A multianalytical study of oil binding media and pigments on Bohemian Panel Paintings from the first half of the 14th century

This paper deals with the results of a broad-based survey of both the binding media and the pigments used during the first half of the 14th century on Bohemian panel paintings from the collections of the National Gallery in Prague. The work is focused on the specific use of oil binding media and pigments in the workshop of the Master of the Vyšší Brod Cycle, the most important painter in the period around the 1340s in Bohemia. Extensive laboratory examinations of the micro-samples were executed by means of optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy with an energy-dispersing detector (SEM/EDS), micro-Raman spectroscopy (MRS), histochemical staining (HS) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The data obtained by the multianalytical approach pointed out that the oil binding medium was used as the principal medium within colour paint layers in the Bohemian panel paintings as early as around 1340-1350. This unique identification of oil binding media opens new possibilities for the interpretation of the painting technique in Central Europe in the 14th century.