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Discovery of Vespasiano Bignami Paintings at The National Theater of Costa Rica Trough Technical Photography and UV-Vis Spectroscopy
Oscar-Andrey Herrera-Sancho
University of Costa Rica
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8871-171X
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View the published version at Heritage Science.
Paintings are one of the most striking means that human beings have used to share our history, learning, personal beliefs and thoughts. Paintings reflect the connection between the artist and its time, not only in the thematic and stylistic aspects, but in the availability of art materials such as pigments, vehicles and varnishes. Establishing and understanding these relations are key to provide accurate information about the artist’s palette and developing conservation strategies.
The ceiling of the Foyer of the National Theater of Costa Rica is decorated with three large format paintings from the 19 th century made by the Italian painter Vespasiano Bignami. The paintings are known as La Poesía, La Música and La Danza (The Poetry, the Music and The Dance) and have undergone restorations in the past. However, their state of conservation is unknown and thus demand accurate scientific examination in order to document their status and the extent of undocumented previous restoration work.
To overcome those issues, we propose the application of a combination of non-invasive and in-situ techniques to obtain information about the red pigment composition and actual state of conservation. We employed technical photography in the Visible (Vis) and Near Infrared (IR) regions, using panoramic stitching techniques in order to obtain high resolution images of the very large artworks. Several conservation problems were observed such as: detachment of pigments, cracks, stains, and sections with undocumented restorations. In the IR and in the False Color Infrared (IRFC) images we observed a very conspicuous behavior of the red pigment used in the three paintings. Particular areas with the red pigment were fluorescent, and through Ultraviolet fluorescence (UVF) imaging we identified the pigment as through its red-coral fluorescence as Madder Lake, by comparison to a historical pigments reference palette (Pigment Checker from Cultural Heritage Science Open Source).
Measurements in five different red pigmented zones using UV-Vis spectroscopy in La Musica show bands in the 550-650 nm region. A Lorentz Model nonlinear curve fit to the bands allowed us to correlated the fluorescent pigment in the paintings of Vespasiano Bignami with Madder Lake.
Keywords
Madder Lake, technical photography, Fluorescent, Costa Rica, UV radiation, spectroscopy
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CURRENT STATUS: Published
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Posted 23 Sep, 2020
Published
On 03 Dec, 2020
No community comments so far
Review #3 received
Received 26 Oct, 2020
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 26 Oct, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 13 Oct, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 29 Sep, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 19 Sep, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 18 Sep, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 18 Sep, 2020
Editor assigned
On 17 Sep, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 17 Sep, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 16 Sep, 2020
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On 16 Sep, 2020
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On 15 Sep, 2020
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This preprint is under consideration at Heritage Science. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Discovery of Vespasiano Bignami Paintings at The National Theater of Costa Rica Trough Technical Photography and UV-Vis Spectroscopy
Oscar-Andrey Herrera-Sancho
University of Costa Rica
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8871-171X
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
Version 1
Posted 23 Sep, 2020
Published
On 03 Dec, 2020
No community comments so far
Review #3 received
Received 26 Oct, 2020
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 26 Oct, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 13 Oct, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 29 Sep, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 19 Sep, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 18 Sep, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 18 Sep, 2020
Editor assigned
On 17 Sep, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 17 Sep, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 16 Sep, 2020
Editor invited
On 16 Sep, 2020
First submitted
On 15 Sep, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at Heritage Science.
Paintings are one of the most striking means that human beings have used to share our history, learning, personal beliefs and thoughts. Paintings reflect the connection between the artist and its time, not only in the thematic and stylistic aspects, but in the availability of art materials such as pigments, vehicles and varnishes. Establishing and understanding these relations are key to provide accurate information about the artist’s palette and developing conservation strategies.
The ceiling of the Foyer of the National Theater of Costa Rica is decorated with three large format paintings from the 19 th century made by the Italian painter Vespasiano Bignami. The paintings are known as La Poesía, La Música and La Danza (The Poetry, the Music and The Dance) and have undergone restorations in the past. However, their state of conservation is unknown and thus demand accurate scientific examination in order to document their status and the extent of undocumented previous restoration work.
To overcome those issues, we propose the application of a combination of non-invasive and in-situ techniques to obtain information about the red pigment composition and actual state of conservation. We employed technical photography in the Visible (Vis) and Near Infrared (IR) regions, using panoramic stitching techniques in order to obtain high resolution images of the very large artworks. Several conservation problems were observed such as: detachment of pigments, cracks, stains, and sections with undocumented restorations. In the IR and in the False Color Infrared (IRFC) images we observed a very conspicuous behavior of the red pigment used in the three paintings. Particular areas with the red pigment were fluorescent, and through Ultraviolet fluorescence (UVF) imaging we identified the pigment as through its red-coral fluorescence as Madder Lake, by comparison to a historical pigments reference palette (Pigment Checker from Cultural Heritage Science Open Source).
Measurements in five different red pigmented zones using UV-Vis spectroscopy in La Musica show bands in the 550-650 nm region. A Lorentz Model nonlinear curve fit to the bands allowed us to correlated the fluorescent pigment in the paintings of Vespasiano Bignami with Madder Lake.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Due to technical limitations, full-text HTML conversion of this manuscript could not be completed. However, the manuscript can be downloaded and accessed as a PDF.