Unveiling the underprintings of a late-fifteenth-early-sixteenth century illuminated French incunabulum by infrared reflectography

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Available

online

at

ScienceDirect

www.sciencedirect.com

Original

article

Unveiling

the

underprintings

of

a

late-fifteenth-early-sixteenth

century

illuminated

French

incunabulum

by

infrared

reflectography

Catarina

Miguel

a,∗

_,

_Silvia

_Bottura

a

_,

_Teresa

_Ferreira

a,b

_,

_Antónia

_Fialho

_Conde

c,d

_,

Cristina

Barrocas-Dias

a,b

_,

_António

_Candeias

a,b

a_HERCULES_Laboratory,_Institute_for_Advanced_Studies_and_Research,_Universidade_de_Évora,_Largo_Marquês_de_Marialva_8,_7000-809_Évora,_Portugal b_Chemistry_Department_at_Science_and_Technology_School,_Universidade_de_Évora,_Rua_Romão_Ramalho,_59,_7000-671_Évora,_Portugal

c_CIDEHUS,_Universidade_de_Évora,_Largo_Marquês_de_Marialva_8,_7000-809_Évora,_Portugal

d_History_Department_at_Social_Sciences_School,_Universidade_de_Évora,_Largo_dos_Colegiais_2,_7000-803_Évora,_Portugal

a

r

t

i

c

l

e

i

n

f

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Articlehistory:

Received9April2018 Accepted21May2019 Availableonline21June2019 Keywords: Infraredreflectography Incunabulum Underprintings BookofHours Chemicalanalysis

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Forthefirsttime,IRreflectographywasusedforanalysingtheproductiontechniqueofincunabula, unveil-ingimpressiveresultsconcerningtheidentificationofunderprintingsandtherelationwithitscoloured illuminatedrepresentations.Inthiswork,theproceduresfollowedforproducinga late-fifteenth-early-sixteenthcenturyincunabulumproducedintheParisianworkshopofGermainHardouynheldbythe BibliotecaPúblicadeÉvora(Inc.438)werecharacterizedbyIRreflectography.Unexpectedfeatures con-cerningthecreativeprocessofthehand-colouredprocedureswereachieved,reflectinganilluminator stronglyinfluencedbythedevotionsthatwereinfashionatthetime,unliketheengravingplatesused ontheincunabulum,whoserepresentationsfaithfullyfollowedthereferencesoftheHolyScriptures. Fortheevaluationoftheoriginalityofthepaintedsurfaces,arepresentativepaintedillustration—the AdorationoftheMagi,f.11—wasfullcharacterizedusingamicroscopicandspectroscopicapproach(OM, SEM-EDS,Ramanmicroscopy,!-FTIR).Threerepresentativecoloured-paints(white,blueandgilding)of thepaintedillustrationsfromtheAdorationoftheMagi(f.11),thePietà(f.47v)andthePentecost(f.65v) werecharacterizedandcomparedtoinferonthecontemporaneityofthesepaintedillustrations.

1. Introduction

Beforethecreationoftheprintingprocess,writtenbookswere

mainlyrestrictedtoasmallnumberofpeoplefromthehighest

lev-elsofsociety.Itwasonlyaround1450s,withtheinventionofthe

printingpressbyGuttenberg,thatbooksandwrittenknowledge

becameaccessibletoalargernumberofpeopleacrossEurope.The

firstprintedbooks—theincunabula—werebooksproducedinthe

transitionfromthemedievalhandpaintedtechniquetothe

print-ingprocess.Theirproductionincludedtheprintingofacomposed

textonthesupport(parchmentorpaper),thatcouldbe

comple-mentedwithimagesprintedfromengravedcopperorleadplates,

which,themselves,couldbecomposedofseveralplates[1].Some

oftheseimagescouldbecomplementedwithdecorativeframes,

alsoprintedfromengravedmetallicplates[2].Inthissense,the

sameframecomposition—orfragmentsofcomposition—couldbe

usedtoframeotherimagesalongtheincunabulum,orindifferent

∗ Correspondingauthor.

