Integration of multispectral visible-infrared imaging and pointwise X-ray fluorescence data for the analysis of a large canvas painting by Carpaccio

• Published in: Microchemical journal Vol. 153; p. 104469
• Main Authors: de Manincor, Nicole, Marchioro, Giacomo, Fiorin, Enrico, Raffaelli, Marco, Salvadori, Ornella, Daffara, Claudia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.03.2020
• Subjects: Artwork nondestructive diagnostics; False colour imaging; Multispectral infrared imaging; Principal Component Analysis (PCA); X-ray fluorescence (XRF); Multispectral infrared imaging; False colour imaging; Artwork nondestructive diagnostics; Principal Component Analysis (PCA); X-ray fluorescence (XRF)
• ISSN: 0026-265X; 1095-9149
• DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2019.104469

•The XRF and multispectral Vis-IR analysis of a painting by Vittore Carpaccio are presented.•A workflow for fusing single spot analysis with multispectral imaging data is shown.•False colour imaging to supervise the XRF sampling is shown.•Principal Component Analysis is used for extracting information from the combined data structure and validating the integrated procedure. In this work, we studied the canvas “The meeting of the pilgrims with the Pope” by Vittore Carpaccio fusing in a single data structure the pointwise XRF analysis with the Vis-IR multispectral data acquired on the painting. We proposed a workflow for analyzing and interpreting the data using Principal Component Analysis. The effectiveness of this approach is evaluated against the analysis of the data analyzed as separated contributions. The proposed procedure is demonstrated on the red pigments, which are predominant in this painting and in Carpaccio's production in general, highlighting information regarding the original artist's technique and regarding restored areas.