Analysis and structural characterization of pigments and materials used in Nicolae Grigorescu heritage paintings

•First exhaustive investigation of pigments and materials used by the famous Romanian painter Nicolae Grigorescu•First XPS analysis performed on ultramarine samples taken from paintings surface layers•First scientific paper that proves the use of natural ultramarine by a painter belonging to the impressionist school

The combination of various mobile, non-invasive techniques (IR reflectography technique, optical microscopy, XRF, Raman and NIR spectroscopies) and lab-based devices (FTIR and XPS spectroscopies, SEM-EDX microscopy) lead to the first exhaustive investigation of pigments and materials used by the famous Romanian painter Nicolae Grigorescu in three cultural heritage paintings. The study of a large number of spots and samples allowed a rigorous analysis and a far-reaching insight into his work.

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