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Updated: Apr 24, 2026

Applying Hyperspectral Reflectance Imaging to Investigate the Palettes and the Techniques of Painters
Published on: June 18, 2021
Raman spectroscopic study of "The Malatesta": a Renaissance painting?
Howell G M Edwards1, Peter Vandenabeele2, Timothy J Benoy3
1Chemical and Forensic Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 1DP, UK.
Abstract:
Raman spectroscopic analysis of the pigments on an Italian painting described as a "Full Length Portrait of a Gentleman", known also as the "Malatesta", and attributed to the Renaissance period has established that these are consistent with the historical research provenance undertaken earlier. Evidence is found for the early 19th Century addition of chrome yellow to highlighted yellow ochre areas in comparison with a similar painting executed in 1801 by Sir Thomas Lawrence of John Kemble in the role of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The Raman data are novel in that no analytical studies have previously been made on this painting and reinforces the procedure whereby scientific analyses are accompanied by parallel historical research.
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