TY - JOUR
T1 - PIXE measurements of Renaissance silverpoint drawings at VERA
AU - Milota, Petra
AU - Reiche, Ina
AU - Duval, Alain
AU - Forstner, Oliver
AU - Guicharnaud, Hélène
AU - Kutschera, Walter
AU - Merchel, Silke
AU - Priller, Alfred
AU - Schreiner, Manfred
AU - Steier, Peter
AU - Thobois, Elisabeth
AU - Wallner, Anton
AU - Wünschek, Barbara
AU - Golser, Robin
PY - 2008/5
Y1 - 2008/5
N2 - Silverpoint drawings from the Renaissance are among the most precious and rarest treasures of graphical art. Our research group is particularly interested in the analysis of silverpoint drawings by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). A very sensitive and non-destructive analytical method, either spatially resolved synchrotron-radiation induced X-ray fluorescence (SY-XRF) or proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE), is needed to determine the chemical composition of the very faint silver marks on such drawings. Dürer drawings from the collection of the Albertina, Vienna, were analyzed to amend existing data on Dürer drawings. For this purpose an external-beam PIXE setup was installed at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA). It allows to analyze a spot of ∼0.15 mm on the object in air with 3 MeV protons, and to detect the emitted X-rays that are characteristic for the chemical composition with very good sensitivity and without harming the precious objects. After successful measurements on artificial test samples, four original silverpoint drawings were investigated: two portraits from Albrecht Dürer's very early period (self-portrait and portrait of his father) and two drawings from Dürer's sketch book of his travel to the Netherlands 1520/21.
AB - Silverpoint drawings from the Renaissance are among the most precious and rarest treasures of graphical art. Our research group is particularly interested in the analysis of silverpoint drawings by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). A very sensitive and non-destructive analytical method, either spatially resolved synchrotron-radiation induced X-ray fluorescence (SY-XRF) or proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE), is needed to determine the chemical composition of the very faint silver marks on such drawings. Dürer drawings from the collection of the Albertina, Vienna, were analyzed to amend existing data on Dürer drawings. For this purpose an external-beam PIXE setup was installed at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA). It allows to analyze a spot of ∼0.15 mm on the object in air with 3 MeV protons, and to detect the emitted X-rays that are characteristic for the chemical composition with very good sensitivity and without harming the precious objects. After successful measurements on artificial test samples, four original silverpoint drawings were investigated: two portraits from Albrecht Dürer's very early period (self-portrait and portrait of his father) and two drawings from Dürer's sketch book of his travel to the Netherlands 1520/21.
KW - Accelerated artificial ageing
KW - Albrecht Dürer
KW - PIXE
KW - Proton irradiation effects
KW - Silverpoint drawings
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=44649122009&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.nimb.2008.03.005
DO - 10.1016/j.nimb.2008.03.005
M3 - Article
SN - 0168-583X
VL - 266
SP - 2279
EP - 2285
JO - Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
JF - Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
IS - 10
ER -