Multi-technical analysis as a tool to investigate structural species in the “replica” of First Mass in Brazil painting by Sebastião Vieira Fernandes

• Multi-technical analysis were employed to characterize structural species.
• FTIR and μ-FTIR measurements were made within 500–4000 cm−1 range.
• The oil profile used in the painting was characterized by GC-MS.
• Elemental composition of the pigments used by Meirelles and Fernandes are similar.

Constituent materials of the painting “Primeira Missa no Brasil” by Sebastião Vieira Fernandes, which belongs to the Historical Museum of Santa Catarina, were analyzed by using imaging through UV-induced visible luminescence, FTIR, μ-FTIR, EDX and GC-MS with the aim of characterizing the materials and correlating them with Victor Meirelles’ pigment elemental analysis reported in the literature. The images obtained under ultraviolet light showed alterations in the painting’s aging process and instances of possible repainting confirmed by μ-FTIR, where characteristic bands of barium sulfate were identified. EDS analyses showed that there is a correlation between the elemental composition of pigments used by Meirelles and Fernandes, especially for lead, associated with lead white and proven by FTIR, used for giving a light tone to the paint, and found in all the analyzed samples. The GC-MS results revealed the presence of the mixture of linseed and animal oil as the main binding components with the predominance of palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linolenic acids.

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