An investigation into the synthesis of cadmium sulfide pigments for a better understanding of their reactivity in artworks

Ghirardello, Marta; Otero, Vanessa; Comelli, Daniela; Toniolo, Lucia; Dellasega, David; Nessi, Luca; Cantoni, Matteo; Valentini, Gianluca; Nevin, Austin; Melo, Maria João

doi:10.1016/j.dyepig.2020.108998

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This process is fostered by environmental conditions [ 42 ] and by the presence of chlorine residues [ 40 , 41 , 43 ]. Research is still ongoing to assess how the degradation rate is influenced by the synthesis method, and in particular by the resulting pigment properties (e.g., particle size) and composition (presence of residues/secondary products) [ 44 ]. Further research on historical samples and paint mock-ups is still required to expand our knowledge on other factors influencing the degradation pathways of cadmium yellow paints.…”

Section: Some Recent Examples Of Studies Performed Within the Bag Pro...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The “Historical Materials BAG”: A New Facilitated Access to Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Analyses for Cultural Heritage Materials at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

et al. 2022

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The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) has recently commissioned the new Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS). The gain in brightness as well as the continuous development of beamline instruments boosts the beamline performances, in particular in terms of accelerated data acquisition. This has motivated the development of new access modes as an alternative to standard proposals for access to beamtime, in particular via the “block allocation group” (BAG) mode. Here, we present the recently implemented “historical materials BAG”: a community proposal giving to 10 European institutes the opportunity for guaranteed beamtime at two X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) beamlines—ID13, for 2D high lateral resolution XRPD mapping, and ID22 for high angular resolution XRPD bulk analyses—with a particular focus on applications to cultural heritage. The capabilities offered by these instruments, the specific hardware and software developments to facilitate and speed-up data acquisition and data processing are detailed, and the first results from this new access are illustrated with recent applications to pigments, paintings, ceramics and wood.

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Section: Some Recent Examples Of Studies Performed Within the Bag Pro...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The “Historical Materials BAG”: A New Facilitated Access to Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Analyses for Cultural Heritage Materials at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

et al. 2022

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“…Over a hundred oil tubes of this brand are conserved in Miró's studios, six of which are of Cadmium Yellow Lemon No.1, suggesting that this was one of his favourite brands. The low crystallinity of the pigment may be related to the method used for synthesis of the pigment [19], a method that has enhanced the reactivity of the resulting paints. An inscription on some of the boxes containing the paints suggests that they could have been purchased in 1966, although no information is available on the synthesis methods used by the manufacturer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, studies on model paints have demonstrated that the degradation of CdY is triggered by light and/or high relative humidity (≥ 95%) and that Cd 1 − x Zn x S solid solutions are more susceptible to photo-oxidation than pure CdS. Moreover, residues of the synthesis (e.g., Cl species [8,13]) and early imperfect synthesis processes [10,14,19] may play a role in CdS paint stability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study of Cadmium Yellow paints from Joan Miró’s paintings and studio materials preserved at the Fundació Miró Mallorca

Lobon¹,

Ghirardello

Darder

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The deterioration of cadmium yellow paints in artworks by Joan Miró (1893–1983) and from painting materials from his studios in Mallorca (Spain) was investigated for the first time. Artworks showed discolouration and chalking of paints containing cadmium yellow, altering the colour balance of the works. Analysis of samples from these artworks and from tube paints and palettes containing degraded and non-degraded cadmium yellow paints showed that degraded paints are composed of poorly crystalline CdS/Cd1 − xZnxS with a low percentage of Zn in an oil binding medium. Cadmium sulfates were identified as the main deterioration products and their distribution in the paint layers was mapped using SR µXANES and µXRD techniques. Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements demonstrated that highly degraded samples display a peculiar pink/orange emission with microsecond lifetime. In agreement with recent studies on altered cadmium paints, these evidences suggest that the cause of the chemical change of the paint should be related with its manufacturing method, which affects the degree of crystallinity of the resulting pigment and includes the presence of zinc, besides the environmental conditions in which artworks have been exposed. Finally, it is worth noting that the degraded paints in the analysed Miró artworks have a chemical composition very similar to the one of the paint in the tube Cadmium Yellow Lemon No. 1 by Lucien Lefebvre-Foinet. Indeed, paint tubes of this brand were found in the studio, linking the use of this product with Miro’s degraded artworks.

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“…The poor crystallinity of the now-brownish yellow and the presence of Cd(OH)Cl can be ascribed to the production method of the pigment, in particular to wet synthesis processes that produced a poorly crystalline pigment with an abundance of synthesis residues (Leone et al, 2005; Mass et al, 2013 a ; Levin et al, 2019; Ghirardello et al, 2020 b ). In previous work (Ghirardello et al, 2020 b ), we have detected chlorine contaminations only in pigments synthesized from CdCl 2 . Therefore, it is reasonable to ascribe the presence of Cl to the synthesis method.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of Synchrotron Radiation-Based Micro-Analysis on Cadmium Yellows in Pablo Picasso's Femme

Ghirardello

González

Monico³

et al. 2022

Microscopy and Microanalysis

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The cultural heritage community is increasingly exploring synchrotron radiation (SR) based techniques for the study of art and archaeological objects. When considering heterogeneous and complex micro-samples, such as those from paintings, the combination of different SR X-ray techniques is often exploited to overcome the intrinsic limitations and sensitivity of the single technique. Less frequently, SR X-ray analyses are combined with SR micro-photoluminescence or micro-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, which provide complementary information on the molecular composition, offering a unique integrated analysis approach. Although the spatial correlation between the maps obtained with different techniques is not straightforward due to the different volumes probed by each method, the combination of the information provides a greater understanding and insight into the paint chemistry. In this work, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the combination of X-ray techniques and SR-based photoluminescence through the study of two paint micro-samples taken from Pablo Picasso's Femme (1907). The painting contains two cadmium yellow paints (based on CdS): one relatively intact and one visibly degraded. SR micro-analyses demonstrated that the two Cd-yellow paints differ in terms of structure, chemical composition, and photoluminescence properties. In particular, on the basis of the combination of different SR measurements, we hypothesize that the degraded yellow is based on nanocrystalline CdS with high presence of Cd(OH)Cl. These two characteristics have enhanced the reactivity of the paint and strongly influenced its stability.

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An investigation into the synthesis of cadmium sulfide pigments for a better understanding of their reactivity in artworks

Cited by 13 publications

References 33 publications

The “Historical Materials BAG”: A New Facilitated Access to Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Analyses for Cultural Heritage Materials at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

The “Historical Materials BAG”: A New Facilitated Access to Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Analyses for Cultural Heritage Materials at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

A study of Cadmium Yellow paints from Joan Miró’s paintings and studio materials preserved at the Fundació Miró Mallorca

Application of Synchrotron Radiation-Based Micro-Analysis on Cadmium Yellows in Pablo Picasso's Femme

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