0000000000284072
AUTHOR
Megna Bartolomeo
“SAGOME” IN SICILY: SUBJECTS, FUNCTIONS, TECHNIQUES AND THE CASE STUDY OF NICOSIA
This article analyzes the iconographic subjects, the practical functions and the compositional techniques of a particular form of artistic representation that was popular between the 18th and 19th centuries: these are the painted “sagome” (cut-outs) found in Sicily. Particular attention is paid to a series of six paintings, unknown until now, executed on shaped wooden panels and painted on both sides, which are stored in the library of the Convent of the Capuchin Friars Minor of Nicosia (Enna).
STUDY AND RESTORATION OF A RAPHAELESQUE COPY: THE MADONNA DEL VELO PAINTING FROM PALAZZO CHIAROMONTE IN PALERMO, ITALY
The article deals with the Raphael’s lost artwork Madonna del Velo, through the study of its copies ranging between the 16th and 19th century, and this allows us to reconstruct the original appearance of the lost image. The interest of this subject arose from one of these copies belonging to the art collection of the University of Palermo, stored in Palazzo Chiaromonte called ‘Steri’.
MICROSCOPIC TECHNIQUES AND A MULTI-ANALYTICAL APPROACH TO CHARACTERIZE THE MATERIALS OF TWO RUSSIAN ICONS
Two 19th century Russian icons, from the Museo Diocesano of Palermo, were analysed by UV photography, X-ray fluorescence, energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF), optical microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy, combined with energy dispersive x-ray analysis, (SEM/EDS). The multi-analytical study of the icons “Protezione della Madre di Dio” (Pokrov’s Icon, Protection of Holy Mother of God) and ‘’Madre di Dio Gioia di Tutti gli Afflitti’’, (Holy Mother of God, Joy of all the afflicted), have been performed to reveal materials and technological features of the original painting of the 19th century as well as the materials used during past restoration works.…
Evaluation of accelerated weathering effects on the surface of two coloured sicilian building stones
The dark grey Breccia di Billiemi and the Ammonitico Rosso of Piana degli Albanesi, widely employed outdoor and indoor in monuments in Sicily, undergo significant alteration processes, affecting not only the chromatic aspect but also the state of aggregation. In a previous paper [1] the effects of accelerated weathering in laboratory was compared with natural ageing in the urban environment. The study included the description of lithofacies, the characterisation by means of petrographic and physical-chemical techniques and accelerated weathering experiments on both lithotypes.
MATERIALS AND ARTISTIC TECHNIQUES OF THE FLEMISH WOODEN ALTAR FROM DEPOSITS OF ABATELLIS PALACE MUSEUM (PALERMO, ITALY)
In the frame of the restoration intervention on a 16th century wooden altar performed by the experts of the Gallery of Art for the Sicilian Region ‘Palazzo Abatellis’, a deep scientific investigation of the artwork has been made by a scientific team in order to individuate the constitutive materials and techniques. The outcomes from the multi-analytical analyses supported the scheduling and monitoring of the conservation treatments and revealed the pictorial materials and underdrawing techniques typical of the artistic production for this typology of work of art widespread between the 15th and 16th centuries in central and northern Europe.
THE DEPOSIZIONE PAINTING FROM S. CATERINA MONASTERY IN PALERMO, ITALY: A TECHNICAL STUDY ON A ‘TRASPARENTE’ PAINTING
The article analyzes the Deposizione painting of Giovanni Patricolo from S. Caterina monastery in Palermo, a painting realized by a particular technique of artistic representation attested in the 19th century: the ‘trasparente’ paintings, a specific kind of ephemeral apparatuses. The focus of this study is to shed light on the practical functions and the chronological path of this work of art, connecting it with the specific executive technique of the manufact. Furthermore, this research was a preliminary study aimed at designing an appropriate intervention for the restoration and conservation of the painting and a proper valorization of this artwork.