From Giotto to De Chirico to Verrocchio: analyses of paintings and historical bronze alloys availing of portable EDXRF equipment R. CESAREO† * , S. RIDOLFI‡, A. CASTELLANO{, M. MARABELLI§, G. BUCCOLIERI{, S. QUARTA{ and G. E. GIGANTEk †Department of Mathematics and Physics, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy ‡Ars Mensurae, Rome, Italy {Department of Material Science, University of Lecce, Lecce, Italy §Centrale Restoration Institute, Rome, Italy kDepartment of Physics, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) has been used successfully for some time now in non- destructive diagnostic examinations of art works, especially for paintings and bronze works. Furthermore, such examinations may be carried out with portable equipment, allowing studies in situ. EDXRF-analysis of paintings generally provides the following information: –possible presence of elements on the surface (sulphur, chlorine) due to pollution; – identification of the elements, and therefore giving a good indication of the pigments, employed by the artist; and –identification of previous restoration areas, by detecting the presence of “modern” elements, such as titanium, zinc, cadmium, etc. Recently, the famous Chapel of the Scrovegni painted by Giotto in Padua in 1303–1305 was analysed in detail to obtain all the information described above. Another example of application of EDXRF-analysis to paintings was a recent examination of 11 paintings believed to be by De Chirico the outcome of which was compared with that obtained for 15 paintings certainly by De Chirico. Finally, the bronze statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni was analysed, in order to determine its composition and the presence of sulphur and chlorine on the surface. In this case, the analysis was partially destructive, because small areas of a few square millimetres had to be cleaned for analyses, to avoid interference by the patina. Keywords: EDXRF; portable systems; paintings; bronze alloys 1. Introduction Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis is a valuable technique for the study of works of art, because it is (generally) non-destructive, multi-elemental, simple and relatively inexpensive [1]. For these reasons, EDXRF is a very popular analytical technique in the field of archaeometry [2]. There is EDXRF laboratory equipment dedicated to archaeometry only, as well as portable equipment for analysis in situ. Journal of Neutron Research ISSN 1023-8166 print/ISSN 1477-2655 online q 2006 Taylor & Francis http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals DOI: 10.1080/10238160600672997 *Corresponding author. E-mail: Cesareo@uniss.it Journal of Neutron Research, Vol. 14, No. 1, March 2006, 17–27