Artists' pigments in illuminated medieval manuscript

International audienceWhen illuminated, manuscripts can be considered as galleries of paintings, kept in better conditions than any other artworks from the Middle Age. They can give precious information about the palettes used by medieval painters. Up to now, the chemical analyses contribute to a more complete understanding of the medieval illuminated manuscript. As sampling can be dangerous for so delicate works of art with very thin paint layers, a non-invasive approach has to be chosen. This talk will present the use of chemical imaging to study a middle 15 th century illuminated manuscript leaf on parchment illustrating Petrarch's text and representing Dame Fortune (Figure 1). We used the combination of visible/near infrared (400-1000 nm) reflectance imaging spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence imaging spectroscopy to reveal the palette used by ancient illuminators, including inorganic pigments (mineral or synthetic) and organic dyes. Moreover, it was possible to determine the original pigments used to paint the hidden coat of arms