Project description
The transition from egg-based to oil-based paints in Renaissance art
The great period of Renaissance art in 15th century Italy was marked by the transition from tempera to oil painting. Pigments used at the time were not solely mixed with egg or oil-based binding media. Artists continued to use egg in parallel or in combination with oil, and prepared paints of complex chemistry, which is still not understood today. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the ARIAH project will introduce high-resolution X-ray Raman Scattering (XRS), XRS chemical speciation imaging, and scanning transmission x-ray microscopy, in combination with mass spectrometry to decipher and map the atomic- and molecular-level chemical composition of Reinassance paintings. Results, to be made openly available, will shed new light on this transition.
Objective
A revolution in art happened in the 15th century: The transition from tempera to oil painting in Italy marked the beginning of the great period of Renaissance art and the creation of some of the most revered masterpieces of all time. Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Leonardo da Vinci, are examples of artists who were shifting away from the use of predominantly egg-based tempera to the use of oil. But how did this transition occur? The simplistic assumption that pigments were solely either mixed with egg or oil-based binding media has been rejected. Artists continued to use egg in parallel or in combination with oil, and prepared paints and binding media of complex chemistry, which is still not understood today. The overarching goal of ARIAH (A Revolution In Art History) is to discover the atomic- and molecular-level chemical composition of mixed media paint layers (oil-protein mixtures) in original Renaissance artefacts and map the distribution of their constituents at the nanoscale, to understand the revolution of painting techniques in Renaissance Italy. The project will tackle this challenge by introducing, for the first time, high-resolution X-ray Raman Scattering (XRS), 2D and 3D XRS chemical speciation imaging, and scanning transmission x-ray microscopy in combination with mass spectrometry of painting samples. We will establish an analytical protocol based on the techniques, which will be released to the scientific community to serve as a benchmark for the molecular and atomic-level understanding of artworks. Atomic and molecular data will contribute to the most ambitious objective of understanding the materiality and the technology of the transition from egg to oil in Renaissance Italy. Results of this interdisciplinary research will be widely disseminated within the art history, chemical science and physical science communities by following an open access policy.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities arts visual arts
- humanities history and archaeology history
- social sciences political sciences political transitions revolutions
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- humanities arts art history
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
56126 PISA
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.