The beautiful “Trionfo d’Amore” attributed to Botticelli: a chemical characterisation by proton-induced X-ray emission and micro-Raman spectroscopy

Abstract The drawing “Trionfo d’Amore” (1480–1500) is attributed to Sandro Botticelli, the great master of the Italian Renaissance. It is included in manuscript no. 143 (Biblioteca Classense, Ravenna, Italy) containing the poems “Canzoniere” and “Trionfi” of Francesco Petrarca. Two non-destructive techniques, namely proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and micro-Raman spectroscopy, have been employed in this preliminary investigation to identify all the colours in the drawing. The results of the present work, showed that ochres, with the addition of a lead based pigment, were used to obtain the brown colour, and that iron-gall ink was used to trace the drawing. PIXE data also suggests that a lead point was used in the preparation of the drawing. It was not possible to identify the Lilac pigment used, while PIXE and micro-Raman yielded contrasting results in the determination of the blue colour of the sky. These results could be explained with the hypothesis of a stratification of many colours, in which a lead based colour was deposited on top of an underlying mixture of blue pigments.

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