E-mailaddress:cpm@uevora.pt(C.Miguel).

incunabula.Thereuseoftheprintingplateswasacommon

proce-dureintheseearlyprintingworkshops.Fortheprintingprocess,

carbonblack(namelysootorlampblackpigments)wascommonly

addedtoirongallinktoproducearelativethickink,

fundamen-talforthecoveringeffectiveness oftheprintingprocess [3].By

enlargingthescaleofproductionandreducingtimeandcostsof

production,theprintedbooksbecameavailabletoahighernumber

ofpersons,allowingthosewhowerenotabletoownamanuscript

before,tobeabletoacquireitnow.Nevertheless,manuscriptswere

stilllargelydesired,namelyforitsbrightness,uniquenessand

sin-gularity.Inthissense,thepracticeofilluminatingprintedbooks

followingsimilartechniquesasthoseusedtoproducemanuscripts’

illuminationswasfrequent.Commonlyusedfortheprivate

devo-tionofthehighestlevelsofsociety,BooksofHourswereamongthe

firsttextstobeproducedasincunabula[4,5].

Thestudyofincunabulaproductionisstillinitsstartingpoint.In

thelasttwodecades,somestudieswereperformedconcerningthe

elementalcompositionoftheprintinginksandpaperleavesused

byHardouyn printers[3,6].Nevertheless, noneofthesestudies

concernedtheanalysisoftheunderprintingsnortheillumination

procedurefollowedatthetimeofitsproduction.TheBiblioteca

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2019.05.014

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PúblicadeÉvora(BPE)preservesasetofuniqueincunabula

pro-ducedduringthelate-fifteenth-firsthalfofthesixteenthcentury

inFrenchprintingworkshops[7].TheInc.438(170×103mm)isa

BookofHoursprintedonparchmentinParisbyGermainHardouyn

which,intheearlytwentiethcentury,becamepartoftheBPE

col-lection[8].Itpresentsasetof30paintedillustrationsofdifferent

sizesandshapes,printedandthenhandpaintedmostprobably

atthetime ofitsproduction.IR-reflectographyhasbeenwidely

usedforunderdrawingsanalysisinpaintings,namelyoncanvas

andwoodpaintings[9–12].Althoughwidelyusedfortheanalysis

ofsublayers,IR-reflectographydoesnotprovidereliable

informa-tionontheestimationofthedepthofthedetectedsublayers[13].

ThisisatechniqueofextremeimportancefortheArtHistoryfield,

forwhatcanbeperceivedfromthespecificitiesofthepreparatory

drawings,processforthedrawingtransfer,constructionsof the

paintsstrokes,artists’signatures,hiddeninscriptionsoranyother

detailsthatmayfingerprintthetechniqueofaspecificartistand/or

workshop,orevenmissingtextsinancientpapyrus[9,10,12,14,15].

Recent studies used IRreflectography to discriminate between

handwrittenandprintedtextsin15th–17thcenturybook

produc-tion,basedonthedifferencesofcontrastbetweencarbon-based

inks(printed text), iron-gall inks(handwritten text) and paper

support[15].Thisapproachhasalsobeenfollowedfor

examin-ingcarbon-basedinksonparchment,sincethecontrastbetween

theink andthe supportisusually considerableinthis infrared

spectralregion[14].Thecontrastbetweenblackcarbon-inkand

white-yellowishparchmentdependsonthelayers’transparency

(restrictedbythegrainsize,concentrationofthepigment,binding

mediaandlayerthickness)andtheexistenceofenoughreflecting

ground[16].

In this work, IRreflectographywasused for the analysisof

theunderprintingsofasetofthreerepresentativepainted

illus-trations from Inc.438, with unexpected results concerning the

matchingoftheunderprintingsiconographyandthefinalpainted

illustrations. Aiming to evaluate the originality of the painted

surfacesanditscontemporaneitytotheprintedrepresentations,

microscopicandspectroscopicanalysis(Opticalmicroscopy,

SEM-EDS,Ramanmicroscopy,!-FTIR)wereusedonarepresentative

painted illustration–the Adoration of the Magi (f.11). Fig.1

dis-plays in a schematic way the experimental design followed

onthe physical-chemicalanalysis of theAdoration of the Magi,

f.11.

Toprovideinformationonthecontemporaneityofthepainted

illustrationsoftheAdorationoftheMagi(f.11),thePietà(f.47v)and

thePentecost(f.65v),asimilarapproachasdescribedinFig.1was

followedfortheelementalandmolecularcharacterizationofthree

representativecolourpaints:white,blueandgilding.

2. Researchaim

Theuseof infraredreflectographyanalysisfor characterizing

theunderprintingsbyHardouyn’sworkshopinInc.438willallow

auniquecomparisonbetweenprintedandpaintedillustrations.

