Chemistry Commons^™

X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis Of Historic Art Paint Pigments, Sofia A. Stirpe, Juergen Thieme

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Utilizing synchrotron radiation, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) microscopy enables researchers to deduce the elemental composition of paint pigments with a higher sensitivity and resolution than that of lab-based XRF instruments. With this information, art historians can date paintings by examining the elemental makeup of paint pigments and the time periods in which they were used. One painting, Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery, has been duplicated by Pieter Brueghel the Younger and other artists, leading to confusion over which artworks are Brueghel masterpieces or copies by other artists. Art historian Maurizio Seracini, retaining a painting that could be assigned …