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Multi-Scale X-ray Imaging of the Pigment Discoloration Processes Triggered by Chlorine Compounds in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi

In this paper, the chromatic alteration of various types of paints, present on mural painting fragments derived from the vaults of The Upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi in Italy (12th–13th century), is studied using synchrotron radiation. Six painted mural fragments, several square centimete...

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Autores principales: Avranovich Clerici, Ermanno, de Meyer, Steven, Vanmeert, Frederik, Legrand, Stijn, Monico, Letizia, Miliani, Costanza, Janssens, Koen
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10459633/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37630361
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules28166106
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author Avranovich Clerici, Ermanno
de Meyer, Steven
Vanmeert, Frederik
Legrand, Stijn
Monico, Letizia
Miliani, Costanza
Janssens, Koen
author_facet Avranovich Clerici, Ermanno
de Meyer, Steven
Vanmeert, Frederik
Legrand, Stijn
Monico, Letizia
Miliani, Costanza
Janssens, Koen
author_sort Avranovich Clerici, Ermanno
collection PubMed
description In this paper, the chromatic alteration of various types of paints, present on mural painting fragments derived from the vaults of The Upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi in Italy (12th–13th century), is studied using synchrotron radiation. Six painted mural fragments, several square centimeters in size, were available for analysis, originating from the ceiling paintings attributed to Cimabue and Giotto; they correspond to originally white, blue/green, and brown/yellow/orange areas showing discoloration. As well as collecting macroscopic X-ray fluorescence and diffraction maps from the entire fragments in the laboratory and at the SOLEIL synchrotron, corresponding paint cross-sections were also analyzed using microscopic X-ray fluorescence and powder diffraction mapping at the PETRA-III synchrotron. Numerous secondary products were observed on the painted surfaces, such as (a) copper tri-hydroxychloride in green/blue areas; (b) corderoite and calomel in vermillion red/cinnabar-rich paints; (c) plattnerite and/or scrutinyite assumed to be oxidation products of (hydro)cerussite (2PbCO(3)·Pb(OH)(2)) in the white areas, and (d) the calcium oxalates whewellite and weddellite. An extensive presence of chlorinated metal salts points to the central role of chlorine-containing compounds during the degradation of the 800-year-old paint, leading to, among other things, the formation of the rare mineral cumengeite (21PbCl(2)·20Cu(OH)(2)·6H(2)O).
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spelling pubmed-104596332023-08-27 Multi-Scale X-ray Imaging of the Pigment Discoloration Processes Triggered by Chlorine Compounds in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi Avranovich Clerici, Ermanno de Meyer, Steven Vanmeert, Frederik Legrand, Stijn Monico, Letizia Miliani, Costanza Janssens, Koen Molecules Article In this paper, the chromatic alteration of various types of paints, present on mural painting fragments derived from the vaults of The Upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi in Italy (12th–13th century), is studied using synchrotron radiation. Six painted mural fragments, several square centimeters in size, were available for analysis, originating from the ceiling paintings attributed to Cimabue and Giotto; they correspond to originally white, blue/green, and brown/yellow/orange areas showing discoloration. As well as collecting macroscopic X-ray fluorescence and diffraction maps from the entire fragments in the laboratory and at the SOLEIL synchrotron, corresponding paint cross-sections were also analyzed using microscopic X-ray fluorescence and powder diffraction mapping at the PETRA-III synchrotron. Numerous secondary products were observed on the painted surfaces, such as (a) copper tri-hydroxychloride in green/blue areas; (b) corderoite and calomel in vermillion red/cinnabar-rich paints; (c) plattnerite and/or scrutinyite assumed to be oxidation products of (hydro)cerussite (2PbCO(3)·Pb(OH)(2)) in the white areas, and (d) the calcium oxalates whewellite and weddellite. An extensive presence of chlorinated metal salts points to the central role of chlorine-containing compounds during the degradation of the 800-year-old paint, leading to, among other things, the formation of the rare mineral cumengeite (21PbCl(2)·20Cu(OH)(2)·6H(2)O). MDPI 2023-08-17 /pmc/articles/PMC10459633/ /pubmed/37630361 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules28166106 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Avranovich Clerici, Ermanno
de Meyer, Steven
Vanmeert, Frederik
Legrand, Stijn
Monico, Letizia
Miliani, Costanza
Janssens, Koen
Multi-Scale X-ray Imaging of the Pigment Discoloration Processes Triggered by Chlorine Compounds in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
title Multi-Scale X-ray Imaging of the Pigment Discoloration Processes Triggered by Chlorine Compounds in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
title_full Multi-Scale X-ray Imaging of the Pigment Discoloration Processes Triggered by Chlorine Compounds in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
title_fullStr Multi-Scale X-ray Imaging of the Pigment Discoloration Processes Triggered by Chlorine Compounds in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
title_full_unstemmed Multi-Scale X-ray Imaging of the Pigment Discoloration Processes Triggered by Chlorine Compounds in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
title_short Multi-Scale X-ray Imaging of the Pigment Discoloration Processes Triggered by Chlorine Compounds in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
title_sort multi-scale x-ray imaging of the pigment discoloration processes triggered by chlorine compounds in the upper basilica of saint francis of assisi
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10459633/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37630361
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules28166106
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