Beingthelate-fifteenth-early-sixteenthcenturyaperiodof

tran-sitionfordevotionaliconographyduetotheinfluenceoftheCouncil

ofTrent(1545–1563),itwillbeinterestingtoinferwhetherthe

illuminatorwasmoreorlessinfluencedbythedevotionsthatwere

infashionatthetime,andinwhichsensetheengravingplates’

representationsfaithfullyfollowedthereferencesoftheHoly

Scrip-tures.Toinferontheoriginalityofthepaintedillustrations,selected

colourpaintsfromtheAdorationoftheMagi,thePietàandthe

Pen-tecostarecharacterizedinamolecularpointofview.

3. Materialsandmethods

Thestudystartedwithadetailedobservationofthe

illumina-tionsunderastereomicroscopetoevaluatetheunderprintingsthat

couldbeobservedunderthemosttransparentpaintedregions,the

stateofconservationofthecolouredpaintsandtoestablish

possi-bleareasformicro-sampling.Foraselectedsetofrepresentations,

IRreflectographywasperformedoverthepaintedillustrations.To

enhancethereadabilityof theunderprintings,adigital

elabora-tionwasperformedovereachminiature’sIRreflectographyresults

—digitalreconstruction—withanimageprocessingsoftware.

Vis-ible imagesand digital reconstructionswerecompared. For the

representationoftheAdorationoftheMagi(f.11),micro-sampling

wasperformedconsideringboththeneedofrepresentativeness,

theimportanceofminimuminterventionandthesampleminimum

amountrequiredforeachanalyticaltechnique.Toinferonthe

con-sistencyofthematerialsusedtoproducetheilluminations,three

representativecolouredpaints(white,blueandgilding)werealso

micro-sampledfromthePietà(f.47v)andthePentecost(f.65v).

SEM-EDS,Ramanmicroscopy(RM)and!-FTIRanalysiswereperformed

inthemicro-samples.

3.1. Selectedpaintedillustrations

Fromthe30imagespresentinInc.439,asetofthreepainted

illustrationsrepresentative ofdifferent sizesandpainting

tech-niques were chosen to be analysed by IR reflectography: the

AdorationoftheMagi(f.11),thePietà(f.47v)andthePentecost(f.65v)

(Fig.2).

The Adoration of the Magi(60×84mm) (Fig. 3a)is not only

the major illuminated representation of Inc. 438, but also the

onethatpresentsthemostdetailedpaintedillustrationand the

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Fig.2. Full-sizeimagesoftheselectedfoliafromInc.438(170×103cm).Fromlefttoright,theAdorationoftheMagi(f.11),thePietà(f.47v)andthePentecost(f.65v).Photo ©HERCULESLabandBPE.

Fig.3. Close-upimagesoftheselectedpaintedillustrationsfromInc.438,representativeofdifferentsizesandpaintingtechniquespresentintheincunabulum:a:theAdoration oftheMagi(f.11);b:thePietà(f.47v)and;c:thePentecost(f.65v).Blackmarksrepresentthespotswherematerialcharacterizationwasperformed.

mostrepresentativeofthefull-paletteusedtoproduceInc.438’s

illuminations. As for the Pietà (31×52mm) and the Pentecost

(34×47mm)(Fig.3bandc)theypresentsimilardimensions,but

differentpaintingtechniques:whileforthePietà(f.47v)detailed

paintinglayerswereusedfortheillustrations–closetothosefound

intheAdorationoftheMagi(f.11),forthePentecost(f.65v)thickand

inexpressivepaintinglayerswereusedtoproducetheillumination

(Fig.3).

Aiming to evaluate the originality of the materials used to

produce the coloured surfaces, namely pigments and binders,

spectroscopicanalysiswasperformedona setofrepresentative

micro-samplesofdifferentcolourpaintsfromtheAdorationofthe

Magi(f.11)(Fig.3a).Forthecomparativeanalysisofthepainted

surfacesofthethreeselectedilluminations,threerepresentative

colourswereselected:white,blueandgilding.Fig.3bandcdisplays

thespotswheremicro-samplingwasperformed.

3.2. Opticalmicroscopyandmicro-sampling

Toevaluatethebrushstrokesandpaintingtechniques,the

con-servation state of the colour-paints and the relation between

painteddelimitationsandunderprintings,magnifiedimageswere

acquired under a LEICA M205Cstereomicroscope with a zoom

rangeof7.8×to160×equippedwithaLeicaDFC295cameraand

anexternalilluminationbyopticalfibres.Micro-samplingwas

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(micro-samplesrangingbetween20–50!m)underthesame

stere-oscopeLEICAM205CequippedwithaLeicaDFC295cameraandan

externalilluminationbyopticalfibres.

