Indian yellow
Indian yellow was prepared from urine of cows fed on mango leaves but its use ceased in the beginning of the twentieth century due to various factors.
Rogier van der Weyden, The Magdalen Reading
The painting shows Mary Magdalene with Saint Joseph in the background and the bare feet of Saint John to the left.
Caravaggio, Martha and Mary Magdalene
One of the most convincing depictions of the biblical scene where Martha is in the process of converting Mary Magdalene to the life of faith and virtue.
Monet, Irises
The large painting on luminous ground was painted with thick brush strokes. Monet’s palette is characteristic of this late period and contains pigments such as cobalt blue, cobalt violet, viridian, cadmium yellow and cadmium orange.
Monet, Water-Lilies
The very large painting is one of the many variations of the water-lily pond theme where Monet mostly employed single pigments.
Van Gogh, The Starry Night
The painting’s strength lies in the stark contrast between the calm sleeping village and the dramatic, swirling and menacing sky.
Van Dyck, Lord John Stuart and his Brother, Lord Bernard Stuart
A late portrait of the two sons of the 3rd Duke of Lennox. The pigment analysis casts light on the elaborate handling of painting materials in the costumes of both young men.
Van Dyck, Equestrian Portrait of Charles I
One of the largest paintings in the National Gallery London. The pigment analysis shows how Van Dyck achieved the subdued tonality and subtle colours.
Van Dyck, Lady Thimbelby and Dorothy, Viscountess Andover
This double portrait of two sisters, daughters of Thomas, Viscount Savage was painted in England. The interactive pigment analysis allows deeper insight into Van Dyck’s working methods and his masterful depiction of the draperies and flesh tones.
Van Dyck, The Abbé Scaglia Adoring the Virgin and Child
The pigment analysis reveals a palette of rather vivid colours. Van Dyck employed the usual pigments of his time, such as ultramarine, red lake, lead-tin yellow, vermilion and indigo.
Van Dyck, Charity
The pigment analysis helps to understand Van Dyck’s intricate painting technique. The best example is the red-brown drapery painted with a whole array of different pigments.
Van Dyck, The Balbi Children
The pigment analysis and the investigation of the painting reveal a very elaborate glazing technique which Van Dyck had not used in his later work.
Van Dyck, Portrait of a Woman and a Child
The pigment analysis reveals a masterful depiction of the draperies and dresses.
Titian, Portrait of Girolamo Fracastoro
The pigment analysis reveals a very limited palette with coal black and lead white as the main pigments. Fracastoro was the famous medical doctor who identified syphylis.
Titian, Portrait of a Man with a Quilted Sleeve
The pigment analysis reveals an elaborate structure of the quilted and padded sleeve consisting of red and blue layers.
Titian, Portrait of a Lady (La Schiavona)
The pigment analysis reveals a very elaborate and refined structure of the purple dress consisting of interspersed blue and red layers.
Titian, The Holy Family with a Shepherd
The pigment analysis reveals a very extensive palette typical of the Renaissance period and also Titian’s elaborate painting technique.
Titian, Noli me Tangere
Titian, Noli me tangere is a depiction of the encounter of Christ and Magdalen. The pigment analysis underscores Titian’s masterful handling of colour.
Malevich, Suprematist Painting
Malevich explored pure light and pure colour by choosing pigments according to the light spectrum and employing optical phenomena.
Bellini, Pesaro Altarpiece
A thorough scientific investigation and pigment analysis uncovered an extensive palette with several rare pigments such as indigo, realgar and orpiment.
Michelangelo, Doni Tondo
Analysis of pigments by advanced scientific methods revealed interesting aspects of Michelangelo’s painting technique.
Murillo, Christ Healing the Paralytic
The pigment analysis reveals the usual pigments of the 17th century with smalt and carmine partially degraded in several areas.
Bruegel, Mad Meg
The pigment analysis conducted at the Genth University revealed the pigments used and answered two important art historical questions.
Dragon’s blood
Dragon’s blood is a rarely used pigment produced by many species of trees as a dark red resin. It is secreted from the wounded trunk or found in the fruits.
