Manfred SCHREINER | Bernadette FRÜHMANN | Wikfried VETTER | Federica CAPPA
(Institute of Science and Technology in Art, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria)

Keywords: Manuscript, Palimpsest, Chemical analysis, Imaging

Abstract:
In the last decades a particular collaboration between historical, philological and cultural studies on one side and natural sciences on the other side has been developed and a close co-operation between e.g. art history, archaeology or conservation-restoration with physics, chemistry or biology seems fairly well established. The traditional documentation and investigation of works of art have been mainly performed by the application of photographic techniques using electromagnetic radiations using not only visible but also infrared, UV and X-ray radiations of the electromagnetic spectrum. In recent years, so called non-destructive analytical methods such as X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy have been applied in order to visualise concepts of an artist (underdrawings) as well as the original structure of an art work, which could have been changed during conservation-restoration work in the past.
In the presentation the present state, development and perspective of these analytical tools will be discussed and case studies presented, carried out on paintings, polychromed sculptures as well as graphic art works and historic manuscripts of Austrian museums and libraries. Furthermore, the Centre of Image and Material Analysis in Cultural Heritage (CIMA) will be introduced, which could be founded in 2014 within the HRSM-project of the Ministry of Science, Research and Economy. It is an inter-university research institute of the University of Vienna, the Technische Universität and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna focusing on these new techniques.

Relevance for the conference: Elemental mapping of under-text and under-paintings increases the information for philological studies of manuscripts.
Relevance for the session: The visualization of the over- and under-text in palimpsests as well as the under-painting can be essential for the authenticity of a manuscript.
Innovation: The combination of elemental and compound specific imaging is a non-destructive technique, which can be carried out in museums, libraries or other collections.
References:
• M. Schreiner, R. Wiesinger, W. Vetter: Identification and preservation of cultural heritage. (2017) http://www.chemistryviews.org/details/ezine/9610631/Identification_and_Preservation_of_Cultural_Heritage.html
• K. Janssens, R. Van Grieken: Non-destructive microanalysis of cultural heritage materials. Elsevier (2004), Amsterdam