Pigments and various materials of post - byzantine painting

The Greek word ‘icon’ is commonly used to denote the ritual panel paintings used in the context of orthodox Christian church. On the basis of historical records, the craft of icon painting is thought to have existed from the very beginnings of Christianity, while it peaked artistically during the byzantine period. As far as the modern-day Greece areas are concerned, the craft continued to be practiced throughout the post-byzantine period (~1453-1830) and the outcome includes numerous skillfully crafted icons. The materials and techniques of icon painting are described in detail in the ‘Hermeneia’, a technical manual written by an early 18th century Greek Hieromonk. The recent revival of the interest towards byzantine painting led to the composition of other similar technical texts, while during the last few decades icons’ materials have been identified through physicochemical investigations. Nevertheless, the pertinent scientific or/and on limited number of artefacts. Consequently, several material aspects –such as the type/purity and the structural characteristics of metal leaves, the frequency of the use of several artificial inorganic pigments etc- have not yet been examined in detail. In the framework of the present PhD research programme, more than sixty portable icons have been subjected to detailed analysis with emphasis on inorganic materials (such as pigments) and certain fabrication features. The analytical protocol included in situ X-ray fluorescence analyses as well as laboratory microsample examination and analyses by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The preparatory/ground materials along with the metal-leaf decorations and relevant mordants, as well as the inorganic pigments have been thoroughly investigated. Analytical results indicate that post-Byzantine craftsmen had access to a reasonable variety of inorganic pigments, some of which were possibly collected by local sources. In the majority of the examined icons high-purity gold leaves have been applied, while silver leaves were used in a far less extend and mostly beyond the end of the 17th century. Moreover, it turned out that during the post-byzantine period a few Greek icons were manufactured by using techniques more involved than those described in surviving Greek technical texts such as the ‘Hermeneia’. Finally, on the basis of pertinent references in technical manuals and analytical data derived from the examined icons, the icon ‘conservation’ practices of the post-byzantine craftsmen were exploite