Technical Study of Miniature Painting by Rosalba Carriera (1673–1757)

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to establish the technique of creating four miniature portraits by Rosalba Carrera (1673–1757) from the collection of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art (The Khanenko Museum) using optical and physicochemical methods and to introduce the results into scientific circulation. The methodology of the work is to use modern methods of analysing works of art in different spectral ranges, including microscopic, ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) studies, X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The scientific novelty is that for the first time a comprehensive study of miniature portraits of the famous Venetian artist Rosalba Carrera from the Khanenko Museum collection is presented, which establishes the technological features of creating miniatures on ivory and their design using various materials, the author's techniques of applying the image of portraits and the identification of pigments of the paint layer. Conclusions. As a result of the research, it was found that ivory was used as a basis for creating the miniatures. Infrared light studies have shown the absence of preliminary drawings, author's changes of composition and hidden signatures on the miniatures. The XRF method confirmed that copper substrates, gilded silver frames, and Venetian glass coverings were used in the design of the art objects. It has been established that the portraits were painted with watercolours using the author's spot method, and the pigments in the paint composition identified by ATR-FTIR correspond to the time of creation of the miniatures in the second quarter of the 18th century, which coincides with the museum attribution. The results obtained can be useful for art historians, restorers, and technology experts for the attribution/re-attribution of works of art of the 18th– 19th centuries.