Unusual Pigments Found in a Painting by Giotto (1266-1337) Reveal Diversity of Materials Used by Medieval Artists

The work of painters from the twelfth fifteenth centuries is often discussed in the context of a short treatise on painting materials and methods written by an artist, Cennino Cennini, around 1390. His manual guides us to knowledge of how artists worked, but this very useful text tends to constrain our understanding of the potential richness and diversity of materials available to artists. Microanalysis of the pigments and binders used in one early panel paintings serves to broaden our view of the range of colorants and mixtures used by early painters. This paper will focus on the recent discovery of an unusual blue and yellow colorant found in the panel painting, Madonna and Child, painted by Giotto around 1320/1330.