Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of Italian Wall Paintings

Handheld X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis of Italian wall paintings was conducted in-situ at four different sites that were undergoing conservation. These wall painting studies included a detached Madonna and Child wall painting from the Medici collection dating from approximately 1500 CE, wall paintings in a Giotto-esque chapel in the Church of San Francesco, Volterra, at the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Cavriglia, and at the house of Neptune and Anfitrite, Herculaneum. The cultural value of these precious and delicate artifacts favors a non-destructive method of analysis. Handheld XRF spectrometry provided a rapid, minimally invasive, non-destructive, on-site analysis of surface elements of atomic number larger than Sodium, which assisted conservators in understanding the chemical makeup of the paintings, and which in turn will allow them to make informed treatment decisions and learn about the possible pigments used by the artists when executing the paintings. Results of the analysis as well as advantages and disadvantages of the technique will be discussed.