Physico-chemical characterization of protein-pigment interactions in tempera paint reconstructions: casein/cinnabar and albumin/cinnabar.
In this work, we characterized paint reconstructions using ovalbumin and casein as binders, and cinnabar (HgS) as a pigment, before and after artificial ageing. Egg and casein are common paint binders that were used historically in the technique of tempera painting. Despite extensive research on the identification of proteinaceous binders in paintings, there is a substantial lack of knowledge regarding the ageing pathway of their protein content, and their chemical interaction with inorganic pigments. Thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) were used to reveal the physico-chemical processes involved in the ageing of proteins in paintings. Taken together, the three techniques highlighted that proteins are subject to both cross-linking and hydrolysis upon ageing, and to a lesser extent, to oxidation of the side chains. Mercury-protein interactions were also revealed using a cold vapour generation atomic fluorescence spectrometer mercury-specific detector coupled to SEC. The study clearly showed that HgS forms stable complexes with proteins and acts as a sensitizer in cross-linking, hydrolysis and oxidation.
Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Pisa, Italy.
Celia
C
Duce
Lisa
L
Ghezzi
Massimo
M
Onor
Ilaria
I
Bonaduce
Maria Perla
MP
Colombini
Maria Rosaria
MR
Tine'
Emilia
E
Bramanti
D000818:Animals; D002364:Caseins / Q000737:chemistry*; D002417:Cattle; D002645:Chickens; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D017669:Mercury Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000737:chemistry*; D010150:Paint / Q000032:analysis*; D010151:Paintings; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013818:Thermogravimetry
D002364:Caseins; D004396:Coloring Agents; D017669:Mercury Compounds; D010047:Ovalbumin; C034211:cinnabar