Fleury Richard was a colorist painter of the early 19th century. He practiced the oil technique inspired by the Renaissance at a time when advances in chemistry were introducing many new synthetic pigments. His color-mixing cabinet has been kept intact at the Musée des Beaux Arts de Lyon. This original study is based on the analysis of more than 40 color powders using different spectroscopic techniques (X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy), color index estimation, and the comparison of the results obtained from three pictural works painted by the artist. It allows us (i) to identify and reference the pigmented powders and pictural choices in connection with historical manuscripts describing the artist’s practice, and (ii) to identify the most judicious analysis methods and question the difficulty of analyzing paintings in a non-destructive way, where pigments are put into a matrix and mixed.

An art/science collaboration has enabled a contemporary artist to re-discover an age-old technique used by glaze-masters such as Leonardo da Vinci. The process uses dark bitumen, white mineral (...)