3.3. Elementalcharacterization

Scanningelectronmicroscopycoupledwithenergy-dispersive

X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was used to characterize the

elemental composition of gildings and its surface morphology.

SEM-EDSanalyseswereperformedwithavariablepressure

scan-ningelectronmicroscopeHITACHI3700Ncoupledtoanenergy

dispersiveX-rayspectrometerBRÜKERXflash5010SDD.Uncoated

sampleswereanalysedunderairpressureof40Pa.The

backscat-teringmodewasusedforSEMimaging.TheresolutionoftheEDS

detectoris123eVattheMnK"lineenergy.TocollectX-ray

emis-sionsfromheavierelementslikePb,anaccelerationvoltageof20kV

waschosen.TheEDStasksandthequantificationwereachieved

throughtheEsprit1.9softwarefromBRÜKERCorporation.

3.4. Molecularcharacterization

Ramanmicroscopywasusedtocharacterizethechromophores

(pigmentsanddyes)presentinthepaints.ARamanspectrometer

HORIBAXPloraequippedwithadiodelaserof10.3mWoperating

at785nm,coupledtoanOlympusmicroscopewasusedfor the

analysisofthepaintcrosssections.Ramanspectrawereacquiredin

extendedmodeinthe100–2000cm−1_region,_using_the_LabSPEC5

software.ThelaserwasfocusedwithanOlympus50×lens,1–10%

ofthelaserpoweronthesamplesurface(10sofexposure,10cycles

ofaccumulation).

Fourier-transformedinfraredspectroscopy(!-FTIR)wasused

togatherinformation onthebindersandextendersusedin the

paints’ production. Aninfrared spectrometerBRÜKER Hyperion

3000equippedwithasinglepointMCTdetectorcooledwith

liq-uidnitrogenanda15×objectivelenswasused.Thespectrawere

collectedin thetransmissionmode,in50–100!m2 _areas,_using

aS.T.Japandiamondanvilcompressioncell.Infraredspectrawere

acquiredwithaspectralresolutionof4cm−1_,₃₂_scans,_in_the

4000-650cm−1_of_the_infrared_region,_using_the_OPUS_7.2_software.

3.5. Underprintingsassessment

Fortheunderprintingsassessment,ahigh-resolutionIR

reflec-tography camera OSIRIS equipped with an InGaAs detector

sensitivebetween900and1700nmanda16×16tilesystemwere

used.Toensurethatthetotallightthatreachthedetectordoes

only concerninfrared radiation, the originalset up of the

sys-tem is equippedwith a long passfilter Schott RG850 toblock

the wavelengthbelow 850nm.The camera is equippedwith a

PhaseOne120mmmacrolens,allowingtocollecthigh-resolution

close-ups mosaic sections with 4096×4096 pixels/each before

merging.Forthis,eachrepresentationwasanalysedin5×5mm

high-resolutionmosaicsectionsreflectograms:fortheAdoration

oftheMagi(acquiredpaintedareaof60×84mm),atotalof234

mosaicsections(13×18mosaicsectionsweremergedtoobtain

thefinalimage)wereacquiredfortheentirerepresentation;the

Pietà (acquired painted area of 31×52mm) was full screened

with 77 mosaic sections (7×11 mosaic sections were merged

toobtain thefinal image); and thePentecost(acquired painted

areaof34×47mm)with70mosaicsections(7×10mosaic

sec-tionsweremergedtoobtainthefinalimage).Tocreatethefinal

mosaickedimage,mosaicsectionreflectogramsweremergedin

auniquehighdefinitionreflectogramusinganimageprocessing

software(AdobePhotoshopCS8).Forthis,sectionsoftheborders

of each mosaicsection (varyingfrom0.5-1mm)wereremoved

toensurethebestoverlappingneededtomergeallthesections.

Aftermerging,veryhigh-resolutionimageswereobtainedforeach

representation:theAdorationoftheMaggi,43256pixels×64400

pixels;thePietà,34133pixels×45056pixels;andthePentecost,

28672pixels×40960pixels.Tomakeeasiertomanipulateeach

finalmosaickedreflectogram,images’resolutionsweredecreased

to3893pixels×5796pixelsfortheAdorationoftheMaggi,3072

pixels×4096pixelsforthePietà,and2560pixels×3584pixelsfor

thePentecost.

