I have been analyzing the results from the recent X-ray analyses from the Synchrotron in Melbourne. The project aimed at scanning an oil painting considered an original by Parmigianino and painted about 1527 in Bologna. Previous scanning microscopy and diffraction investigations of one small fragment of pigment were inconclusive in identifying the green colorant of the woman's robe. The Synchrotron provided full element maps across the entire canvas, the first for a Parmigianino painting (if that is what it is). All the maps, except zinc (Zn) are consistent with pigments of the Renaissance. Art historians know that zinc oxide and carbonate were used as white pigments manufactured in the 18th and 19th centuries so it seems at first glance that the painting is a copy. However, the Synchrotron only identifies elements and not minerals so while Zn is present the actual pigment is unknown.
No green zinc-rich mineral is known except associated with copper in a form of malachite (rosasite), a natural carbonate used by Renaissance artists. The next phase of the research is to identify the minerals present in the woman's robe.
Other indications from the Synchrotron analyses indicate that the painting is original with possible later modifications, so the Mistress and Child painting could be of Renaissance age.
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