Combined 14C Analysis of Canvas and Organic Binder for Dating a Painting
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Author / Producer
Date
2018-02
Publication Type
Review Article
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yes
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Abstract
The use of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for age determinations of paintings is growing due to decreasing sample size requirements. However, as only the support material is usually dated, the validity of the results may be questioned. This work describes a novel sampling and preparation technique for dating the natural organic binder using radiocarbon (14C) AMS. In the particular case of oil paintings, the natural oil used has a high probability of being representative of the time of creation, hereby circumventing the problem of the originality of the support material. A multi-technique approach was developed for a detailed characterization of all paint components to identify the binder type as well as pigments and additives present in the sample. The technique was showcased on a painting of the 20th century. The results by 14C AMS dating show that both the canvas and binding medium predate the signed date by 4–5 yr. This could be the time span for keeping painting material in the atelier. The method developed provides, especially given the low amounts of material needed for analysis, a superior precision and accuracy in dating and has potential to become a standard method for oil painting dating.
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Publication status
published
External links
Editor
Book title
Journal / series
Volume
60 (1)
Pages / Article No.
207 - 218
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Event
Edition / version
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
14 C AMS dating; Artwork dating; Binding medium; Sample characterization
Organisational unit
03512 - Günther, Detlef / Günther, Detlef
08619 - Labor für Ionenstrahlphysik (LIP) / Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics (LIP)