title: Lorenzo Lotto's painting materials: an integrated diagnostic approach.
abstract: This paper presents the results of a comprehensive diagnostic investigation carried out on five paintings (three wood panels and two paintings on canvas) by Lorenzo Lotto, one of the most significant artists of the Italian Renaissance in the first half of 16th century. The paintings considered belong to 1508-1522 period, corresponding to the most significant years of Lotto's evolution. A wide array of non-invasive (reflectance spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence) and micro-invasive analytical techniques (optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, micro-FTIR spectroscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detection and mass spectrometry) were applied in order to provide a large set of significant data, limiting as much as possible the sampling. This study has proved that Lotto's painting palette was typical of Venetian practice of that period, but some significant peculiarities emerged: the use of two kinds of red lakes, the addition of calcium carbonate and colourless powdered glass, the latter frequently found in pictorial and ground layers. Moreover, the integrated investigation showed that Lotto's technique was sometimes characterized by the use of coloured priming and multi-layer sequences with complex mixtures. Chromatographic analyses allowed to identify in all specimens: azelaic, palmitic and stearic acids, generally referring to the presence of drying oils. The extension of additional non-invasive examination to about 50 paintings by the same author, spanning from 1505 to around 1556, helped to verify the evolution in the use of some pigments, such as the yellow ones, where Pb-Sb yellow was used alongside Pb-Sn yellow.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences and Fundamentals, University of Urbino, p.za Rinascimento 6, Urbino, Italy. Electronic address: maria.amadori@uniurb.it.
authors.forename: Maria Letizia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Amadori
authors.affiliation: Visual Art Centre, University of Bergamo, via Pignolo 123, Bergamo, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Poldi
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences and Fundamentals, University of Urbino, p.za Rinascimento 6, Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barcelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via Campi 183, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Baraldi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Parco Area delle Scienze 17/a, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berzioli
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Parco Area delle Scienze 17/a, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Casoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, University of Venice, Dorsoduro 2137, Venice, Italy.
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marras
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, University of Venice, Dorsoduro 3484/D, Venice, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pojana
authors.affiliation: Visual Art Centre, University of Bergamo, via Pignolo 123, Bergamo, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni C F
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Villa
keywords: ED-XRF; ESEM/EDX; GC–MS; HPLC-HRToF-MS; Organic binders; Painting technique; Pigments; Raman spectroscopy; Vis-RS; μ-FTIR-ATR spectroscopy