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Lead Isotope project Lead white has been used as an artist’s pigment since antiquity. It is present in almost every painting throughout the centuries and has only recently been replaced by other white pigments. It has been possible for some years to identify trace elements contained in the lead white and to categorize the different lead isotopes. There has been little comparative research done in this area. These variations can be linked to particular locations and time periods, which would hopefully lead us to the original sources for the different lead whites. The main focus of the project will be on the use, distribution and availability of lead white to artists and artist’s suppliers in the North and South concentrating on the use of lead white in the Flemish and Italian Schools of the 17th c. with particular emphasis on the artist P. P. Rubens and his contemporaries. The Flemish painter Pieter Paul Rubens travelled extensively during his long career as an artist. Many of his important works of art were commissioned by the great European courts and executed during his well documented travel periods. The comparison between the working technique and the choice of materials in Rubens’ studio in Antwerp and during his periods of travel abroad carries great potential to gain more insight into the studio practice of the time. Since there has been surprisingly little technical and analytical research on this important artist, we have been encouraged to further investigate and follow up our initial research: When
Rubens worked in Antwerp, did he use lead white originating
from local sources or was it imported? The questions raised focus not only on a particular artist’s working habits, but more specifically on the origins of the pigments (where they were mined and manufactured into pigments) and the ensu-ing trade routes. Analysis of early Rubens paintings has shown very promising results already. To complement the results originating from paintings, samples from lead mines will be analysed. The results will be compared to historical trade routes. The results from the analysis of samples taken from paintings will be referred to as secondary source material. Primary source material will refer to samples that have been obtained from original loca-tions i.e. lead mines. The project will focus in the second part to: 1. Continue research on secondary source materials i.e. pigments found in paintings of known artists from available collections throughout Europe and America. The research will include analysis and comparison of the lead isotope and trace elements found in samples taken from paintings of the fol-lowing schools:
This
project has been accepted by the Swiss National Science Foundation
(Schweizerischer National-fond) and is carried out at the Laboratories
of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and
Research (EMPA) at St. Gall. Institutions and collectors are
invited to participate and to cooper-ate. This collaboration
includes providing tiny samples from paintings or, giving permission
to take samples. Should you know of similar data be analysed
in your institution, we would be interested in contacting you.
The analysis will be carried out at no costs for the contributors.
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Zurich
/ Staefa (Switzerland) - Tel.:+41 (0)44 926 80 26
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