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Study of Painting Materials and Techniques in the 18th Century St.Athanasius Church in Moschopolis, Albania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Eleni Pavlidou ,
N. Civici ,
E. Caushi ,
L. Anastasiou ,
T. Zorba ,
E. Hatzikraniotis  and
K. M. Paraskevopoulos
Eleni Pavlidou
Affiliation:
elpavlid@auth.gr, ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI, PHYSICS, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Solid State Physics, THESSALONIKI, 54124, Greece, +302310998569
N. Civici
Affiliation:
ncivici@yahoo.com, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Tirana, N/A, Albania
E. Caushi
Affiliation:
ncivici@yahoo.com, Institute of Cultural Monuments, Tirana, N/A, Albania
L. Anastasiou
Affiliation:
an_ln@yahoo.com, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Physics, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece
T. Zorba
Affiliation:
zorba@auth.gr, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Physics, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece
E. Hatzikraniotis
Affiliation:
evris@physics.auth.gr, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Physics, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece
K. M. Paraskevopoulos
Affiliation:
kpar@auth.gr, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Physics, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece
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Abstract

In this paper are presented the studies of the paint materials and the technique used in 18th century wall paintings, originated from the orthodox church of St Athanasius, in the city of Maschopolis, a flourishing economical and cultural center, in Albania. The church was painted in 1745 by Konstantinos and Athanasios Zografi, and during the last years, restoration activities are being performed at the church. Samples that included plasters and pigments of different colors were collected from important points of the wall paintings. Additionally, as some parts of the wall-paintings were over-painted, the analysis was extended to the compositional characterization of these areas. The identification of the used materials was done by using complementary analytical methods such as Optical Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDS) and X-ray fluorescence (TXRF).

The presence of calcite in almost all the pigments is indicative for the use of the fresco technique at the studied areas, while the detection of gypsum and calcium oxalate, indicates an environmental degradation along with a biodegradation. Common pigments used in this area at 15-16th centuries, such as cinnabar, green earth, manganese oxide, carbon black and calcite were identified.

Keywords

infrared (IR) spectroscopyscanning electron microscopy (SEM)x-ray fluorescence
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1047: Symposium Y – Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology VIII , 2007 , 1047-Y03-05
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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