Reflectogramswereacquiredwithaworkingdistanceof6.5cm.

Thediaphragm aperturewasmaintained at F/8.Aslowscan of

10minutesperareaandanintegrationtimeof10m/swasused.The

diffuseilluminationsystemwascomposedoftwo1000WTungsten

HalogenVC–1000QQuartzlightsystem(3200Kcolour

tempera-ture).Toensureahomogeneousilluminationalloverthesurfaceof

50Hz,aluxmeterwasused.Toreduceundesiredreflectionsoflight,

thelampswereempiricallydisposedtocreateanangleofincidence

ataround50◦_._The_distance_between_the_lamps_and_the_object_was

settoprovidethebestcoveringilluminationandthelowest

sur-facetemperatureincrease.Thesurfacetemperatureoftheobject

wasconsistentlycontrolledbyusinganin-situlasertemperature

reading(surfacetemperaturewasneveroverpassingmorethan5%

ofroomtemperature).

Forthedigitalreconstructionsoftheunderprintings,animage

processingsoftware(AdobePhotoshopCS8)wasused.Eachfinal

mosaickedreflectogramwasincreasedupto900%ofmagnification,

andanewtransparentlayerappliedoverit.Visibleimageandfinal

mosaickedreflectogramwerecompared.Therevealed

underprint-ingswerehand-drawnonthetransparentlayer,withapad-pencil

tool.Hand-drawingdigitalreconstructionwasperformedforeach

entireminiature.

4. Results

AstheAdorationoftheMagi,f.11,evidencesthebest

representa-tivenessofthefull-paletteusedtoproduceInc438’silluminations,

afullcharacterizationofthematerialsusedtoproduceitscoloured

paints was performed. RM togetherwith SEM-EDS and !-FTIR

allowedtoidentifythemostcommonmaterialsusedon

Renais-sanceilluminationsinthepaints’compositionoftheAdorationof

theMagi,f.11(Table1).

Whitewasproducedwithleadwhite(2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2),orange

with red lead (Pb3O4), red withvermilion (HgS), browns with

goethite ("-FeO(OH)), blue withazurite (2CuCO3·Cu(OH)2) and

green withmalachite (Cu2CO3(OH)2).Raman microscopy

iden-tified the presence of two different yellows: massicot (#-PbO,

orthorhombic)andleadtinyellow(typeI)1₍_Fig.₄_).

Blackwasproducedwithacarbonblackofanimalorigin.For

lightergreens,amixtureofmalachite,leadtinyellow(typeI)and

massicotwasfound.Forthedarkerblues,amixtureofazuriteand

indigowasfound.Fig.5presentstherepresentativeRaman

spec-trumofindigo,whereitscharacteristicbandsat1573cm−1_ascribed

tothe$(C=C)stretchingvibrations,thetwocharacteristicbands

assignedtothebendingvibrationsinvolvingthecentralC=Cbonds,

andtheout-of-planebendinginvolvingthefivemembered-ringat

549cm−1_and₅₉₇_cm−1_,_were_identified_[18,19]_.

1_Lead_tin_yellow_was_the_wildest_used_synthetic_yellow_pigment_during_the

Renaissance(notablyintheperiod1300–1750).Dependingontherecipefollowed foritsproduction,twotypescanbefound:typeIandtypeII.Thefirstisatinstannate withgeneralformulaPb2SnO4.Thesecondisatinoxidewithsiliconinits

compo-sition,withgeneralformulaPb(Sn,Si)O3[17].SEM-EDSanalysisofleadtinyellow

fromInc.438didnotidentifythepresenceofsilicon,pointingtothepresenceoftype Iinthelight-yellowpaints.

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Table1

Close-updetails,pigmentsanddyesfoundinilluminationsoftheAdorationofthe Magi,f.11.

Detail Colour Pigment/dye

White Leadwhite

Gilding Au:Ag:Cu(96:2:2,%wt)

Paleyellow Massicot

Yellow Leadtinyellow(typeI)

Orange Redlead

Red Vermilion

Lightgreen Malachite+Leadtinyellow (type1)+Massicot

Green Malachite

Blue Azurite

Darkblue Indigo+Azurite

Brown Goethite

Black Carbonblack

Gildingswereproducedwithahigh-puregoldalloy(Au:Ag:Cu, 96:2:2,wt%)intheformofflake-shapeparticlescharacteristicof powderedgold,identifiedbySEM-EDS(Fig.6).

