Pigments, dyes, and black enamel—the colorants of reverse paintings on glass

Abstract

Nondestructive analyses of medieval reverse paintings on glass revealed the same dyes and pigments customarily used in panel paintings. However, there is one exception: the black colorant is not a carbon-based pigment, but black enamel. In this respect, the stylistic as well as the technical influence of stained glass artwork can clearly be seen on reverse paintings on glass. However, there is a crucial difference: in reverse paintings, the black enamel is not fired onto the glass but painted (cold painting). Additional analyses confirmed these findings. Based on these results, the art form "reverse painting on glass" has technically to be characterized as a mixture of "stained glass" and "panel painting" that nonetheless develops into a genre of its own.

What is hidden underneath the black and brown on Silesian glassware? About the archaeometric challenge in the study of painted decorations on late-medieval and post-medieval finds from Wrocław, SW of Poland

“…This indicates the use of two sources of green colour in the enamel in question. This is consistent with literature reports dealing with the subject of green paint composition (Hahn et al 2009;Holakooei 2013;Hložek & Trojek 2015). In turn, when considering the change from green to practically black, differences in the content of iron and sulphur were observed, which are respectively two times and three times higher in the black parts of the once green painting.…”

A new fundamental parameter based calibration procedure for micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometers

“…Since the validation presented in this work shows very good results, quantitative analyses of unknown samples have already been successfully performed in different archeometric projects [35][36][37].…”

Kandinsky’s fragile art: a multidisciplinary investigation of four early reverse glass paintings (1911–1914) by Wassily Kandinsky

“…Several publications deal with 14th to 19th-century reverse glass paintings including sampling of the objects [1][2][3][4]. Transportation and sampling of paintings is often restricted due to the fragility of the glass support, hence non-invasive methods have been carried out to collect information on the materials [5,6]. Recently, non-invasive analyses of 20th-century reverse glass paintings has been published [7][8][9].…”

“…Four of his early reverse glass paintings (Auferstehung, 1911, Allerheiligen II 1911, Rudern, c. 1912, Apokalyptischer Reiter II, 1914 were selected and their iconography, painting technique and painting materials were examined. The main objectives of this study are: (1) to work out the starting date of modern reverse glass paintings (2) to discuss the importance of this technique for Kandinsky's oeuvre, (3) to examine the painting technique, (4) to highlight the influence of folkloristic 19th-century reverse glass paintings from Bavaria, and (5) to conduct non-invasive, in situ spectroscopic analyses to identify the colourants and classify the binders.…”