Utilizing chemical imaging for paintings: mapping artists’ materials and understanding artistic techniques

Key Points

• This work examines the role of chemical imaging in understanding artists' materials and techniques used in historical paintings.
• Introduced reflectance imaging and X-ray fluorescence imaging spectroscopies.
• Presented case studies on a 15th century Spanish artwork, an Italian Renaissance painting, and a Dutch Golden Age painting.
• Demonstrated the effectiveness of imaging techniques in identifying artists' materials.
• Showed how these techniques can reveal insights into the preservation of artworks.