FTIRanalysisofrepresentativepaintmicro-samplesallowedto

identifypaintsproducedinapolysaccharidemedium,oftenmixed

withchalkasextender(Fig.7).

Togetherwiththeprintinginkformulation—a carbonblack

enrichedirongallink—thematerialsusedtoproducethepainted

surfacesenabledthefundamentalIRreflectance/transparencyfor

characterizingtheprintingtechnique[16].

Thecomparativeelemental(SEM-EDS)andmolecular(RMand

!-FTIR)analysisofthreeselectedcolours(white,blueandgilding)

fromthreeillustrations(theAdorationoftheMagi,thePietàandthe

Pentecost)revealedtheuseofcomparablematerials:whiteswere

producedwithleadwhite,blueswithazuriteandgildingswitha

goldalloy,inapolysaccharidemedium(Table2).

Uptothe18th _century,_gold_leaf_was_mainly_produced_from

beaten-gold coins [20]. Pure gold that was seldom used and

Fig.4. Ramanspectraoftwoyellowpaints’micro-samplesfromf.11,evidencing thecharacteristicRamanbandsofmassicot(*)andofleadtinyellow(typeI(**)).

Fig.5. Ramanspectrumofadarkenbluepaintfromf.11,evidencingthe character-isticRamanbandsofindigo.Theinset,molecularstructureofindigo.

Fig.6.SEM-EDSresultsofagildingpaintmicro-samplefromf.11,evidencingthe useofpowdergold-alloyforthegildings.

restrictedtothemostimportantartworks’production.Fromthe

analysisofelementalcompositionofthegildingpaintspresentin

Table2,itispossibletoconcludethatgildingswereproducedwith

verypuregoldalloysofsimilarcompositions,presentingminor

amountsofCu(copper)andAg(silver).It isthusexpectedthat

thesegildingswereappliedinanearperiod,beingthedifferences

inthealloycompositionprobablyrelatedtotheuseofdifferent

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Fig.7.Infraredspectrumofaredpaintmicro-samplefromf.11,evidencingthe characteristicabsorptionbandsofapolysaccharidebinder(*)andchalk(**)as extender.

Table2

Close-updetailsandcomparativeresultsofthepigmentsusedtoproducewhite, blueandgildingsintheAdorationoftheMagi(f.11),thePietà(f.47v)andthePentecost (f.65v).

Folium Detail Colour Pigment/dye

11 White Leadwhite

Gilding Au:Ag:Cu

(96:2:2,%wt)

Blue Azurite

47v White Leadwhite

Gilding Au:Ag:Cu

(95:3:2,%wt)

Blue Azurite

65v White Leadwhite

Gilding Au:Ag:Cu

(98:1:1,%wt)

Blue Azurite

4.1. Theprintingtechnique

Theprintingtechnique:Magnifiedobservationofthe illustra-tionsunderastereomicroscopeallowedtoidentifythepresenceof underprintingsinregionsoflacunasandthinnerpaints(Fig.8).Ifin

someoftheregionstheunderprintingscloselymatchthepainted

illustrations(oreven,forthinnerpaintlayers,underprintingswork

asdarkenshadesonthepaints’composition(Fig.8ayellowcircle)),

inotherregionstheunderprintingswerenotrespectedbythe

illu-minator(Fig.8bandc,yellowcircles).Besides,itwaspossibleto

observethattheprintingprocesswasperformedstraightonthe

parchment,withoutanypreparationlayer.

IRreflectography wascrucial for characterizingthe printing

processfollowedbyGermainHardouyn.Fig.9displaysthe

visi-bleimageoftheAdorationoftheMagi,itsIRreflectographyand

thedigitalreconstructionoftheunderprintingsrecoveredfromIR

reflectographyresults.Thefirstimpactofthecomparisonbetween

the illuminated representation (visible image, Fig. 9a) and the

underprintings’digitalreconstruction(Fig.9c)comesfromtheloss

ofdetailofthedecorativemotifs:theprintedversionis

consider-ablemoredetailedthanthepaintedillustration.Also,interesting

alterationsontheiconographicalprogrammeoftheprinted

ver-sionwererevealed:somehowduringtheilluminationprocedure,

theartistoptedtoomitsomeofthemostcharacteristic

iconograph-icalmotifsrelatedwiththeAdorationoftheMagi,suchastheStar

(whichguidedtheMagitotheplacewhereJesusChristwasborn),

SaintJoseph(thatshouldbenexttotheVirginMarywhentheMagi

arrivedtotheplace),orthesaber—acurvedbladeswordwitha

singlecuttingedgetraditionaloftheEasternworld—sheathedby

theelderMagusasasignofhisprovenancefromtheEasternworld.

