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Bismuth White (Bismuth Oxychloride) and Its Use in Portrait Miniatures Painted by George Engleheart

by Lucia Burgio

Minerals 2024, 14(7), 723; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14070723 - 19 Jul 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1683

This article documents the discovery of ‘bismuth white’ on three late eighteenth-century portrait miniatures in the Victoria and Albert Museum collections, painted by renowned English artist George Engleheart. Metallic bismuth and bismuth-containing minerals have been known for centuries and were used on various types of artistic production, from German Wismutmalerei to medieval manuscripts and Renaissance paintings. However, until now they had never been documented on portrait miniatures, despite documentary evidence that suggests their use. The Raman analysis of the three miniatures shows that bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl, corresponding to the mineral bismoclite) is present, and XRF data prove that this material was used as a white pigment in its own right. This work is a pilot study: it represents the first step in the rediscovery of bismuth white as an artist’s pigment, and hopes to provide encouragement to other institutions to look deeper in their collections and map out the use of a relatively rare white material which until now had not been detected or documented in fine art objects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geomaterials and Cultural Heritage)

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17 pages, 24935 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Non-Invasive Technical Investigation of English Portrait Miniatures Attributed to Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver

by Flavia Fiorillo, Lucia Burgio, Christine Slottved Kimbriel and Paola Ricciardi

Heritage 2021, 4(3), 1165-1181; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage4030064 - 9 Jul 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3684

Abstract

This study presents the results of the technical investigation carried out on several English portrait miniatures painted in the 16th and 17th century by Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver, two of the most famous limners working at the Tudor and Stuart courts. The 23 objects chosen for the analysis, spanning almost the entire career of the two artists, belong to the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum (London) and the Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge). A non-invasive scientific methodology, comprising of stereo and optical microscopies, Raman microscopy, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, was required for the investigation of these small-scale and fragile objects. The palettes and working techniques of the two artists were characterised, focusing in particular on the examination of flesh tones, mouths, and eyes. These findings were also compared to the information written in the treatises on miniature painting circulating during the artists’ lifetime. By identifying the materials and techniques most widely employed by the two artists, this study provides information about similarities and differences in their working methods, which can help to understand their artistic practice as well as contribute to matters of attribution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Materials and Heritage)

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