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Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

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Titian r&d 91 aZI!;! on aQot<br />

12.1.199:3. 80/5,.. target. 240 SOkV, ::I. grru'<br />

eee. AW<br />

F.<br />

Pb<br />

A.<br />

Pb<br />

Figure 4. XRF spectrum if purple area on seat of Venus. High peaks fo r cobalt <strong>and</strong> arsenic suggest<br />

the presence if smalt.<br />

light microscopy of pigment samples taken from those areas showed them to<br />

contain birefringent particles with a high refractive index (n> 1.66) that<br />

matched lead-white laboratory st<strong>and</strong>ard. This conclusion was confirmed by<br />

staining cross sections with Lugol stain. X-radiographs of the painting show<br />

how Titian used the lead white, particularly to enhance the contrasts in his<br />

composition. It helped to make Adonis's silhouette st<strong>and</strong> out against lighter<br />

areas in the sky, <strong>and</strong> emphasized the reddish blush on the face of Venus against<br />

the bright crimson shirt of Adonis (Fig. 5).<br />

Figure 5. X-radiograph if Venus <strong>and</strong><br />

Adonis, showing Titian's use of lead-whitebased<br />

highlights.<br />

A sample taken from the sky area showed that there was not very much<br />

pigment present. The sky appeared to be executed in thin glazes over an<br />

anhydrite gesso ground, with the white of the ground showing through. The<br />

finding of the lathlike anhydrite particles came as a surprise since anhydrite<br />

is generally considered to have been used in more southern areas of Italy. In<br />

the Venice region, the dihydrate fo rm was usual. We do not yet have a satisfactory<br />

explanation for this. In samples taken from the sky area, a relatively<br />

large amount of splintery, isotropic particles with low refractive index<br />

(n

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