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I. Karapanagiotis, S. Wei, E. Minopoulou, D. Mantzouris, E. Rosenberg, S. Stassinopoulos:
"Analytical investigation of the painting techniques used in icons of the Cretan school of iconography";
Poster: Art 2008 - 9th International Conference on Non-Destructive Testing of Art, Jerusalem; 25.05.2008 - 30.05.2008; in: "Art 2008 - 9th International Conference on Non-Destructive Testing of Art: Conference Proceedings", (2008), Paper-Nr. 223, 9 S.

The painting techniques used in seven icons (15th - 17th cent.) of the Cretan School of iconography were investigated in detail. Microsamples (<<1mg) were extracted from the artworks, which are linked to some prominent representatives of the Cretan School. The cross section of the microsamples were observed by Optical
Microscopy (OM) in the Vis and in the UV light to reveal (i) the existing stratigraphies and (ii) any later interventions that were performed on top of the original colouring layers. Micro-Fourier Transform Infra Red (μFTIR) and μRAMAN spectroscopies were employed primarily for the identification of the inorganic pigments and for the speculation of the origins of the organic materials. The identification of the latter (dyestuffs, binding media and varnishes) was achieved by High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to a Photodiode Array Detector (HPLC-PDA) and Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The results revealed the rich variety of the materials and the sophisticated painting techniques applied by the painters of the Cretan School. Organic dyes, such as kermes, cochineal, madder, soluble redwood and indigoid dyes were used as
exclusive colouring matters (or glazes) or in mixtures with inorganic pigments, such as lead white and carbon black. The use of gelatine in the gesso ground was first observed by OM and then confirmed by amino acid quantitative measurements performed by GC-MS. The latter showed that in some icons egg yolk was used as binding medium for the painting layers. Other organic materials which were found in the samples are linseed stand oil, walnut oil, wax, turpentine and synthetic resins.

http://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_173018.pdf