Remarkablesimilaritieswerefoundbetweenthe

underprint-ingsdigitalreconstructionrecoveredfromtheIRreflectographyof

Inc.438,f.11(Fig.9c)andthesamescenerepresentedina

non-paintedincunabulumproducedbyGermainHardouync.1532[2]

(Fig.10).

Suchmatchingsupportstheuseofthesameengraving

composi-tion(mainsceneandframes)forprintingseveralincunabula.Infact,

thisillustrationintegratesacompleteMedallionseriesfor

octave-sizedbooksmadebyananonymousartistforGermainHardouyn

in1516,butfirstlyusedafter1526[2].Inthissense,Inc.438might

havebeenprintedinthelatefirst-halfofthesixteenthcentury,and

notinanearlierperiod.Regardingtheiconographicprogrammeof

thepaintedrepresentation(Fig.9a),considerablesimilaritieswere

foundwithanotherincunabulumprintedbyGermainHardouyinin

c.1535,includingthenon-representationofSaintJoseph,thesaber

andtheStar[21].Despitethedifferencesofbrushstrokesinboth

illuminations,thesesimilaritiescoulddatethepaintedillustration

backtomid1530’s.

Also,fortherepresentationofthePietà(f.47v)andthe

Pente-cost(f.65v),remarkablealterationsontheiconographicprogramme

of the printed representations were unveiled with the

under-printingsdigitalreconstructionrecoveredfromIRreflectography

(Figs.11 and12).In fact,while theprintersfollowed an

icono-graphic programmevery closeto thereferences fromtheHoly

Scriptures,theilluminatortendedtofollowrelatediconographies

moreinfashionatthetimeoftheproductionoftheincunabulum.

ConsideringtherepresentationofthePietá(whichaccompanies

thetextoftheLamentationofChrist),theunderprintings

recov-eredfromIRreflectographybroughttolightthescenereferredin

theGospelaccordingtoSaintMathews,whereafterChristdeath,

JosephofArimatheatookChrist’sbodyandplaceditinanewtomb

cutoffonarock,oppositetowhereMaryMagdaleneandtheother

Maryweresited(Mt.27,57–61)(Fig.11c).Inthisreference,thereis

nomentiontothefactthattheVirginMaryhavecarriedtheBodyof

Christ,buttheTraditionoftheChurchoftenrepresentsthisscene

withChristlaiddownontheVirginMary’sarms,flankedbyMary

Magdaleneandanothercharacter,usuallyrepresentingJohnthe

Evangelist.InInc.438(f.47v)theilluminatorrefusedthepresence

ofthesetwoflankingcharacters,highlightingthefigureofthePietá

(theVirginMaryholdingthebodyofHersonJesusChrist)asthe

maincharacterofthescene(Fig.11a).

Thisismuchinlinewithdevotiontotherepresentationofthe

Pietàduringtheearlysixteenthcentury,whichachieveditshighest

representationwithMichelangelo’ssculptureproducedbetween

1499–1500[22].

ForthePentecost(f.65v)—themomentwhentheHolySpirit

descentontheApostles—itisusuallyrepresentedbytheVirgin

MarysurroundedbytheApostlesandtheHolySpiritonthetop

ofthecomposition,fromWhomcomesoutraysrepresentingthe

sevenGiftsoftheHolySpiritspreadovertheApostles(theGiftsof

Wisdom,Understanding,Counsel,Fortitude,Knowledge,Pietyand

FearoftheLord).Again,likewiseseenforthePietà,thiswasthe

iconographyoftheunderprintingswhichIRreflectographybrought

(7)

Fig.8.SignsofunderprintingsattheAdorationoftheMagi(Inc.438,f.11).

Fig.9.TheAdorationoftheMagi(Inc.438,f.11):a:visibleimage;b:infraredreflectography;c:digitalreconstructionoftheunderprintingsoftheAdorationoftheMagi.Photo ©HERCULESLabandBPE.

