The Effect of Preservative Interventions on the Chemical- Physical and Structural Characteristics of Panel Painting

This work studies the impact of two traditional Romanian treatments, Red Petroleum and Propolis, in terms of real efficiency and consequence on the wooden artifacts. The application of these solutions is still a widely adopted and popular technique in preservative conservation but the impact of these solutions is not well known. It is important to know the effect of treatments on chemical-physical and structural characteristics of the artifacts, not only for understanding the influence on present conditions but also for foreseeing the future behavior. These treatments with Romanian traditional products are compared with a commercial antifungal product, Biotin R, which is utilized as reference to control the effectiveness of Red Petroleum and Propolis. Red Petroleum and Propolis are not active against mould while Biotin R is very active. Mould attack is mostly concentrated in the painted layer, where the tempera, containing glue and egg, enhance nutrition availability for moulds. Biotin R, even if is not a real insecticide but a fungicide, was the most active product against insect attack of the three products, followed by Red Petroleum, Propolis and untreated reference. As for colour, it did not change so much after the application of Red Petroleum and Biotin R and the colour difference was almost not perceptible. On the contrary, Propolis affected the colour a lot. During the exposure at different RH, the colour changes significantly at 100% RH at equilibrium and this is mainly due to the mould attack. Red Petroleum penetrates deeply into wood, while Propolis does not penetrate and remains only on the surface. However, Red Petroleum does not interact chemically with wood substance and it is easy volatilized in oven-dry condition. On the contrary Propolis interacts chemically with wood substance and hardly volatilized, even in oven-dry condition and consequently Propolis remains where it penetrated, mostly on the surface. Treatment by immersion has impact on wood physical parameters while treatment by brushing does not have significant impact. Especially Red Petroleum has an apparent impact on moisture content (MC) due to the penetration of solution, while Propolis does not penetrate so much and remains only on surface therefore Propolis does not have so much impact as Red Petroleum. However, if the weight of the solution penetrated in wood is eliminated, there is not significant difference in MC between treated and untreated samples. Considering physical parameters, dimensional stability is an important parameter. The variation of wood moisture content causes shrinkages/swelling of the wood that polychrome layer can only partially follow. The dimension of wooden supports varied under different moisture conditioning; the painted layer cannot completely follow this deformation, and consequently a degradation and deterioration caused by detachment, occurs. That detachment affects the polychrome stratification of the panel painting and eventually the connections between the different layer compositions of the panel painting.

José de Escovar at the Chapel of the Souls: Technical and Material Study of a 1603 Panel Painting

This article reports the preliminary results of a technical and material study carried out on a 17th century panel painting located at the Chapel of the Souls in the main church of Vila Nova da Baronia (30 km away from Evora city, in southern Portugal). This painting is attributed to Jose the Escovar, a painter that worked for Evora Archiepiscopate between 1583 and 1622. Jose the Escovar is known by his mural paintings all across the Alentejo region. This is the first time that a panel painting made by this artist was studied. Analytical methods used included in situ technical photography (visible (Vis), raking light (RAK), infrared (IR), and ultraviolet (UV)), optical microscopy of cross sections, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS), micro Raman spectroscopy, and micro Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (m-FT-IR). The goal was to ascertain the techniques and colored materials used by Escovar on this painting so that the data can be used in future comparisons with others works attributed to this painter based on stylistic aspects.

Duccio : catalogo completo dei dipinti /

Includes index.

"Per aurem intrat Christus in Mariam". Aproximación iconográfica a la "conceptio per aurem" en la pintura italiana del Trecento desde fuentes patrísticas y teológicas

La tesis mariológica de la conceptio per aurem, según la cual la Virgen María habría concebido a Jesucristo por el oído en el momento de escuchar del ángel el mensaje celestial anunciándole que, sin perder su virginidad, sería madre del Hijo de Dios encarnado, ha merecido hasta ahora muy pocos estudios académicos rigurosamente fundados en fuentes primarias. De hecho, en la literatura especializada son muy escasas las referencias a tal teoría y, cuando algún estudioso la evoca, casi siempre se contenta con aludir a ella, sin aportar pruebas documentales. Sin embargo, tal como lo revelan las nueve pinturas italianas aquí analizadas, esa teoría fue ilustrada mediante sutiles metáforas visuales en muchas obras pictóricas medievales, las cuales se inspiraron en una sólida tradición literaria. Además una pléyade de Padres de la Iglesia y teólogos medievales testimonia, mediante afirmaciones explícitas, que semejante teoría gozó de notable aceptación entre los maestros del pensamiento cristiano. Basándose en numerosos textos patrísticos y teológicos, este artículo intenta dos objetivos esenciales: exponer, ante todo, las distintas formulaciones teóricas propuestas por esos pensadores; y además, tratar de poner en luz los significados dogmáticos que subyacen bajo esa sorprendente tesis.

A painting on a harpsichord lid with a hilly landscape and travelers

Gerritt van der Horst, after; 2 ft. 9 25/64 in.x 5 ft. 3 45/64 in.; oil on panel

Romano-British wall-painting fragments: a spectroscopic analysis

Raman spectroscopic analyses of fragmented wall-painting specimens from a Romano-British villa dating from ca. 200 AD are reported. The predominant pigment is red haematite, to which carbon, chalk and sand have been added to produce colour variations, applied to a typical Roman limewash putty composition. Other pigment colours are identified as white chalk, yellow (goethite), grey (soot/chalk mixture) and violet. The latter pigment is ascribed to caput mortuum, a rare form of haematite, to which kaolinite (possibly from Cornwall) has been added, presumably in an effort to increase the adhesive properties of the pigment to the substratum. This is the first time that kaolinite has been reported in this context and could indicate the successful application of an ancient technology discovered by the Romano-British artists. Supporting evidence for the Raman data is provided by X-ray diffraction and SEM-EDAX analyses of the purple pigment.

What shapes player performance in soccer? Empirical findings from a panel analysis

In this article, we investigate the pay-performance relationship of soccer players using individual data from eight seasons of the German soccer league Bundesliga. We find a nonlinear pay-performance relationship, indicating that salary does indeed affect individual performance. The results further show that player performance is affected not only by absolute income level but also by relative income position. An additional analysis of the performance impact of team effects provides evidence of a direct impact of team-mate attributes on individual player performance.

Panel discussion and documentary screening to celebrate World Industrial Design Day (WIDD) 2010

This collaborative event was organised to coincide with International celebrations by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). The panel discussion involved industrial designers from a variety of backgrounds including academics, theorists and practitioners. Each panel member was given time to voice their opinion surrounding the theme of WIDD2010 "Industrial Design: Humane Solutions for a Resilient World". The discussion was then extended to the audience through active question and answer time. The panel included: * Professor Vesna Popovic FDIA - Queensland University of Technology * Adam Doyle, Studio Manager - Infinity Design Development * Scott Cox MDIA, Creative Director - Formwerx * Alexander Lotersztain, Director - Derlot * Philip Whiting FDIA, Design Convenor - QCA * Professor Tony Fry, Director Team D/E/S & QCA After this, the documentary by Gary Hewtsit "Objectified" was then screened (75 min).