APAC Publication: Giovanni Baronzio's 'Crucifixion': Analytical approaches and art historical considerations

APAC  Associate Research Scientist, Svetlana Gasanova published a paper on Giovanni Baronzio's 'Crucifixion' panel for the identification of the work’s original materials and techniques, its state of preservation and the complex history of interventions. The panel, with an estimated date at the end of the 1320 s, represents a popular iconographic theme during this period and was painted in tempera and gold on wood. Non-invasive analytical approaches have revealed a rich history of interventions, retouching and restorations, which allows for some interesting observations and considerations in regard to the work’s history.

The applied analytical methods and the related art historical observations and interpretations are the focus of the present article. In order to avoid micro-sampling, a non-invasive methodological approach integrating spectroscopic (μ-X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), imaging (UV, X-ray radiography, infrared reflectography) and digital microscopy techniques were applied. Results showed that while original materials of the painting conform with those used by artists in fourteenth-century Renaissance Italy, there are multiple later interventions both as small-scale inpainting as well as extensive overpainting of various parts of the original Crucifixion composition. 

Find the paper here