Istituto di Fisica Applicata Nello Carrara - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.
Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2013 Mar;104:527-37. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2012.11.094. Epub 2012 Dec 5.
A comprehensive understanding of both the chemical composition and physical behaviour of modern materials is an important consideration in devising correct conservation treatments for contemporary artworks. To this end, national and international research projects and networks have been established that deal mainly with the preservation, conservation, and understanding of materials used by contemporary artists. This paper focuses on the self-taught artist Fernando Melani (1907-1985), one of the precursors of the Poor Art artistic movement in Italy, and for the first time provides a scientific viewpoint on the artist's materials and works. The analyses, which mainly focus on the pigments/dyes found in his home-studio, were carried out primarily by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared Fibre Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-Vis-NIR FORS). This paper emphasises the performance of FT-IR and FORS in the identification of contemporary artistic materials, since these two techniques have been found to produce highly complementary data. The use of both of these was required in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the composition of Melani's materials. Furthermore, one of his artworks, named by Melani himself with its inventory number N. Inv. 2625 (1981), was investigated in situ with the sole use of the FORS technique. The results showed that Melani used traditional inorganic pigments as well as modern organic dyes. Calcite and barite were used as fillers and extenders. Sulphur and abrasive powder were also found, thus confirming his use of a large variety of non-conventional artists' materials.
全面了解现代材料的化学成分和物理性能，是为当代艺术品设计正确保护处理方案时需要考虑的重要因素。为此，已经建立了国家和国际研究项目和网络，主要涉及当代艺术家使用的材料的保存、保护和理解。本文重点介绍自学成才的艺术家费尔南多·梅拉尼（Fernando Melani，1907-1985 年），他是意大利贫穷艺术运动的先驱之一，本文首次从科学角度对这位艺术家的材料和作品进行了研究。分析主要集中在他的家庭工作室中发现的颜料/染料，主要使用傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT-IR）和紫外、可见和近红外光纤反射光谱（UV-Vis-NIR FORS）进行分析。本文强调了 FT-IR 和 FORS 在识别当代艺术材料方面的性能，因为这两种技术已被证明可以产生高度互补的数据。为了全面了解梅拉尼材料的组成，需要同时使用这两种技术。此外，还仅使用 FORS 技术对他的一件名为 N. Inv. 2625（1981 年）的艺术品进行了现场调查。结果表明，梅拉尼使用了传统的无机颜料和现代有机染料。方解石和重晶石被用作填充剂和增量剂。还发现了硫和磨料粉，从而证实了他使用了大量非传统的艺术家材料。
