Identification of pigments used in painting and sculpture: possibilities and problems

In Portuguese

The pigments are one of the most important materials in paintings and polychromed sculptures because they are the responsible for the color and thus the expressive capacity of such works is largely based on them. Therefore, its identification is indispensable in any material or technical study.

There are several methods for the identification of pigments, but they all have advantages and problems. In addition to these aspects, the choice of the methods best suited for a particular case should also take into account the specific information to be obtained and the problems to be solved.

The different types of methods will be presented in a general and organized way and cases where they proved to be the most advantageous and, when relevant, the limitations of the obtained results will be discussed. Particular emphasis will be given to methods of optical and electron microscopy.