THE PALETTE OF A XVI CENTURY VENETIAN ARTIST: MATERIALS AND METHODS OF GIOVANNI DA MEL

Abstract

Giovanni da Mel (ca. 1480 - 1549) was an Italian Renaissance artist, who worked in the region of Veneto and was devoted to the fresco technique in his family workshop. In his later years, he painted the altarpiece for the church of Trichiana, in the Prealps of Belluno (Veneto). This painting is the only one on canvas acknowledged by the artist. For this reason, the main question arisen by the art historians was if he simply employed the fresco materials and related methodologies, or if he adopted any variation. Thanks to the collaboration between restorers and scientists, it has been possible to deeply study this peculiar painting. Many diagnostic techniques, most of them non-invasive, has been used in order to characterize the altarpiece for art materials. Starting from the imaging techniques (i.e. raking light, UV fluorescence, IR reflectography and X-ray radiography), passing through the point ones, such as X-ray fluorescence and spectrophotometry, many information have been obtained, regarding not only the material used, but also the conservative state and the history of the painting. All these measurements have been performed in-situ by means of portable instruments. When the non-invasive techniques were not sufficient for a comprehensive analysis, 12 small samples were taken and analyzed under optical and electronic microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, some of them have been analyzed with microchemical tests in order to identify binders. Results of the analysis on this painting and their comparison with some frescoes of the Da Mel’s workshop, show both differences and affinities in the art technique