Seite - 226 - in The Vienna Genesis - Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
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226 The miniatures of the Vienna Genesis: colour identification and painters’ palettes
The green pigment is a mixture of azurite with orpiment. Highlights were applied in orpi-
ment or in a mixture of orpiment and lead white. Copper ions have migrated to the other
side of the folio, visible by darkening of the parchment. The copper ions have degraded the
parchment, like for example on folio 14, page 28. On this folio, the deterioration has led to
large losses on the miniature depicting the dream of Joseph (Fig. 28). The mixture of azur-
ite with orpiment is visible under the microscope at 10x magnification. The presence of
azurite and orpiment was confirmed by XRF through the distinct detection of copper and
arsenic. Indigo was added for darker green tones in tree leaves and on the wheat. Indigo
and azurite are confirmed by FORS. On the trees, shaded leaves were painted in azurite.
Pink highlights on top of the trees were added with a mixture of madder and lead white.
As a continuum, painter C also used red lead as red pigment and madder mixed with
lead white for pink areas. The way to paint highlights and shades is similar to painters A
and B. Pink highlights on trees or stones are specific for artist C. After Jacob’s encounter
with the angel at night, the shine of the morning sun turns stones and trees pinkish and
reddish (Fig. 29). Violet tones are in accordance with the choice of blue pigment a mixture
of azurite, madder and lead white.
Similar to painters A and B, painter C also used earth pigments for brown tones. He
worked with a broad spectrum of mixtures and shades. As mentioned above it is difficult
to differentiate between the earth pigments. For light brown tones, yellow ochre and or-
piment seem to have been applied. For red brown, the painter possibly used mixtures of
yellow and red ochre with red lead. Dark brown tones were achieved by mixtures with a
brown earth pigment. Fig. 29: Miniature on
folio 12, page
24, Jacob’s en-
counter with
the angel.
Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0
The Vienna Genesis
Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Titel
- The Vienna Genesis
- Untertitel
- Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Herausgeber
- Christa Hofmann
- Verlag
- Böhlau Verlag
- Ort
- Wien
- Datum
- 2020
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-205-21058-0
- Abmessungen
- 17.3 x 24.5 cm
- Seiten
- 348