Raphael, The Procession to Calvary
Illustrated pigment analysis gives a thorough insight into Raphael’s technique, his choice of materials and his handling of colour.
Raphael, The Mond Crucifixion
Illustrated pigment analysis describing a rich palette of well known pigments such as vermilion, verdigris and ochres and also the rare orpiment.
Raphael, The Ansidei Madonna
The pigment analysis shows a rich palette of Renaissance pigments including ultramarine, verdigris and the very rare powdered metallic bismuth.
Raphael, Saint John the Baptist Preaching
Pigment analysis reveals typical pigments employed by Raphael such as ultramarine, lead-tin yellow, azurite and verdigris.
Raphael, Saint Catherine of Alexandria
The pigment analysis shows a rich palette of Raphael’s usual pigments such as ultramarine, azurite, lead-tin yellow and ochres.
Raphael, The Madonna of the Pinks
Pigment analysis shows Raphael’s use of two very rare pigments: metallic gold and metallic bismuth.
Raphael, An Allegory
An exhaustive pigment analysis reveals a rich palette of the usual Renaissance pigments but also includes the rare orpiment.
Degas, Ballet Dancers
Pigment analysis of one of many variations on this theme. The palette is rather limited and contains vermilion, viridian and ochres.
Modersohn, Portrait of an Old Woman
Pigment analysis of the work of this less known German expressionist painter. She was one of the painters who created modernism.
El Greco, Portrait of Jorge Manuel
The portrait of the artist’s son painted with El Greco’s usual pigments such as carmine, azurite, umber, vermilion and ochres.
Gerard David, Virgin and Child
The pigment analysis reveals a limited Renaissance palette with elaborate paint layers and masterful handling of colour.
El Greco, Disrobing of Christ
The Munich version of Disrobing of Christ is the best later rendition of El Greco’s original composition in the Cathedral of Toledo.
Cézanne, Hillside in Provence
Pigment analysis reveals a rather restricted palette and masterful handling of colour with the usual pigments used at the end of the nineteenth century.
Manet, Corner of a Café-Concert
Manet, Corner of a Café-Concert: A thorough analysis brought to light that this painting was originally part of a bigger composition which was later cut by Manet himself into two parts.
Egyptian blue
Egyptian blue is the oldest artificially produced pigment known to Man. It was in use since about 3100 BC in ancient Egypt, India, Greece and Rome.
Titian, Venus and Adonis
Titian, Venus and Adonis: Exhaustive and illustrated pigment analysis of Titian’s masterpiece depicting a Greek myth.
Titian, Sacred and Prophane Love
Pigment analysis and an extensive collection of other relevant information, and resources on Titian, Sacred and Prophane Love
Braque, The Round Table
Georges Braque, ‘The Round Table’ 1929, is one of his great still-lifes where simple objects are depicted in great complexity.
Arylide yellow
Arylide yellow PY 3 is an organic pigment introduced in middle of the twentieth century. It was predominantly employed as a replacement of the toxic cadmium yellow.
Pissarro, The Côte des Boeufs at L’Hermitage
Pissarro, The Côte des Boeufs at L’Hermitage: the pigment analysis shows an intricate use of colour with subdued tonalities and few strong accents.
Multispectral Imaging
Multispectral imaging of paintings widens considerably the scope of the information which can be obtained from the images in different regions of the spectrum.
Computational Analysis of Paintings
Computational analysis of paintings employs mathematical tools to analyze underlying patterns in a painting and allows deep insights into its structure.
X-Ray Fluorescence
X-ray fluorescence is a nondestructive spectroscopic and imaging method allowing insights into the distribution of individual pigments in a painting.
Infrared Spectroscopy
Infrared spectroscopy is a classical analytical method for identification of pigments and binding materials in paintings.
Raman Spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive method for analyzing pigments in paintings. The pigment is illuminated by laser light and its response registered.
Lemon yellow
Lemon yellow was seldom used in oil painting due to its moderate tinting strength and hiding power. Renoir employed it in his ‘La Yole’ for the yellow boat.