaissance period - lasting between the 14th and 16th centuries.
Howell Edwards, professor of molecular spectroscopy and head of the division of chemical and forensic sciences at the University of Bradford, said: "From these analytical findings, I am entirely confident that the tondo painting is consistent with an early, pre-1700, Renaissance work".
Timothy Benoy, honorary secretary of the de Brecy Trust, said: "The trust is delighted to have confirmed that these latest scientific techniques give further support to its views that the Tondo is a work from the Renaissance period".
Raman spectroscopy has been used hitherto in the nondestructive analysis of a range of painted art and artefacts including papyri, manuscripts, easel paintings, icons, polychrome statuary, wall-painting fragments, glass, ceramics, sarcophagi, and frescoes.
It is particularly valuable for the ability to discriminate between organic and inorganic materials and in the assessment of the interactions between these.
Although it is not possible to date an art work using molecular analysis alone, it nevertheless can be a vital factor in the attribution of work to a particular period from the recipe of pigments identified.
Howell Edwards, professor of molecular spectroscopy and head of the division of chemical and forensic sciences at the University of Bradford, is an international expert in the applications of Raman spectroscopy and Raman microscopy, including the characterisation of biomaterials and pigments in an art and archaeological context.
He has published over 770 papers in the scientific literature and has made over 650 presentations at national and international meetings.
He co-edited a book, 'Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeology', published in 2005 by the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, which is the first text in this area.
