RAA 2013

International Congress on the Applications of Raman Spectroscopy in Art and Archaeology : RAA 7

Ljubljana , Slovenia , 2^nd September , 2013.

The theme of the meeting was the use of Raman spectroscopy for the analytical identification of materials , pigments , dyes and resins associated with works of art , antiquities and the preservation of cultural heritage covering diverse areas such as art history , archaeology , palaeontology, conservation and restoration , museology and the adoption of portable and laboratory analytical instrumentation for chemical characterisation using non-destructive techniques .Of especial importance are applications which address the degradation of works of art as a result of biodeterioration and environmental issues such as chemical pollution and the effect of light and humidity upon the discolouration of pigments .

The conference was the latest in a series which began with a one day meeting at the British Museum in 2001 which was followed by biennial meetings in Ghent (2003) , Paris (2005), Modena (2007), Bilbao (2009) and Parma (2011).

The conference , chaired by Dr Polonca Ropret of the Conservation Centre of the Institute of Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia , was attended by approximately 130 analytical Raman spectroscopists , museum conservators and restorers , who together contributed 5 Plenary lectures , 40 oral presentations and 60 poster presentations . The Molecular Spectroscopy Group made an award of £100 for the best student poster presented at the meeting which was won by Ms. Federica Pozzi of the Department of Conservation Science, Chicago Institute of Art , entitled : Applications of Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy to the Analysis of Red Lakes in French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paintings (poster attached below), supervised by Dr Francesca Casadio. The subject of the poster included the analysis of a Renoir painting in the museum collection in which the Raman spectroscopy had identified the presence of a severely degraded and discoloured carmine lake background, assisting materially in the restoration of the masterpiece. This case study has since been reported in national newspapers in the USA and in the UK in February 2014 and has formed the topic of an article in the March 2014 issue of the RSC journal “Chemistry World” , Raman reveals Renoir’s masterpiece, in which before and after restoration images of the painting are shown. The restored painting with an exhibition of the scientific research underlying the restoration is currently a very popular public attraction in the Chicago Institute of Art Museum.

The MSG was proud to sponsor this poster award to Federica Pozzi and reflects the high quality and acclaimed analytical spectroscopic research described therein.

The next meeting in this popular series, RAA 8, is scheduled to be held in Krakow, Poland, in September 2015.