Provenance study of Gothic paintings from North‐East Slovakia by handheld x‐ray fluorescence, microscopy and x‐ray microdiffraction

Abstract

Abstract During the restoration of the Altarpiece of Matejovce, Northern Slovakia, a unique example of the so‐called Cracow school of painting of European 15th century, noninvasive handheld x‐ray fluorescence was used for in situ measurements in restoration probes with the aim to distinguish original paints and repaints. The layer stratigraphy was then precisely described on cross‐sections of microsamples by light and electron microscopes. Material composition of original Gothic layers was also investigated by powder x‐ray microdiffraction and compared with materials used on different parts of the Altarpiece of Bardejov, North‐East Slovakia, and on the unique canvas painting ‘The death of St. Acacius and Ten Thousands Martyrs of Mt. Ararat’ devoted by some historians to the same workshop. We found that Altarpiece of Matejovce was partially repainted maybe in 18th and namely in 19th centuries with no important influence to the original artistic composition of figures. We confirmed that only two triangular gables from the Altarpiece of Bardejov can be assigned to the workshop of the Master of Matejovce altarpiece. In the case of canvas painting, its belonging to the same workshop was definitely approved by this materials research. The most important feature was that Master of Matejovce altarpiece used Zn‐dolomites containing iron red, which could come from oxidation zones of carbonate‐hosted ZnPb deposits near Cracow, Poland, and azurite with admixtures of Cu and Zn arsenates possibly from the Slovak Cu deposit at L'ubietová. The preference of regional sources of pigments distinguishes the ‘Cracow school’ from other workshops acting simultaneously in the same region. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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