Fig.10. TheAdorationoftheMagi:a:digitalreconstructionoftheunderprintingsoftheAdorationoftheMagiinInc.438,f.11;b:printedillustrationinaBookofHours,use ofRome.Paris,c.1532[2].

illumination of the printed representation was completely

changed, as the image represents a dove — the Holy Spirit —

surroundedby rays (Fig. 12a). The Devotion to theHoly Spirit

wasspeciallyinfluencedduringthePontifexofPopePiusV,who

stronglybelievedthatifChristiansinvokedtheHolySpiritwith

con-tritehearts,numerousgraceswouldbefavouredtothem.AsPope

PiusVPontifexlastbetween1566to1572,theinfluenceofthis

(8)

Fig.11. ThePietà(Inc.438,f.47v):a:visibleimage;b:infraredreflectography;c:digitalreconstructionoftheunderprintingsofthePietà.Photo©HERCULESLabandBPE.

Fig.12.ThePentecost(Inc.438,f.65v):a:visibleimage;b:infraredreflectography;c:digitalreconstructionoftheunderprintingsofthePentecost.Photo©HERCULESLaband BPE.

oftheprinting process.Atthesametime, itshouldnot be

dis-chargedapossibleinfluenceoftheCouncilofTrent(1545–1563)

ontheiconographical alterationsoftherepresentationspresent

inInc.438,asa consequenceofitsstatementsand clarifications

regardingtheChurch’sdoctrine,teachingsandprayingpractices,

includingsubjectsasthevenerationofsaintsandrepresentations

ofbiblicalscenes.

Comparingthepaintingtechniquesfollowedforproducingthe

illuminationsoftheAdorationoftheMagi(f.11),thePietà(f.47v)

andthePentecost(f.65v)(Figs.9a,11aand12a),itisquitelikely

thattwodifferenthandsmighthaveworkedonthisprocess.While

fortheAdorationoftheMagiandthePietà,thepaintsarethin(fora

reasonableareaofpaintedarea,thepaintsappeartohavebeen

appliedasaquarellewithvisibledetailsof underprintings)with

delicatebrushstrokes,forthePentecost(f.65v)thepaintsbecome

ticker,appliedwithcoarsebrushstrokes.Despite nothavebeen

possibletoidentifydifferencesonthematerialsusedtoproduce

thethreeilluminations,theremighthavebeentwodifferent

per-sonsproducingtheseilluminations,probablyinadifferenttime,

butinacloseperiod.

5. Conclusions

TheuseofIRreflectographyforanalysingtheproduction

tech-niqueof incunabula revealed tobean importantand powerful

tool.Itwaspossibletoidentifythepresenceofunderprintingsthat

largelydifferedfromthevisibleilluminatedrepresentations.Based

ontheanalysisofbothiconographies(printedandilluminated

rep-resentations),itispossibletoconcludethattheilluminatorwas

stronglyinfluencedbythedevotionsthatwereinfashionatthe

time,unliketheengravingplateswhoserepresentationsfaithfully

followthereferencesoftheHolyScriptures,particularlyfor the

PietàandthePentecost,whoseiconographicalterationsmighthave

beendoneinalaterperiod.Theunderprintingsdigital

reconstruc-tionrecoveredfromIRreflectographiesfortheBPEInc.439,aBook

ofHoursproducedbyGermainHardouyn,revealedtheprocedures

used forthese firstprinted books’production —the best

testi-moniesofthetransitionofmedievalilluminatedmanuscriptstothe

printingbooks.Asfortheilluminationprocedures,thefull

charac-terizationofthematerialsusedtoproducetheillustrationsofthe

(9)

inagreementwiththoseinfashionatthetime.Thecomparisonof

thematerialsusedtoproducewhite,blueandgildingpaintsfor

thethreeilluminationsreflectedtheuseofsimilarmaterials,

sup-portingtheideathatthesepaintedillustrationsmighthavebeen

paintedinarelativelycloseperiod,butbyadifferentilluminator.

Acknowledgments

TheauthorsthanktoSoniaCostaforthecontributionswiththe

reflectographies’acquisitions,toDr.Tenschertforproviding

with-outpublicationfeestheimageoftheAdorationoftheMagipresent

inaBookofHours,useofRome,Paris,c.1532(Fig.10b),andto

BibliotecaPúblicadeÉvora(BPE)theaccessandallthesupport

duringthe studyof Inc.438. Finally,the authorsthank theFCT

forfinancialsupportundertheUID/Multi/04449/2013

(POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007649)project.CatarinaMiguelthankstheFCTfor

financialsupportundergrantSFRH/BPD/92865/2013.

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